I
don’t have time to go to forums all that much (or indeed blog, mores the pity), but it seems that recently
whenever I have I’ve come across writers throwing in the towel. There seems to
be a common assumption that poor writing / storytelling is the reason for poor
sales. In truth, it could be any of a number of factors why you’re not selling
as well as you would like. Everything from weak covers to switching genre too
much or not spending enough time marketing can leave you struggling for sales.
Also, as you publish more your perceptions change, and I’ve seen people giving
up in disappointment at failing to meet their expectations when they’re
actually selling more per day than I am, and I have no intention whatsoever of
giving up (to be honest, I’m too busy writing and publishing to think about it).
The goalposts are constantly shifting, and you’re going to take a lot of
knocks. I’ve come across people who couldn’t take a word of criticism without
acting like it was a knife in the gut, and the answer might be that if you
really can’t handle such criticism then perhaps you shouldn’t be doing
something that’s in the public eye. In short, though, we all get slated at one
time or another. I’ve had plenty of bad reviews, but I’ve had plenty of good
ones too.
Bad
reviews are part of a writer’s life, but remember, that one man’s junk is
another man’s gold.
Here
are some I’ve had for my short story The Cold Pools, which really seems to polarize
opinion. You have:
It was short so the fact that I wasted my time
is balanced out against it
being free is some Karma. I have
put the author on my "do not read" list.
and
… the author
must hate his life situation. There must be some glimmer of hope
for the world
which is lost in his vision of the last days of humanity.
I feel sorry for
him...and that i read this book.
versus
This was a traumatically beautiful short story.
and
Heartbreaking and beautiful. You couldn't write
more with out ruining the story.
A masterpiece of a short story. Thank you sir
for writing it.
Which illustrates how two people can love and
hate the same thing. As long as you’re getting more good ones than bad, you’re
doing okay.
Don’t give up!
Chris Ward
11th September 2015
