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| Some bloggers were really kind... |
So when the reviews start coming in, you pay more attention
than is healthy to what people say. I’ve been very lucky with Dark Dates – the reaction
has been almost overwhelmingly positive. Of course, I’d like more people to
have read it (it’s still incredibly difficult to get coverage for an indie
book) but those who have, have tended to love it. I’ve been blown away by the
feedback I’ve got – just this week I got another rave review from Indies R Us
and was selected as Book of the Month at the TBR Pile, and I also made a couple of
bloggers’ ‘Top 10 of 2012’ lists. It was exciting, and thrilling, and exactly
what I wanted – the fact that people actually talked about my characters, had
opinions about them, cared about them: this was the very thing I got into
writing for.
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| See? Actual nice quote by person I don't know |
Then I had to write the sequel, and suddenly The Fear
struck. What if it sucked? Lots of people said the first book was funny: the
second book was darker, but I thought it still had a nice streak of humour in
it – but what if it wasn’t enough? I found myself scouring the text to see if I
could put in jokes (I didn’t, in the end, because I find that kind of writing tiresome,
but Lord, the temptation was there). There’s more sex in this one: is it too
sexy? Will people still like the characters? Will they feel let down? Suddenly
all I could see in my head was a stream of reviews from people saying how
disappointed they were – and the fact that I connect with a load of bloggers
via social media means I’d be unable to hide from their scorn. Maybe I should
just leave Dark Dates alone, treat it as a success and then move onto something
completely different? It’s ridiculous given that my readers probably only
number into the hundreds that I was working myself into such a state – how do properly famous writers do it? No wonder
George RR Martin always seems a bit grumpy.
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| Fingers crossed... |
In the end, of course, it boiled down to what it always does:
having faith in the writing. When it comes down to it, I love these characters,
and I’d write about them even if I was the only one who got to read the
stories. They’re under my skin now and they aren’t going anywhere.
I sent the book, Wolf Night, to my beta readers who all came back with
great feedback – but, importantly, also with comments on what didn’t work, and what
needed to be made better (it’s good to have cheerleaders, but you also need people
to be honest, especially when you don’t have the safety net of an agent or
editor).
And so, after a lot of agonising, the book is out there. I’m
trying to tell myself not to read reviews this time around (I can still quote
the bad ones from Dark Dates) but I suspect I’ll fall at the first hurdle on
that one – it really does matter to me that people like it, and don’t feel I’ve
let them down. But I know it’s the best I could make it, and I know I’ve been
true to the characters – and that’s all I can do, I guess. Anyway, I’m off to
write the sequel now…
You can follow Dark Dates at darkdates.org
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