If You Don't Like My Book, That's Okay!

A writer doesn't get to the point of a debut novel easily. Usually, she has written multiple books as she hones her craft, has taken writing courses or even earned an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing. She's queried dozens -- if not hundreds -- of agents to find one who believes in her work enough to offer to represent her -- and she and her agent have sent her manuscript to dozens of editors, trying to find one who is willing to make an offer (and can get her publishing house to back her) and all of this is besides the time that the author has edited, rewritten, edited, rewritten, and edited again. (You get the point.)

All of this leads the writer to, well, want you to really, really like her book. She wants you to enjoy the story so much you can't stop thinking about it, the characters are now people you care about, and you can't wait to visit new characters in her next novel!  There is nothing more important to an author than the email she gets from a reader saying she loved her book and couldn't put it down.

It is not possible for everyone to like your book.  As much as we authors hate to admit it, there will be people who just.don't.like.it.  People who didn't get it. People who were bored by it and put it down after the second chapter. People who read it all the way through using sheer will and declare it gets only one star on Amazon.

We just don't want to admit to ourselves, that after all the time and effort we put into the book, after all the tears we cried over it (literally), the frustration that hounded us, the days and nights we couldn't think about anything else but the book that some people won't like it.

I've been steeling myself for this "I just didn't like it" moment since I found out Child of Mine would be published. (Three weeks from today on March 12!) I've been steeling myself for negative reviews, for one star on Amazon, for a "Not even going to say one thing nice about it," on Goodreads.  Because that is reality.

It's okay, really, if you don't like my book.   I don't expect everyone to.  I've been through plenty of rejection, plenty of this-wasn't-for-me from the industry to know that it will most definitely happen. But if you DO turn out to like it, can you let me know? Because I kind of like it, myself, actually.