Reading unpublished writing
Most of the writers of the world are unpublished. Did you know that? Well, it’s true. Why? Because publishing is a business and one you have to work really, really hard to break into and then you have to appeal to a massive audience in order to stay in it. Where does that leave you, the wanna-be writer? To work at it and to get your peers, friends, family, etc. to read your work.
I don’t mean self-publish, nope, I mean read your 3rd or 4th draft to give you feedback on the story, your writing style, the ‘voice’ you project with your words, etc.
For me, I do this for my peers because they do so for me. For example … two weekends ago I read a 111,000 word story for a friend in the UK … loved it. Sent her back tons of suggestions via Track Changes because I was looking at grammatical/stylistic stuff.
This weekend, I read an 88,000 word story for a friend on the Pacific coast … loved it!! But this one I read for story — what story did it tell. I sent page a number of pages of comments.
Will they be used? Maybe, maybe not. The story is still the authors. Will they have an impact? Certainly because we as unpublished writers are working not only toward publication, but in the betterment of our writing. That doesn’t mean published writers aren’t, but that we are working even harder because we have even more hurdles to cross before we can say we’re published.
That being said, I too get readers on my work. Last night I got my 97,000 word story back from a reader with loads of comments and I spent 2 hours editing (yes, right then because I cannot leave stuff like that alone). What did she do for me? She found little holes and inconsistencies, questioned my character’s motives to either enlighten me or make me go …’whoops, that shouldn’t be there’ or ‘there must be a better way to say ‘x”. It was tremendously helpful.
While we’ll likely never use all the comments from a reader because every reader picks up on stuff differently and we the writer know what’s supposed to be there, what’s coming, etc, it’s necessary to get this kind of feedback.
The flip side is that when the story is just that good? I get to say I’ve read it before everyone else in the world. 😉
Who are your favorite unpublished writers?
Erm. You mean, besides you right? 😉
Well my fav. unpublished writer, just got published (Sarah Hina). Other than her, I’d have to say Joaquin (He is self-published). I just love reading his poetry!
Of course other than me, Aniket! 😉 🙂
I read only the opening chapters of Genevieve Graham’s “Under the Same Sky”, and just that moved me–something I find novels are unable to do more and more of late. However, as she has just signed a publishing contract for said book, does she actually count? 🙂 Aimee, I may come back and add you to my list once I’ve finished “Hide and Seek”. At least I’ve reached the halfway mark–yours was the only thing I read over the weekend 🙂
I also love reading stuff by writers called Stuart Edmond, Felix Galvan, Bryce Shillington, CJ Inskon–all unpublished and aspiring. I hope they all make it as much as I hope it for you or I, Aimee 🙂
I’m so glad to have had your “attention” along with the mounds of laundry you guys apparently created. 😉 🙂
I needed something to distract me when hubby took his mom to the shops and you were it. Oh, yes, and for an hour of time-passing on the drive home. Consider yourself used and abused, baby 😛
And happy to have been! 😉 Ha!
Okay I am back to add Aimee Laine to my list of favourite unpublished authors, having now finished ‘Hide and Seek’. I loved it. I’m a mass fan of light reading ‘Rom-coms’ such as Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella and Cecelia Ahearn to bring light relief between indulging in death and destruction. Aimee’s novel is right up there with them, except her mythological twist offers a little something special, giving the reader that extra bit more to keep them hanging on the edge of their seat. I read the entire thing smiling like a goon. And those of you who believe I’m a**e-licking don’t know me. Trust me; a**e licking is not on my list of preferred activities. I give only my honest opinion–always 🙂
Hehehe!! So glad you loved it Julie!! 🙂 I couldn’t have asked for a better comment! 🙂