Becoming the writer I want to be

Great work, its been good to see your progress throughout the time I have been a part of the thread. I can definitely relate to feeling unproductive due to lack of feedback, I must have sent out my first draft to 4-5 people around 2 weeks ago, it took a week for anyone to start reading it, and in the week since then I have feedback on the prologue and one chapter, which is around 19 pages of a book that is 441 pages. Now maybe I have a somewhat skewed perspective on how long it takes to read books, considering I read so many, but come the hell on, I mean seriously, how long does it take to read something you VOLUNTEERED to read? Its very disheartening to realise there is probably one person out of the 5 who will actually read it to completion, the rest will just forget if I dont keep prompting them and honestly? I dont really want to have to do that. The feedback I have gotten so far has been positive which is good but still.

I dont want anyone in this thread to feel as disheartened as I do about this so if anyone has anything they need feedback for, hit me up and I will do my utmost to read it and offer detailed feedback as soon as it is possible for me to do so. Obviously there are some limitations to this; non fiction or academic papers may be harder for me as they arent in my area of expertise but I will honestly help anyone within reason.

 

Don't you think no feedback, is feedback. Perhaps the book hasn't enticed them enough to keep reading.

 

I sent the book to people who VOLUNTEERED to read it, ie they agreed to read it to completion and provide feedback on it. I explicitly told them to not agree if they weren't willing to do this, and do it in a decent timeframe. Every single person who "agreed" hasnt followed through on what they agreed to do and only one of these people has a valid enough reason for not doing it, out of the other two two have not even started reading it yet last time I checked and the other two have only read one chapter. Theres no rationalisation for this that I will accept, I've just been let down by a group of lazy bastards.

 

Agreeing to read a book is different than reading it. Haven't you ever picked up a book, only to find you aren't interested in it. They aren't getting paid, they may want to read it for you but if they are completely disinterested they probably won't continue. The sad part is, by making it so rigid in making sure they guarantee to complete the book, you miss out on the feedback of not wanting to finish it, they feel uncomfortable talking about it because now it's this weight on their shoulders. This will make the feedback you get if they do finish the novel, much less useful.

People aren't lazy because they don't do what you want them to do man. Sure they volunteered, you take that very seriously they may not. It was probably "Sure, I'll read it and let you know how it is." not signing a contract stipulating the conditions of reading and reporting back on your novel. By pressing, you are putting strain on your relationships with them. If you want guaranteed and timely feedback, pay someone.

Gotta be honest, haven't read it, but if the 5 people are people who actually know you and are willing to do you a favor by reading the book, haven't continued past either page 1 or the first chapter, it sounds like those sections could use some work. Or you targeted people that are not interested in your genre.

 

Alright, I guess we are doing this. Please actually pay attention to what I'm saying this time.

I will repeat myself. I asked people to read the book, TO COMPLETION, and PROVIDE FEEDBACK, and they agreed to do it. Out of the people who have actually read it, the feedback has been very positive so far, and the opinions of those who haven't are meaningless because they haven't even started yet. I cannot honestly believe I am seeing with my own two eyeballs you trying to say I am "making it rigid" by asking people to actually read the fucking book instead of leaving me in the lurch for weeks on end. Do agreements made in good faith mean absolutely nothing? Apparently so.

You are damn right I take this very seriously, and I only asked people to volunteer if they too would take it seriously. The fact that they arent reflects badly on them, not me. You seem to be completely not getting what these people actually agreed to do, considering you assumed what the agreement was despite me clearly stating what it was. You dont need to sign a contract to agree in good faith to do something. If I agree to meet you at the cinema at noon, and you sit there waiting in the rain for an hour, and then you get back home and find out I just decided to not show up, that would make me an inarguable dickhead. The same principle applies here.

Wow, you think so? Good. If these people arent willing to do this for me then they barely deserve to be called my friends. I'm sick and tired of always being available and willing to help them, and getting shafted for it. The fact you are saying I am putting a strain on my relationships with people who are like this is astounding. I ask people to actually do the thing they AGREED to do and somehow I'm at fault for it? Give me a fucking break.

I refer you back to what I previously said; most people have not read it yet, out of those three one of them has a valid reason for it and I do trust him to do it. Out of those who have read it, the feedback has been positive, so what you are saying here cant possibly be true.

 

Just got a message from one of the readers saying they have only just finished the feedback for chapter 1. Its taken them two weeks to do that. At this current pace it will literally take more than a year for this person to finish the book and send me the feedback. I've told them I am moving ahead with writing the other books because I cannot afford to just sit around and wait. At this point I am questioning why I bothered even getting feedback from anyone in the first place.

 

Next time you ask someone for a favor please inform them your definition is contracted labor without pay.

Yes, what I am saying can be true. If they are your friends, it is very likely they don't want to hurt your feelings with negative feedback. In fact, I'd say friends and family are the absolute worst group to get feedback from for this very reason. If you knew someone poured their heart into a novel and you honestly couldn't get passed the first chapter without rolling your eyes, would you find it so easy to tell them? As a writer, you see the value in it enough to follow through and tell your friend, but they may not see it worth hurting your feelings over.

This is all presumptuous, it could be a very well written book. The point I'm making is that you are so unbelievably locked into your line of thought that you can't even conceive of other possibilities. It's not that the book isn't to their taste, it's that they are lazy assholes. I mean come on man, you're more grown up than that.

Saying you refuse to accept any rationalization is childish as hell. People break promises every day, get over it. It doesn't mean promises are worthless, but it means you shouldn't rely on people slaving over your book just because they said they would. Especially if they despise it.

 

What the actual hell are you even talking about? I made a verbal agreement in good faith with people who volunteered their efforts, that goes beyond a simple favour. Nice job being patronising as all hell here though, its appreciated.

For the millionth time, everyone who has actually read the book has had positive things to say, and those who haven't started it dont have a position because they haven't read a single word. How can people who have yet to read the book know it is not to their taste? Are you trying to insinuate the people who gave positive feedback are lying to me to save my feelings? I know them and you dont, and I know they wouldn't do that. You are literally fabricating scenarios in your head to explain the actions of people you have never even met. I think I'm more qualified to understand the mindsets of personal friends than you are.

Yeah, no, I wont just get over this because its shitty human behaviour, and the people who enable this kind of shitty behaviour by making excuses are beneath my contempt. Sorry (not sorry) that I wont just lay down and accept that and instead voice my anger about it. Its totally me being childish for being mad about this, yes, I am the one at fault, not the people who have actually shafted me, its me who is wrong for being mad about it. Get bent.

 

Shafted you by? Saying they'd read the book, then not. Oooooh big deal. You are being way to oversensitive about this. Based on how you type here at least, I wouldn't be surprised if all your friends feel like they have to walk on egg shells around you. Probably why they haven't given you feedback, truth is, you don't know if they've read it or not. They could lie.

More you go on, the more I feel bad for them. You're just villainizing yourself here, all the while playing victim. It's kind of funny haha.

 

You know @unimportant, it would not have been so bad if you had not fanned the flames and made this worse. Unless you know anything about writing or the difficulties we face as writers, refrain from posting here and take it to the PMs. I am not a mod, but I will be damned if I see you just rain down on all of us for venting our frustrations. Yes, it may be annoying that people break their promises to read a book but it does not mean you have to act like an asshole and be full of it.

 

That's my whole point, seems like you have the wrong username.

 

I could be.

 

I actually do know that the people who say they have read chapter 1 have actually read it because they made specific comments about specific parts of the book they liked. Two people made similar comments about one part they greatly enjoyed despite not even knowing each other. I guess you can keep peddling your delusional conspiracy theories that claim to understand the minds of people you dont know, if that makes you feel like you are making some kind of point, but do it somewhere else where I dont have to read your drivel.

All you have done since you have joined this thread is make stupid comments that illustrate your complete lack of reading comprehension and tact. First you blunder in with some "quality over quantity" nonsense that ignores the (already clearly explained) reasoning why we are tracking word counts, then you start taking jabs at me over me venting, then you start blatantly making shit up. Now you are once again saying I'm at fault because you goaded me into getting irritated with you.

I speak for everyone on this thread when I ask you to either start taking part in the actual topic of the thread, or to take your behaviour elsewhere before the thread is derailed further. Just like @aspiringwriter1997 I'll be dammed if I allow this great thread to be ruined.

 

This is exactly it, thank you for saying it. This guy expects to just come into the thread and start making silly comments and expect no blowback, and I'm not standing for it. He is blatantly making up conspiratorial lies about people he has never even met and he's doing it just to goad me into arguing. Its like I said to him, my friends may be unwilling to do what they agreed to do, but this doesnt mean they are lying to me, and it doesnt mean they are being malicious. I'm sure that when the time comes around for him to reply to what I said he will not understand what I'm trying to say to him, for the umpteenth time. He seems to have made a habit of doing that.

I agree, and last night I came across as vitriolic myself. But I wont apologise for it, I was mad, plain and simple. I wont apologise for being passionate about what I do and defending myself against attacks on my character and (via proxy) attacks on the characters of my friends.

 

Came out swinging today. I woke up late and as such expected to write a lot less than planned. Instead I got 1244 words done.

 

Chapter 1 (8/3/20 to 8/15/20): 5026 words
Chapter 2 (9/7/20 to 9/15/20): 3308 words
Chapter 3 (8/17/20 to 8/27/20): 5019 words

Last Week: 2977 words

Monday: 576 words

Not a bad start for the week! I can tell that I am getting a bit weary of working on this and in need of a minor break to recharge my batteries, but I did decide to do something to where Chapters 1 and 3 are long but Chapter 5 is short while Chapters 2 and 4 are short, but Chapter 6 is long. That way, the introduction to the two characters mirror each other and bring like a yin-yang balance to the story. It may be weird, but it is hard to explain. My plan is to finish up this chapter this week, start editing them next week, and then once when they are done and sent to another friend for a second look, I will take my two weeks off from writing on this story to do other projects, focus on studying for my interview, and working on my novel notes to get this book planned out and more thought out before I return to it.