What My Readers Taught Me
By Guest | May 9, 2011 |
Kath here. Please welcome Susanne Dunlap to Writer Unboxed today. Susanne is the author of YA historical novels In the Shadow of the Lamp (available now), Anastasia’s Secret, and The Musician’s Daughter, as well as the adult novels Emilie’s Voice and Liszt’s Kiss. Thanks for stopping by, Susanne!
I’m one of the fortunate few who have had books published by mainstream publishing houses. I never take the privilege for granted, and I work constantly to develop my craft. I feel responsible not only to the people who have taken a gamble on me and given me this opportunity, but also to my readers. With my fifth book in six years published by Bloomsbury on April 12th, I’ve been thinking about readers and my changing relationship with them as I become not just the author of a book they might have liked, but an author they might be counting on to continue to produce novels that feed something in them.
That said, I made a shift in the middle of my compressed career so far, from writing historical fiction for adults on musical subjects, to writing historical fiction for young adults based not necessarily on musical subjects, but always featuring young women who face the challenges of their times with courage and imagination. Some of my adult readers have followed me into this new territory, for which I’m grateful. In fact, I don’t really write any differently in terms of style or vocabulary, only focusing my point of view more narrowly on the concerns of the young heroine.
So what have my readers taught me? First, I have to stress that my sample is pretty small. It consists only of those who have written reviews or contacted me directly. I wish there were a way to find out how more people respond to my books, but for now there isn’t. Here are the three things I have learned:
- Your ending will never please everyone. For every reader who says “I loved the ending! It made me cry!” there’s another one who says, “I loved everything about this book, except the ending.” If everything’s too neatly tied up, someone will comment on that. If you leave some things for the reader to fill in, someone else will find that annoying. The answer? Write the ending that works for you, and accept that it will create some controversy.
- Romance is a double-edged sword. In YA aimed at a primarily female audience, romance is (according to my publisher, and I believe them) essential. I thought, this time, by making a love triangle central to the plot of In the Shadow of the Lamp, I had hit the right balance. Wrong! I was shocked to see a review that actually said the romance spoiled an otherwise perfect book. Go figure.
- Just when you think you’ve figured something out, you discover you haven’t got a clue. This could be an observation about life in general, but I find it particularly applies to writing. If you think people want sequels and series, you find out they want something completely different. If you produce something completely different, readers clamor for a sequel or a series.
This may seem like a “you can’t win” post, but actually, I mean to free my fellow writers from the idea that you have to please your audience when you write. Don’t bother trying! Write the book you want to write. Ultimately, you are the one in control. You get to decide how your characters act, what matters to them, and how the story unfolds. Sometimes you’ll hit it just right—for some people. It’s a constant struggle. But isn’t it better than almost any other struggle you can think of?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Thanks so much for confirming that subjectivity is rampant in this business. You can’t please everyone, but you can please yourself. Thanks Susanne. Much continues success to you.
I’m coming off of a long telephone conference with my critique partner about the ending of my wip (consensus: needs more tying up of loose ends) and a morning conversation with my teen about her dissatisfaction with the ending of a popular YA book. As such, this post hit me just right!
Although I agree with the need to re-work my ending, I take great comfort in your words: “Write the ending that works for you, and accept that it will create some controversy.”
I think I’ll have that tattooed on my forehead as a persistent reminder.
It is great to hear that the goal isn’t to please the audience ;) That is something every writer must bear in mind.
So, so important to be reminded that we must write the story we need to tell. Early on, I was swayed too easily by what others said and received a chunk of rejections. A writers conference cleared my head and taught me how to filter through feedback. We must always stay connected to the core of our story, the one that comes from our hearts, when we examine outside input. Only then will we be able to chose what will help our story and what needs to be released.
I think particularly in YA, readers are more sensitive to endings, and character development in general. Something about being young, hopeful, and impressionable creates a unique vulnerability that can only be present in YA ages. At least, that’s my opinion as a reader. Growing up I must have read at least two YA books a day. Always series. I devoured them. My whole world hinged out what these characters were up to. And of course, I still read now and find plenty of books moving and personally insightful, but there was something special about my YA reading experiences that is simply different as an adult.
So yes, the goal isn’t to try and please your audience for the mere sake of it, but I think YA readers invest a lot of emotion and growth in what they read.
Haha, I think it IS a “you can’t win” post, but by the same token, you can’t lose if please yourself. Great reminder, thank you!
Great perspective on the whole writing process!
Thanks for sharing your observations, based on years of published experience in writing.
Thanks for this. It has helped me so much to have an older, wiser author friend share that our books aren’t for everyone. I think this can be applied to what you’ve said: our endings, romances, et al. aren’t going to resonate with all of our readers. And that’s okay.
It’s so true. I’ve read books that were National Bestsellers and hated them. There are lovers and haters for everything, and that doesn’t mean anything about our ability to write.
Realizing that you can’t please everyone was so liberating to me! I went through a point during revisions where I was getting conflicting feedback, and it made me realize that I needed to write a book I was happy with, first and foremost.
Thanks for a great reminder!
“Please yourself” is a very positive message for writers. Thanks for saying it. ; )
Endings have always been a challenge. I agree that readers rarely agree on what makes a great ending. Thanks for this freeing list!
Thanks for the great post! I find it most ironic when readers tell you something doesn’t work…you deny it…and then come to the startling revelations that…gulp, the reader was right!
And yes, this did happen to me with earlier drafts of my first book. The culprit? Why, the ending of course! Live and learn!
This is what I was going through with my fourth book (the third final one in a trilogy) – I was over-thinking it, worrying about how it would be perceived, if readers would like it – if they’d be happy with how I ended the trilogy, if this if that … etc etc etc – and the book was coming out stilted and all wrong. When I finally released all of that, when I went back to the roots of the writing (just make it interesting, Kathryn), everything and everyone else just fell away and the story began to come full force.
Great article! Thank WU and Suzanne!
Great interview! And so true, you can’t please everybody and a writer should always tell the story the way he/she feels. If you don’t, you risk losing yourself!
As to ending, well, it’s a matter of taste perhaps, as you point out, but it’s also a question of coherence: a well-structured book has only one possible ending. I remember the French best-selling writer Amélie Nothomb once provided TWO endings to one of her novels, and I can tell you that I, as a reader, was deeply annoyed! Sure, both endings were possible but which one did the author favour? I felt she had left me out in the lurch!
I second what Jocosa said – “filter through feedback”. We have to do it when we receive our scores back from contests as well as from critique partners. Not everyone is going to like what we write or the way we write it.