Sometimes as a writer you have a story written in your head and you forget that readers are not psychic and therefore can’t read your thoughts. This was the case with my latest release Envy. Usually, I run the finished manuscript pass my younger sister and she tells me what works and what doesn’t. We don’t always agree on all aspects of the story, but she is usually able to pinpoints areas when my writing is not clear or simple errors e.g. when I’ve used the wrong character’s name.
We have both been busy recently, so I published Envy without her input. This weekend she was finally able to read it and basically told me that the story didn’t convince her. She liked the concept but thought the execution was poor. Another friend also liked the story but pointed out areas where it could be improved. The story got 2 three-star reviews on Goodreads, which is quite generous now when I look at the story with fresh eyes.
All writers love 5-star reviews and I’m no exception, but I have found that my biggest growth as a writer has come from less flattering, honest reviews. I’m going to re-work the story and I hope that anyone who bought the Kindle eBook previously will take the time to download the new version and let me know if the new version is an improvement. In the meanwhile, feel free to download a PDF copy of the old version from my website and let me know what you think. I will take all comments into consideration because my role as a writer is to entertain readers, to transport them to another world while they read my books.
I appreciate feedback, good and bad, thanks.
