So, I've been thinking. Yes, this is a dangerous pastime indeed!
I have made several writer/author friends via Twitter — which is exciting because everyone's really amazingly supportive and I've made some good 'close' friends even though we mainly keep in contact through tweets. But this has made me think, as I continue to read a book that I've been meaning to read for a while and just haven't had the chance. Of course, this writer isn't my friend (she's a bestselling author — you know, one with books that B&N makes an entire end-cap out of), though she is among my favorites, and I do follow her on Twitter ... but I digress ...
My dilemma is that I'm not really liking what I'm reading right now. Of course, I could get sucked in at any moment and the entire novel could end up being quite lovely. But overall, not my favorite. That happens, I know.
BUT, what happens when I read the hard work of someone whom I do consider a friend and have been corresponding with , and I don't like it?! It hasn't happened to me yet, thank God. I haven't read any of my published friends' works for a few reasons and this dilemma is among them. If I read, and they will know I'm reading, they're going to want to know what I think. Then I get worried I won't think too highly of it and, even in my nicest most constructive form of criticism (which I still hate to give), make them upset/angry with me for not particularly caring for it.
So, what gives? What do ya' do?
My plan of action, should this occur, is be as nice and professional and as constructive as possible — besides, just because it's not my cup of tea doesn't mean that it's not the next bestseller or another person's soon-to-be favorite — and let the chips fall where they may.
What experiences has everyone had with this sort of thing? Good one, bad ones, some as big as your head ...
Wait, wrong train of thought ...
This is a question I asked myself as well. At first, I thought, "Maybe I shouldn't read my friends' published work because what if I don't like it?" But if I avoid my friends' work for fear of hating it (and having my image of them as brilliant artists shattered), I will inevitably prevent myself from discovering not only the bad work, but also the good. And I don't want to miss out on the good.
ReplyDeleteSo my solution is to only read the books that sound interesting to me or that are in my genre(s) of choice. I won't tell the author I've read his/her book unless I love it enough to have something supportive to say. I've yet to have an author friend ask if I've read his/her book, and I doubt I will because that'd be unprofessional.
I liked the responses from your facebook friends, though they sounded more like responses about how to treat others in a critique group than how to handle the -published- writing of other authors. I think the two should be handled differently.
Published authors don't need your critique on their already published work - they can't fix it now (unless it's self-publishing, in which case, they can go in and make changes - but even then, the authors would probably only want to correct grammar, not re-write the novel).
Critique partners, however, have asked you for constructive criticism. Constructive as in point out what needs to be changed (or what you didn't like), and if possible, offer a reason why and an example of how you might go about fixing it. Same for the positive reviews, I try to explain which parts I liked. A review of "The book was amazing!" all by itself is no more helpful than, "The book sucked."
I've done this myself when critiquing others' work (pointed out what I felt was missing, why, and how I might change it). The first time I did a critique this way, I worried the author might feel I was being too harsh, but instead I was met with a reaction of overwhelming gratitude. I've had the same reaction with author authors. Sure, some might not take critique so well, but a serious author wants to know where the holes are, so he/she can patch them.
If the novel is one in a genre you don't like, I'd say, tell the person you won't make a good critique partner because you don't like the genre.