When you write a book, I’ve always felt you should write it for yourself and not try to satisfy an audience. Obviously, this means you won’t satisfy every reader, but you never will anyway.
What reminded me of this was the review you can read if you click on the book cover below. I should say that the review is very positive, even suggesting the reviewer would like to read more. There are some doubts expressed, but these suggest she was engaged with the story – if she wasn’t, she’d have given up. What interested me here was that those doubts were about things other recent reviewers have considered to be strengths.
There’s a section of Ravens Gathering that I deliberately wrote in a particular way. Some readers love its deviousness, others have been confused by it. My own intention was for a completely different reaction but, as readers, we all bring our own experiences and preferences to a book, so I can’t force you to see it the way I intended. There is a part of me that wants to please people, and it has been tempted at times to go back and remove that section altogether. But reading the range of reviews I’ve seen recently has only confirmed for me that such a change would make no real difference. Different people might be happier, but that would be balanced out by those who wouldn’t like the revision. So I’ll keep doing what I’m doing – because it’ll make me happy!
As with any review, I am delighted to receive it, and grateful for the time taken to both read the book and then present thoughts on it. I hope you’ll get something from it too when you read it.
For more detail about the book, and links to buy it, click here.