Shelly Hickman, Author
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That Four Letter Word - Fear

3/8/2015

16 Comments

 
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Aside from letting you in on book promotions, I don’t often use my blog to talk specifically about the writing or marketing process. In general, I usually just ramble on about life stuff. However, today I’m going to talk about writing. Actually, I'm going to talk about emotional attachment to your writing.

I have written four books and recently realized I’ve made consistent efforts to gain new readers for my last three, but I’ve pretty much ignored my first baby, and had to ask myself why. I’ve always reasoned that its genre is just too difficult to pinpoint, so who exactly is the market for my lonely little novella? Whenever you submit your book to a promotional site, you must provide its genre.

Believe is a story that deals with grief, spirituality, loss of faith, and forgiveness. I would say the strongest element is the spiritual aspect, but spirituality is often associated with religion. How many times have we heard someone say, “I consider myself spiritual, but not necessarily religious,” or something of that nature? If there wasn’t a close association between the two, why would someone feel the need to make such a statement?

So spiritual fiction and religious fiction are often lumped together, and the problem with that is many readers expect their religious fiction to follow very strict guidelines. Well, I’m telling you right now Believe has a few naughty words in it, so readers of religious fiction generally don’t appreciate that. I know because one reader said she was permanently removing the book from her Kindle because of the potty mouth language. (Okay, I’m making an assumption that she was expecting religious fiction—I don’t know that for a fact.) In any case, she was certainly entitled to those feelings.

But going back to genre placement, let’s scratch religious fiction, or even spiritual fiction because of its close association with religious fiction.

Then there’s women’s fiction or plain ol’ contemporary fiction, which I have used in the past for promotional purposes for lack of something more appropriate. However, contemporary fiction is so vague. And women’s fiction? It’s an okay choice for the story, but still not great.

By now you’re probably thinking, “Alright, enough already about the genres! We get it. You can’t figure out what your book is. Can we move on?”

So here’s the real truth about my reluctance about promoting this book. It has very little to do with the proper label and everything to do with its content and what it means to me. Every author has a certain amount of emotional attachment to each of her works, for varying reasons, but because this book was my way of working through the death of my daughter, I get very nervous about how it’s received by readers.

I’ll admit the writing wasn’t as polished as it hopefully is now. After all, it was my first work and as writers we all hope to improve our craft with each book. Not long after it was published, I ran a free promotion that resulted in several unfavorable reviews on Goodreads. After that, I was afraid to put it out there again.

All authors need to learn how to deal with negative feedback, especially first time authors, but because this book was so painfully personal, any criticism against the writing felt like invalidation—not only of my experience, but more importantly, my daughter’s. It’s quite ridiculous, really. It sounds like I’m saying the topic in and of itself should have exempted the book from judgment.

Subconsciously, that may have been what I thought, because as I went on to write my other books, I pretty much gave up on trying to put Believe in front of readers with any amount of oomph. I wanted people to read it, but at the same time I kinda didn’t. Low ratings and/or meh reviews of my other works weren't exactly fun, but they didn’t feel as personal. Not only do those stories have lighter themes, but with each book comes the acceptance that you won't please everyone.

I’m nearing the end of a three-day free run of Believe in which the number of downloads at the time of this writing is just over two thousand. And no, that doesn’t mean a whole lot because there are lots of people who download free books and never read them. Expecting fifty reads out of two thousand is being extremely optimistic. In any case, I do have a little bit of a sick feeling in my stomach, anticipating reader response. In a writing group I belong to, I once asked if anyone else still gets a little anxious when discovering a new review. A fellow author described it best when she said she does a little cringe with a one-eyed peek. Yep. Perfect depiction.

However, my skin has become a bit thicker since I first released Believe. There will inevitably be readers who won't like it, or it won't speak to them in any way, and that's okay. At the same time, occasionally that review comes in when it’s clear your reader just “got it.” They got exactly what it was you were trying to accomplish. 

And that, my friend, makes all the fear and apprehension worthwhile. :)



Thanks for reading! To return to the FICTION WRITERS BLOG HOP on Julie Valerie’s Book Blog, click here: http://www.julievalerie.com/fiction-writers-blog-hopapril-2015/

16 Comments
Patricia Mann link
3/11/2015 01:32:20 am

Shelly, I fell in love with you because of Believe (in a fellow-author/friend way, not to worry that I'll try to replace your hubby)! Anyone who doesn't get it and appreciate it is not worth a moment of your energy or thoughts. It changed me. It opened up a view of something I wasn't willing to consider because of my own fears. I loved the spirituality of it, the honesty of it, the messages and lessons. I'm glad you're still working to get it out there to more readers. Please keep doing that. A book like Believe needs to find it's readers so they can fall in love with it and with you the same way I did! 💜

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Shelly Hickman link
3/11/2015 04:07:07 am

Thank you, Patricia. Have I told you lately what an incredible ego booster you are? But seriously, I so appreciate the compliment. Love ya, my friend. ♥

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Tracy Krimmer link
4/28/2015 11:59:28 pm

Thank you for sharing your post. It's very inspiring!

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Shelly Hickman link
4/29/2015 03:28:27 am

Thanks for reading, Tracy. :)

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Brea Brown link
4/29/2015 12:21:48 am

Biggest win of the whole thing: you've grown so much as a writer and person that you can pinpoint why it's so hard for you to subject that book to criticism. Vulnerability is a scary--but rewarding--thing. Thank you for continuing to make yourself vulnerable and showing the rest of us how it's done.

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Shelly Hickman link
4/29/2015 03:32:32 am

Thank you, Brea! It can get kinda uncomfortable at times when our writing forces us to be a little more self-aware, eh? :)

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Julie Valerie @Julie_Valerie link
4/29/2015 03:00:54 am

Of all the blog posts I've read on your blog, I think this might be my favorite. It's so true, so honest - and vulnerable in a wonderful way. I wish you the very best with the downloads and any book promotions and reviews you may face in the future with this very special book. Don't you wish we could block book reviews for certain titles? Wouldn't it be great if we could flip a switch and say, "Sorry, folks. Not interested in book reviews for this title. It's too personal. If you want a glimpse of my life, I'll share it. But beyond that, I'm just not interested in feedback. The work stands on its own."

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Shelly Hickman link
4/29/2015 03:36:22 am

Haha! Sometimes I DO wish that, Julie. But I guess we'd also miss out on the occasional feedback from that reader who was really affected by the work. Do we HAVE to take the bad with the good? Do we? ;)

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Jayne Denker link
4/29/2015 08:31:22 am

Ah, Shelly, it's always so hard to share our writing when the subject is something so close to our hearts. You were very courageous to put your experiences and beliefs into words and then share your work with the world. Focus on the good review and never mind the bollocks!

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Shelly Hickman link
4/29/2015 11:13:35 am

Thank you, Jayne. Good advice for sure. :)

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Pauline Wiles link
4/29/2015 01:29:09 pm

Yes, definitely a one-eyed-peeking-cringe, and I can't imagine that ever changing.
What I can imagine, however, is that any twinges I feel must be amplified for you five times over if this story is both deeply personal and deeply painful. You've shown incredible bravery to publish the work to begin with, and I'd suggest you've already done the hardest part. I truly applaud your strength.

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Shelly Hickman link
4/29/2015 11:16:05 pm

Thank you, Pauline. ♥

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Sandie Docker link
4/30/2015 05:41:34 pm

I don't know how I'll cope with reviews if I ever get to that point. Writing is personal, all the time, and even more so if the subject matter is so connected to us like this one is for you. You are brave and who cares what anyone else thinks. From the comments above it's clear that Believe is wonderful, and the ladies above would know.

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Shelly Hickman link
5/1/2015 11:06:45 am

Thank you Sandie, and you're right. Writing is always personal. If it isn't, then it's probably not very good writing. :)

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Cinthia Ritchie link
4/30/2015 08:44:05 pm

Love that you didn't "believe" in Believe. Pretty ironic, no? But I get it about the fear. It's a horrible and ugly thing, But it's also a good thing, I think, because it means that we've written something real and true and honest, something close to our hearts and inner-selves. So good for you for putting yourself out there like that. It takes guts, and I love nothing more than a writer who writes with guts. Good luck, and I can't wait to read Believe.

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Shelly Hickman link
5/1/2015 11:08:56 am

That IS pretty ironic, eh Cinthia? Haha! But I like that notion--that the fear means we've written something real, true, and honest. Nicely said, and thanks joining the discussion. :)

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    Shelly Hickman

    Writing about the everyday, wishing to give you a smile in the end.

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