Back
to answering another from Karen
Jones’s blog post list:
Are you excited
about the idea of people reading your work…?
I
have always had “people” reading my writing, whether they were my teachers or
family members or friends. I know what Karen means, though. She means people I
never met and likely never will-- except as readers.
My
first published essay was in eighth grade. It was, as we used to say, a “heady
experience.” Many years later, I began blogging. The few strangers who
responded to my early posts quickly became on-line acquaintances.
But
the first review I got to my published novel, The
Voice of Thunder, brought people who were strangers to this day.
This, like my eighth-grade essay, was “heady”. I imagine that multi-published
writers who have wide readership have a more nonchalant feelings for the
experience of complete strangers reading what they wrote. We humans adjust to most
things that are not common and then become a new normal for us.
Few
in the human family, which numbers in the many billions, become so-called
famous. But for the famous (“celebrities,” how I dislike the word) it is just
what is. Fame itself feels undesirable an existence to me. For the famous who
don’t crash and burn, it is just the way it is.
So,
the answer to the question is two-pronged: I find a reaction to my writing from
a total stranger to quicken my heartbeats, but only for a bit, and then I
adjust and it is how it is, part of the package of writing for publication.
Excitement
is an ephemeral thing. It happens, and then it’s gone.
6 comments:
Well, stories are happiest when they are read and that joy extends to me. It's all about connecting with another. I have enjoyed blogging for that reason. But I also write a great deal just for myself...it's about clarifying my thinking, making sense of the world, knowing myself.
When we send our writing out into the world, we put ourselves on display. As a newspaper reporter, I had to deal with the possibility of the public disliking the subject matter or even disliking the way I wrote. But I also had the times people stopped me in the grocery store or other places to tell me how they loved my writing. That was glorious and made it all worthwhile.
Love,
Janie
Whenever I have received a letter or email or in- person comment about how my writing affected someone positively, I am thrilled. Knowing that my efforts make a difference is so satisfying. But, out of thousands of readers, only a few bother to communicate. I am always grateful when they do.
Actually, I'm happy when someone I don't know reads my work and likes it. And the same for when someone I do know likes my work. But some readers move me more than others: My favorite book I've ever written is The Carnival of the Animals, and a mother of a 9-year-old I know (I've kept in touch) says it's her daughter's favorite book and has been since she first read it as a 7-year old. That has been the most exciting feedback I've ever received.
Yes! I write because it makes me happy, but also to communicate something. When I get a response, I know I've connected with someone. One of my favourite responses was when an old friend, whom I didn't know was reading my blog, had sent me an email telling me that my dedication to my mother in my book had made her "teary."
I admittedly don't think about who is reading my books. Although it's nice when I read a review that a person has enjoyed the book!
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