I’m a writer. I’m also an avid reader. I love getting lost in a good book that takes me to a quiet place. There, life’s distractions cease to exist for a little while.
When I started The Imperfect Series, I pledged to give my readers a similar haven, somewhere they too could escape. Recently, I realize how imperfect was the promise I’d made.
While working on the fifth and final book of the series, I revisited the first book for information. I wanted to use a phrase, one I thought I might have already used. Since repetition is one of the many sins the writing authorities abhor, I picked up my paperback copy and thumbed through the first chapter. Hours and hours later, after reading Imperfect Wings cover-to-cover, imagine my surprise when I closed the book and marveled, “Did I really write this?”
I liked it. No, I loved it! That was my epiphany moment.
I realized I had never read any of my own stories for the sheer pleasure of enjoying a good book. I had gotten so wrapped up in the mechanics of writing (outline, structure, plot, characters, edits, polishing, marketing) that I couldn’t see the story for the chapters, scenes, paragraphs, and words. I’d depended on outside influences—critique partners, resources, beta readers, editors, and my publisher—to validate my work. No wonder I battle doubts with every new release. I hadn’t read my own stories as a reader to see if they passed my own discriminating standards as a reader!
Advice to authors: Take time to enjoy your work. Give yourself time and space away from your story, and then sit down and read your story as a connoisseur of good books, not with a critical eye—because any writer will tell you the “fixing” never ends.
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