Originally Posted by gmw
Sure, there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to be (or naturally being) different. It may work. It may help you to stand out ... or it may help you get ignored. Time will tell, and this stuff can take a long time.
Agreed. Time will tell whether it works or whether it is a fail. But, I'm willing to put myself out there and take the risk, and if it fails, perhaps the next time I try to write something the style will be more refined and even better than it is now.
Understand that I am not trying to suggest you should have changed anything at all about what you have written, I am just pointing out that being different can be another hurdle in the path of getting people to pick up your book.
Again, agreed. This novella could be a fail, I'm not going to stick my head in the sand about that possibility.
The opening chapters of my first novel have been described, quite bluntly, as "depressing". In some respects this is flattering, it's supposed to be (though, I hope, not so depressing they won't read on). But, since the early chapters are what people get to see in a preview online, this is not ideal situation for enticing new readers. I knew this when I published and I accept that some potential readers are probably going to be put off by how the story opens.
I feel the exact same way about the opening of my novella too. But, like you, I just had to accept that not everyone will like it and want to buy it. But, also like you, I'm fine with it.
It's always impressive to see such confidence in a writer (it's not something that comes naturally to me), and I'm not trying to put a dent in that - just a modicum of reality. Unless you have researched my reading preferences you don't know what sort of things I read and enjoy, so you have no reason to assume I will enjoy it. I am not aware of any book that is universally liked, so it doesn't seem likely that yours will be the first. (I am also one of those people put off by what I interpret as high pressure sales tactics, so phrases like "I challenge you" tend not to have the desired effect.)
I just assumed since you put so much effort into the replies on this thread that you definitely seemed interested in the novella, so I thought that it would be natural that you would want to read it, since you put so much time into writing about it. Trust me, I don't expect the novella to be universally liked. If it was universally liked, then it wouldn't be a good story, imo.
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