Reflecting on My First Book
I began writing what became known as Interviewing Immortality in March 2016 and published this book with Amazon in May 2017. The reviews have generally been positive, and people have encouraged me to continue. Yay!
I thought pondering my accomplishment would be fun, and so, if you have not purchased this well-written novel, I will summarize: James, a less-than-perfect author, is captured and forced to undergo a bizarre medical procedure that will extend his life. He then interviewed his 500-year-old female captor.
The main negative feedback revolves around the torture scene. When I wrote the story, I set that scene at a modestly frightening tone and kept the gore to a minimum. The impact came from describing the feelings instead of a graphical description. At the time, I felt the result was mild compared to horror plots but many readers still claimed it was too gory. My only consolidation to these offended readers is, “Umm, the world is tough. I’m the least of your worries.”
The other negative feedback was that I had “redundant” characters but never understood what this meant. My only thought is that this might refer to my writing tick of repeating myself. Fortunately, this happens less often, less often with later works.
A recent reviewer did like the story’s conclusion and felt it needed more closure. I intended to leave the story open because not all stories have a perfect ending. Also, that is what the next book (now on sale) is for. Yet, I conclude that I could have made a better ending.
Another concern from readers is that the story has been done. “An author is forced to write a book. How unimaginative.” They compare my story to the novel Misery by Steven King. I can’t entirely agree. Misery is a kidnapping horror story, and mine explores a fantastic woman’s life from the perspective of a disgraced author.
This highlights a common problem. Let’s say I want to write a western. My story is about a cowboy bringing home the herd. That has only been done a thousand times. So, when I wanted to write about an immortal woman, there were only so many plots to choose from. I avoided the vampire angle or the famous person trap. Having her/paying somebody to tell the story seemed lame. So, the only option was forcing somebody to record her story. I still think it is a good angle, but there is the famous book/TV/movie Interview with the Vampire. I have not read/watched it, but I imagine there are many similarities.
Also, let us not forget that many people feel Star Wars is based on the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. When Harold Ramis wrote the movie Ghostbusters, he was unaware of the unpopular show “Ghost Busters.” Or did he secretly use that miserable mess as inspiration? Who knows?
I thought marketing would be easy. After all, it is in Amazon’s best interest to promote new authors. Upload a book, and everybody will buy it. Bam! Done! It turns out that Amazon required me to market my work, which requires natural ability, experience, research, effort, connections, and luck. I possess ten percent of this requirement, and my dismal sales are the proof. Bummer.
On the positive side of my writing experience, I received many touching reviews and messages from readers. Each one made me feel wonderful, and I reread them many times. Thanks!
Another positive is that my writing ability has improved, allowing me to reflect on the quality of my original work. Yeah… There were many issues, and in July 2023, I released a second edition. It was a significant revision…
From a high-level point of view, I feel my original work still contains a good story. Why? The main characters are perfectly contrasting. One is a low-life author who cannot be honest with himself, and the other is a fantastic paranoid psychotic killer with unlimited resources. Even after all this time, I still find their interaction interesting. I wonder how I came up with such a creative combination?
Publishing my first book still fills me with pride. Sure, it has issues, but that is not the point. Many people talk about a big game, but only a few are brave enough to publish. Sometimes, we take a leap and land somewhere extraordinary. For me, that turned out to be writing.
You’re the best -Bill
June 26 2019 Updated May 25, 2024
I thought pondering my accomplishment would be fun, and so, if you have not purchased this well-written novel, I will summarize: James, a less-than-perfect author, is captured and forced to undergo a bizarre medical procedure that will extend his life. He then interviewed his 500-year-old female captor.
The main negative feedback revolves around the torture scene. When I wrote the story, I set that scene at a modestly frightening tone and kept the gore to a minimum. The impact came from describing the feelings instead of a graphical description. At the time, I felt the result was mild compared to horror plots but many readers still claimed it was too gory. My only consolidation to these offended readers is, “Umm, the world is tough. I’m the least of your worries.”
The other negative feedback was that I had “redundant” characters but never understood what this meant. My only thought is that this might refer to my writing tick of repeating myself. Fortunately, this happens less often, less often with later works.
A recent reviewer did like the story’s conclusion and felt it needed more closure. I intended to leave the story open because not all stories have a perfect ending. Also, that is what the next book (now on sale) is for. Yet, I conclude that I could have made a better ending.
Another concern from readers is that the story has been done. “An author is forced to write a book. How unimaginative.” They compare my story to the novel Misery by Steven King. I can’t entirely agree. Misery is a kidnapping horror story, and mine explores a fantastic woman’s life from the perspective of a disgraced author.
This highlights a common problem. Let’s say I want to write a western. My story is about a cowboy bringing home the herd. That has only been done a thousand times. So, when I wanted to write about an immortal woman, there were only so many plots to choose from. I avoided the vampire angle or the famous person trap. Having her/paying somebody to tell the story seemed lame. So, the only option was forcing somebody to record her story. I still think it is a good angle, but there is the famous book/TV/movie Interview with the Vampire. I have not read/watched it, but I imagine there are many similarities.
Also, let us not forget that many people feel Star Wars is based on the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. When Harold Ramis wrote the movie Ghostbusters, he was unaware of the unpopular show “Ghost Busters.” Or did he secretly use that miserable mess as inspiration? Who knows?
I thought marketing would be easy. After all, it is in Amazon’s best interest to promote new authors. Upload a book, and everybody will buy it. Bam! Done! It turns out that Amazon required me to market my work, which requires natural ability, experience, research, effort, connections, and luck. I possess ten percent of this requirement, and my dismal sales are the proof. Bummer.
On the positive side of my writing experience, I received many touching reviews and messages from readers. Each one made me feel wonderful, and I reread them many times. Thanks!
Another positive is that my writing ability has improved, allowing me to reflect on the quality of my original work. Yeah… There were many issues, and in July 2023, I released a second edition. It was a significant revision…
From a high-level point of view, I feel my original work still contains a good story. Why? The main characters are perfectly contrasting. One is a low-life author who cannot be honest with himself, and the other is a fantastic paranoid psychotic killer with unlimited resources. Even after all this time, I still find their interaction interesting. I wonder how I came up with such a creative combination?
Publishing my first book still fills me with pride. Sure, it has issues, but that is not the point. Many people talk about a big game, but only a few are brave enough to publish. Sometimes, we take a leap and land somewhere extraordinary. For me, that turned out to be writing.
You’re the best -Bill
June 26 2019 Updated May 25, 2024
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