Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, plot twist!

I’m the author. My friends have given polite, vague congratulations, minus one who told me who awful the book is.

Was just curious if the rest were lying, and it seems like they were. Pretty depressed now.

I'm an author too. The likeliest thing is they didn't read it. Publishing a book made me realize how few of my friends read at all.

Yeah, I am a reader, but don’t have time/energy to read something that isn’t in my interest. So even if a friend wrote it, it’s no guarantee I would read it, much less offer valuable or accurate feedback!

Good luck!!

+1 and I think it's highly likely that they polite friends never read the book.

Are you a friend of Prince Harry's?!?!

OP I'm a writer and I've never told another writer their work is terrible nor would I expect anyone to say that to me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, plot twist!

I’m the author. My friends have given polite, vague congratulations, minus one who told me who awful the book is.

Was just curious if the rest were lying, and it seems like they were. Pretty depressed now.

I'm an author too. The likeliest thing is they didn't read it. Publishing a book made me realize how few of my friends read at all.

Yeah, I am a reader, but don’t have time/energy to read something that isn’t in my interest. So even if a friend wrote it, it’s no guarantee I would read it, much less offer valuable or accurate feedback!

Good luck!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, her friends are not “dicks.” Writing is an art and not everyone is good at writing—not everyone can pull off a good novel.

If I took it upon myself to create paintings in the style of Monet, I could get all the expensive tools and pour my soul into it and work very hard at it, but that doesn’t mean the result would be worthy of hanging on someone’s wall. My friends could applaud the effort and the time I spent on it, but if they told me it was beautiful, it would be a lie.

At least with a novel, they can read it, mutter some compliments, and move on. With crafts or cooking, friends can get stuck with awful “art” in more permanent or harmful ways. I have a friend who likes to make jewelry. It’s ugly.

Yes, her friends are d*cks. It's not their job to be literary critics. It's their job to be supportive of and excited for the friend. That is normal. It's not normal to decide that sure this big publisher thought the book was great bit you know better nad you're going to tell your friend that her book actually stinks.

Writers have enough inner voices - and, frankly, enough outer voices - telling them they're frauds, they're no good, etc. Just look at Goodreads sometime if you want to really feel awful about your work. Friends should just cheer you on. They don't have to be one-person publicity machines who goes around telling everyone they know to buy your book - though it's nice if they do. But yeah, the last thing they should be doing is telling a writer that their already published book is full of plot holes. There is just not one single useful thing that comes out of doing that/

Also, what a strange comparison - who cares if you paint in the style of Monet. If you do I hope you enjoy it and it comes out well. But let's say that a museum puts up an exhibition of your paintings. Your friends' job would be to come and say that they are proud of you - it's not to come and remark how your paintings stink, and the exhibition is incoherent. What would even be the point of that?

OP isn't asking her friends to tattoo her novel onto their backs. Just to say, "You did great! Your novel is out! It's so exciting!" Really good friends would leave a good review on Amazon and Goodreads, regardless of what they actually think. But even the most mediocre friend shouldn't go and leave a BAD review, or give that bad review to OP. It's not constructive, it's sh**ty.

The friends displaying inadequate enthusiasm, as opposed to saying they hated it, is slightly different. It's still not nice but I think most people don't really understand how hard it is to write a book and get it published. They may think their kid's school play is just as big an accomplishment or something.

OP - I wonder how much of this is you projecting your inner critic onto your friends, too. Did your friends actually say that the book has plot holes, or are you just sitting here, post-publication, thinking about all the plot holes you wish you and your editor had caught and fixed?

Anonymous wrote:No, her friends are not “dicks.” Writing is an art and not everyone is good at writing—not everyone can pull off a good novel.

If I took it upon myself to create paintings in the style of Monet, I could get all the expensive tools and pour my soul into it and work very hard at it, but that doesn’t mean the result would be worthy of hanging on someone’s wall. My friends could applaud the effort and the time I spent on it, but if they told me it was beautiful, it would be a lie.

At least with a novel, they can read it, mutter some compliments, and move on. With crafts or cooking, friends can get stuck with awful “art” in more permanent or harmful ways. I have a friend who likes to make jewelry. It’s ugly.

Yes, her friends are d*cks. It's not their job to be literary critics. It's their job to be supportive of and excited for the friend. That is normal. It's not normal to decide that sure this big publisher thought the book was great bit you know better nad you're going to tell your friend that her book actually stinks.

Writers have enough inner voices - and, frankly, enough outer voices - telling them they're frauds, they're no good, etc. Just look at Goodreads sometime if you want to really feel awful about your work. Friends should just cheer you on. They don't have to be one-person publicity machines who goes around telling everyone they know to buy your book - though it's nice if they do. But yeah, the last thing they should be doing is telling a writer that their already published book is full of plot holes. There is just not one single useful thing that comes out of doing that/

Your friends aren’t your readers, and that’s okay. Your readers will self-identify. You need to be proud of your book. That’s what is important. If you really did have plot holes and errors, what can you do differently? In many ways it’s just a job, so not many people have work that is gushed over. Further, there are plenty of books that I think are good, but I wouldn’t gush over.

Chin up, OP. You put yourself out there, which is always a risk. But worth it.

No, her friends are not “dicks.” Writing is an art and not everyone is good at writing—not everyone can pull off a good novel.

If I took it upon myself to create paintings in the style of Monet, I could get all the expensive tools and pour my soul into it and work very hard at it, but that doesn’t mean the result would be worthy of hanging on someone’s wall. My friends could applaud the effort and the time I spent on it, but if they told me it was beautiful, it would be a lie.

At least with a novel, they can read it, mutter some compliments, and move on. With crafts or cooking, friends can get stuck with awful “art” in more permanent or harmful ways. I have a friend who likes to make jewelry. It’s ugly.

Anonymous wrote:I learned from art school critiques that there's always something positive that you can say.

"Interesting character development," "unexpected plot twist," "it takes a lot of discipline and commitment to finish a book" are all neutral comments.

We used to follow the neutral comments with actual usable criticism but you don't have to.

+1. Find something positive to say about it. I would not tell a friend (or any author!) that there their book is terrible.

Anonymous wrote:So, plot twist!

I’m the author. My friends have given polite, vague congratulations, minus one who told me who awful the book is.

Was just curious if the rest were lying, and it seems like they were. Pretty depressed now.

First of all, congratulatilns!

Second, your friends are d*cks.

Third, I think it's really normal to feel like you are after publication. There's so much excitement building up to publication - then the book is out. And now what. For some people, there's the excitement of putting out a runaway success (or even a mild success). And for many of us it's some small moments of exhilaration and a lot of feeling like, huh, I thought it would be bigger. Instead of feeling like a great success, you feel like a failure - now you're not on the bestseller list, your friends aren't gushing over you constantly, strangers aren't stopping you on the street, no major movie company optioned you, no publisher is begging you for your next book. It's a lot of work, a lot of buildup - and then a lot of quiet.

I hope you're having some moments of joy and excitement in this. It really is a big deal to get a book published. Your friends may not know that you need some gushing right now - but tell someone you trust that you do. A spouse, a parent, a best friend - someone who will take you out and tell you how great you are and how proud they are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it published yet? Then tell them something you liked.

Unpublished? Offer constructive feedback

There is no such thing as constructive criticism or feedback. It is better to hear criticism from you than literary agent. Be gentle but tell her.

No it's not. It's better to hear it from a literary agent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like movies I find books to be very subjective. There are books (and movies) that I really hated, but many others liked and vice versa.

So you saying her book is awful - which is an objective statement- isn't fair.

It's poorly edited, lots of typos, a few glaring plot holes, some consistency issues. Yes, it's published by one of the Big 5 (or 4 or 3 or whatever they're done to now). I was honestly surprised at the quality.

Were editors not involved??

Honestly, it seems like they weren't. I know that's not the case, though.

Ok then you need to consider if this is a “you” problem. Many people like you believe they understand grammar and have reading comprehension abilities and really don’t 🤷‍♀️

No, but I try not to shower false praise on them either. Find one thing I like and compliment that. I try not to be Liz Lemon complimenting Jenna's acting, though. Lol. "Your lighting was soooo...good!"

Anonymous wrote:So, plot twist!

I’m the author. My friends have given polite, vague congratulations, minus one who told me who awful the book is.

Was just curious if the rest were lying, and it seems like they were. Pretty depressed now.

Not all books are for everybody and even if they are right, do you know how many badly edited books with plot holes I genuinely enjoy? Lots!

No.