One of the reasons why I stuck to writing short stories for as long as I have is that it allows me to make mistakes that aren’t going to be as costly as they would in longer formats. I am completely comfortable with the fact that not everyone likes all of my works and, when writing in a field where the books elicit such a physical reaction from the readers, the risk associated with a book that misses the mark is much greater.
The lesson I’ve taken away from a couple of my flatter releases is that I should be listening to my gut more. There’s a little nagging feeling that has accompanied some of my releases which I should have been paying more attention to. Even when I’ve reworked the manuscript, there’s still a certain “Xavierness” about it that’s missing. Without that “Xavierness” the book isn’t going to work. It might be well written, good character development and all that, but without that spark of “Xavierness” it’s never going to achieve what I want it to.
Perhaps it’s something I should be picking up more in editing or proofing, or perhaps it’s a sign that there are some manuscripts that are only ever destined for a “morgue file”.
I’m not bemoaning the fact that I sometimes write tripe, because there are some readers out there who have absolutely loved my terrible books. I admit that there are some books I’ve purchased which are terrible, terrible books, but which I’ve loved with a guilty pleasure.
Writing is a process of continual improvement and, while it’s possible that having an army of editors, agents and publishers behind an author will help mitigate the risk of the misses making it to the shelves, I can only do what I can to apply the lessons from my misses and try to ensure the next release doesn’t repeat them.