THE Group for Authors! discussion

I hope everyone reading this is doing good. I'm a bit confused and am looking for suggestions/help.
So I recently published a book titled 'Awkward' and two of the readers contacted me ( I had mentioned my Instagram Id at the end of my book and they contacted me there). They said that there was this thing in particular (it had something to do with writing style) that kind of deteriorated their reading experience of my book. I personally had done it on purpose as I felt it was something..it just felt right, it just seemed to add so much to the book.
It is something that can be easily edited within 30-45 minutes and I'm confused. Should I go with what I feel about it and let it be as it is or should I consider those readers feedback and edit it ?

There's another thing that has left me confused.
I read the reviews of my book and some of those state that the book would be more suitable for a younger audience (teenagers) while some of them state that they are old and think that the book is suitable for readers of all ages, reading it made them happy and took them back to their younger days.
I didn't have any particular age range of readers in my mind while I was writing the book. I meant it to be an easy- breezy cute, fun read.
Now, I'm confused. What age range of readers should I target?

As with most things in writing, there really is no "should" or "shouldn't" because so much depends on you, your writing process, and your goals for your writing.

And welcome to the world of feedback, where advice is often contradictory and confusing. That's normal, I'm afraid, and again emphasizes that there is no such thing as one right answer.

In the case of the writing style and editing, two readers have taken the trouble to contact you. That means something, because people very rarely take the time. It sounds like you tried a technique and it isn't working ... for those readers. But is it working for others, and how do you feel about changing it? You might get all sorts of advice and recommendations one way or the other, but at the end of the day it's your name on the cover, not theirs.

As for age range, again, are you trying to target a particular age range, or was it your intention to be broader? Again, there is no "should"! It's your choice.

One thing I would mention (because this feedback is coming in post-publication which implies you've not had it independently edited or critiqued before publishing) - if you're serious about your art, then having independent feedback before you publish is invaluable. A good critique group should have brought up these kinds of questions in advance, and allowed you to make your decisions before releasing your work into the wider world.

Ian wrote: "As with most things in writing, there really is no "should" or "shouldn't" because so much depends on you, your writing process, and your goals for your writing.

And welcome to the world of feedba..."
Thank you for taking your time out to reply.
It is working for other readers but the fact that two 2 readers took out their time to specially tell me that is really bothering me and has left me confused.
I don't want to change it but after those messages I'm having second thoughts. I don't know....
You are right, I didn't have my book edited professionally(I'm a student, couldn't afford it) but I did have it critiqued. One out of thirty readers pointed it out at that time and I asked other readers if I should make changes and they suggested against it.
But now, after I've received those 2 messages, I really don't know what to do anymore.
As for age range I don't think I was trying to target a particular age range but the reviews have really left me confused now.

As Ian said above, welcome to the world of feedback!

You had the foresight for independent advice prior to publishing and after receiving a single feedback about a style point went with your gut. This is OK. If you know why you wrote it a certain way, and it is essential to your story or what you are trying to convey, then the view of two readers out of however many is statistics.

Don't change things on a whim - if the advice these readers have given you makes sense, then draw from it. Is there value? Have they explained their standing clearly, in-depth and objectively (as far as possible)?

Or is it just they don't like the way you've written something (or don't know why you wrote it a certain way) and maybe feel as if they can tell you to change it to suit their preferences?

I would suggest analysing from all angles first, but also looking not at how you structured something, but perhaps whether it is obvious why you structured something a certain way. I don't mean a big blaring banner, but more in your overall style or tone, or insinuation in your story.

I haven't read your book so I can't be much more specific, but perhaps look at it like this. How many people have read it? How many people have commented directly to you? They may feel strongly about this, but why they felt the need to comment directly to you could indicate many things, and the fact they did may disproportionately weigh their opinion against your instinct (and the majority of readers) or the vast majority of your readers.

As for target audience, plenty of books get mis-genred for subjective reasons so I wouldn't worry too much. People can have their opinions.

I would suggest, though, reading back through it if you haven't for a while (a few months or longer) as it will give you a bit more objective clarity and you might (or might not) see things differently. If you still feel it's how you want it, don't change it.

In the end, you must take the credit regardless of what you decide to do to your work, no matter the opinions of others, and no matter if you follow the advice or not.

No, no, no, don't change anything. Your first readers, 29 of them said they like it, only 1 said to change it. You're doing an author thing, listening to the wee minority when the vast majority likes what is there. It's been out a month and has 59 reviews on GR. It's doing really really good.

PS - We need humor. In the time of Covid-19 when the world is melting down, yes, we need humor.

Thank you Ian, Jessica and M.L for the advice.
I’m not going to make any changes. I’ll pick up and re read my book after a month or so and see what I feel about it then.
Once again thank you :)