|
The
contribution of my editor was absolutely vital. I took about
15 months to write the book, and in that time I was cocooned
away from the outside world, mono-focused on the challenge
facing me. It was my editor who first gave me her objective
review of my efforts, telling me never to forget two all
important things: do not over-extol your subject, turning
him into a sanctified figure; and always remember, as you
are tapping away on the word-processor, it is all highly
interesting to you but, Will it interest your reader?
Never forget your reader.
From
my own experiences, and as a word of advice to any aspiring authors,
I would think it is vital to get as many outside objective opinions
of your work as possible. It is easy to become totally embroiled
in your own work without any input from a third party.
Many
would-be writers sought the opinions of my father, of course, and
his stock reply was always ‘Keep writing!’ This was said
from the heart as he experienced almost a decade of rejections and
disappointments before he finally made the breakthrough into the
world of the published author.
His
story was one of determination and belief that his work was good
enough to reach to top. There is a lesson to be learned here, that
there will be disappointments and criticisms along the way, but
if the aspiring writer has not got that faith in their ability to
deliver the goods, they may as well ‘pack it all in’ and
try something else.
With
my own work, I have received generally very good reviews; some better
that others, of course! But the response from the general reader
has been a different picture; they have been universally very positive
about my book.
This
pleases me, as this is the class of reader towards whom my book
is directed. It must not be forgotten that, in his early days, there
were some who criticised James Herriot’s writing as lightweight
and of little real consequence. In this respect, he was actually
very clever, as he wrote his books with the aim of entertaining
his readers, endeavouring to make them as readable as possible without
the use of complicated and confusing words. His books are simply
very, very easy to read and it is here wherein lies much of his
success as an author. I am always aware that the average reader
is not a critic or an intellectual. They do not want a challenging
read, they want an entertaining one. 
|
