Grasping the thistle

Baring their soul in the form of writing and then publishing a book is something that leaves many people paralysed by fear. Many of the writers we have encountered at Indie Authors Scotland have a certain reluctance to take that next step and publish their book. However, that's not how it needs to be and now is as good a time as any to do something about it.

I think there are two reasons that people hesitate to grasp the thistle and publish work that may have taken them many years to write. The first is a search for perfection, the never-ending quest to ensure that every word, sentence and punctuation mark is unquestionably correct. In a recent interview on the BBC, Ian Rankin claimed that he had often had the perfect idea but had never written the perfect book. The reason for that is there is no such thing, even for someone as skilled and successful as my fellow countryman. A writer’s harshest critic is him/herself and as a result any book one writes will never be perfect. If you have spent a large chunk of your life writing your novel there comes a point where you have to say to yourself ‘I have written the best book I can and it’s time to let the world read it.'

The second reason that people hesitate to unleash their work on readers is they are scared of peer review. The simple truth is that there has never been a book that everyone on the planet loves. People have different tastes and therefore what is a thrilling story to one person can be judged a complete bore by another. It’s what makes reading such a pleasure; that every person reads their own version of a book. During our training we try to emphasise the idea that if someone doesn’t like your book it’s not the end of the world. Human beings have a tendency to see the negatives, so someone who has had a number of good reviews will be devastated by and fret about the first bad one. People who can’t write a constructive criticism are simply not worth giving the time of day to. (I don’t understand the need to slate someone, particularly if you have paid less than a price of a cup of coffee for the book.) You can learn from thoughtful comments, as I have done from the people who make good observations in my reviews but I ignore those from people whose only purpose in life is to be as negative as possible. If every review you get is one star then maybe writing isn’t for you but almost everyone who has a passion for writing will find people who like what they do. Write for them and you will enjoy your writing and publishing experience.

If you have a finished manuscript or you are getting close to finishing, come over to the Indie Authors Scotland website and learn more about your options. It’s time to throw off your fears and grasp the thistle.