Needing an audience

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I have two people I send my novel to after I complete a chapter. They are very patient with me- some weeks they may get ten thousand words, and other weeks nothing. They will email and ask for a little more, and give feedback along the way.

One of them is a heavy reader. he says the narrative fills his head when he reads alot of it, that it gets carried with him when he is talking to clients. Instead of answering them,he says the narrator of my story wants to speak her mind, and he can’t stop her voice interacting with the people around him.

The other person is in the industry, and I trust his professional feedback. It helps knowing I am sending it to someone who can critique and ask questions. He may notice any large gaping holes in my story.

But really both of them are just my audience. I have worked out why I have loved to write non fiction. Non fiction is a done deal. You have an idea, you write a book proposal, you get the contract, then you write. You know (unless you do a god awful job) that you have a definite audience.

Fiction is harder. Far more introspective. It’s a risk. You could write and write your thousands of words, and none of it will ever see the light of day. No one may ever cradle a bound copy of your words, and turn the pages wanting to know what happens next.

Those men I share my book with feel lucky they get to. I think they have no idea how lucky I am to have an audience. If this book never gets published, someone, two bodies, have read it. It makes it worth it somehow.

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Filed under book, novel, reading, writing process

Tags: audience, novel, performance, publishing, writing, writing process