Hey, neversparks. I see what you're saying, but I think you're getting the same misunderstanding that the other 'critics' got. I never claimed my first novel was fantastic and should have been a best seller. I stated my frustration over my friends not knowing what's supportive to a writer with the example of my book. The length it took was to show that the people close to me should appreciate the effort enough to look at it, something I wouldn't expect from regular readers. Also, I didn't mention this above, but they were the ones to instill that expectation in me. The authors mentioned and the statements over weaving verses punching and dawn verses ...uh...rap? ...is a statement on style. There's no point in telling an author to switch their style because it doesn't please everyone. It never will, and you can see below, it pleases many. It's not pretentious, it's about the very frustration all artists go through. If you didn't expect to succeed, it's still no easier to see yourself fail. The work wasn't a cry for help. I know what works as much as the next author, I just chose a path less traveled. And it's still beautiful nonetheless. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the first bit of my book. I never expected to draw in %100 of readers, and it certainly sounds from your stopping point you weren't expecting it to be high fantasy. You might try reading it for fun as opposed to actively looking to form an opinion. You might find the journey-so to speak-is a bit more interesting that way.
Beautiful art that took seven years to perfect. Beautiful art that sold less than 100 copies. That brought me enough money to fill my tank. Once. Also, I wasn't so much suggesting that you change your style, rather that you shouldn't adhere to strongly to your current style because styles tend to develop as we write more. (I wasn't in any way suggesting that you should have punches. It's a novel, not a rap or a speech.) Which is why I brought up the time. I think it's better to write more than it is to keep editing and working on something we've already written. I think it's good to set something down for a little while and let it marinate before working on it again, when you can approach it more objectively and you're not as stuck on certain ideas that you had. Of course, you're free to think differently. I think I was just trying to say that you should keep writing, be open to what everyone says, always look for ways to improve, and don't place too many expectations on what you make. If you don't expect your work to be the best, then you haven't failed yet - it's still a work-in-progress.I wrote hard, and I created beautiful art.
This was sort of what I was referring to, mostly. I just felt like your expectations for you first book might've been a bit high.