After my first book was put out there, I talked to people I met in everyday life and they would say things like, ‘I loved your book, I wanted to slap the girl around the face a few times, but she got there in the end.’ After a few different people had said pretty much the same thing, I got the message and when I re-edited for HarperImpulse, I took out a few of her woossier lines and beefed her up just a little bit. Nothing that changed her from what I wanted her to be, just chipping away at the edges.
After my second book released, I had a very mixed reaction. Most of the feedback I got was very positive (who knows, what was said behind my back?!) but I know some that found it too much, feeling exhausted by the end and so I kept this in mind when writing book three.
What I’m saying is, for those of you who like to interact with your writers - and Lord knows, we are grateful for that! - negative comments aren’t always to be tip-toed around. A positive review can have negative pointers, just as a negative review can have some lighter notes. Rants tend to upset your writer and he/she will slink off under their duvet for a couple of days to recover and lick their wounds, but kindly meant criticism, particularly constructive, indicating what you would have like to have seen happen, isn’t necessarily bad.
I may be ritually slaughtered by every author friend I know for this, but I thought it was worth saying. Now we’ve got that out of the way, please love my next book! ;-)