My Book Stinks!

Back off and let someone else ... someone who likes kids books, see it.

If they say it stinks, let them see an early draft and if it didn't stink them, you need to back up to that version and ship it.

We are our own worst critics sometimes!

Have you had anyone else read it? Given it to a couple of people for crits? It might be hard to send it out that first time, but you can do it!

I can totally relate. I have had the same experience a number of times. One book, I totally loved. I wrote it and loved it. Then I heard that first person picture books don't sell, so I turned it into third person, then I tried it as a chapter book. The more I worked on it the worse it got. I had saved the original and still didn't like it. So I gave up on it.

But, thank God for computers.

A year later, I looked at it and thought, "Wow. I'm a really good writer. I love this story." I sent it in to a few publishers, as is (or was). I received positive comments but no acceptances yet. All of this to say that my advice is to let it marinate for a few months. Don't read it. Don't think about it. Just don't. Work on other things, and turn your full focus on them. Then, in a few months, look at it again. You just may love it again!

Lavinia

Kev,

They're all right. Put it away for a while. When you look at it again, the boo-boos will jump out at you and the strong bits will look good to you again.
Then show it to someone who likes kids books. Start another book in the meantime if you haven't already done so.
Best of luck!

I don't believe that writers should be allowed to evaluate their own material. There should be a Law against it. Our boredom comes from going over the same pages again and again. Always keep in mind that your story is fresh/new in somebody elses eyes, and that your imagination is working overtime, destructively. Hand that puppy off to someone you trust, who can give you real feedback and advice.

Tri

By the time I was finished my first book, I wanted to kill the protaganist in interestingly horrible ways.

I loathed him, and everyone else in the book.

I wanted to change the ending so that a sea monster ate them all.

After about 3 months, I revisited and realized that I was just too close to the material.

Lavinia said:

Then I heard that first person picture books don't sell, so I turned it into third person, then I tried it as a chapter book.

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You may have meant this, but I'm pretty sure this is not absolute and only applies to narrated picture books. Grover's "The Monster at the End of this Book" for example, is entirely first person, but all the text is spoken.

spike said:

By the time I was finished my first book, I wanted to kill the protaganist in interestingly horrible ways.

I loathed him, and everyone else in the book.

I wanted to change the ending so that a sea monster ate them all.

After about 3 months, I revisited and realized that I was just too close to the material.

Click to expand...

Yep.

We are our own worst critics.

I love my daughters pictures, but she gets mad when it doesn't come out just the way she wants it.

When you write be free. Put it away, revise, put it away...


Sorry, I know how you feel.

When you say "months later" I'm not sure if you mean you've stayed with the project the entire time, or you took a break at some point. A degree of separation can be a writer's best friend. Like Lavinia and Terri pointed out, many times a piece looks and reads much differently after you've put it away for a while, then come back to it with a fresh eye. That's why many writers won't even attempt a final edit until they've had a break from the book for weeks or months.

There's another factor at work as pointed out by Triceretops. We're our own worst critics. I can't remember who originally posted this and the original post was lost in our change in server hosts. I'm paraphrasing but the writing process seems to go like this:

First chapter- Great concept! I'm a flapping genius!

Third chapter- Why, oh why, did I EVER think I could write a book?

Sixth chapter- The words flow like honey! I'm a flapping genius!

Eight Chapter- *groan* Someone kill me now and end this misery!

Final Chapter- Brilliant! Just hand me the Pulitzer now! I'm a friggin' genius

The very next day- *groan* If writing crap was a crime, I'd be on death row.

Six weeks later- Brilliant! Tweak here and tweak there and it's off to the publisher!

(The timeline varies from writer to writer, and there are always a few folk who are immune to the self-inflicted torture.)

Give the ms (and yourself) a break. Back off for a few days (weeks, months) and I'm betting it'll look a lot different when you get back to it. Just don't get discouraged. It's all a part of the process.

Maybe it's time to take a break from it and look at it again in a few months with fresh eyes. Try working on something else too.

Put the pen down and step away from the manuscript.

Yes... back away from the manuscript....put your hands out where I can see them...

I would strongly suggest backing away and working on something else. Write something new, something fresh.

Have someone else give you an indepth honest critique, someone who is good at writing and not just an acquaintence who reads maybe a book a year.

You can even post it in the share your work forum and get a variety of opinions.

Then after you have a new work completed and you are ready, come back to this first one while you are giving the second one a break.

Hedgetrimmer said:

And so I keep rewriting and keep rewriting, yet the more I rewrite, the stinkier it gets.

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zen, my editor in chief, has come to the conclusion that authors probably shouldn't rewrite. He is a big fan of rewrite, but, lately, he says that writers do more damage than good when they rewrite, so they shouldn't until they know how to rewrite. Their drafts hold the best meat. So,get someone you trust and who is in the know to help tweak.