Took the plunge...letting someone read my work.

Congrats, Jennasis! I agree that it can be a big step. I remember letting my friends in high school read my first (awful) book for the first time. Next thing I knew they'd shown it to my English teacher, and she wanted a look...

But yeah, another set of eyes is invaluable. I don't know what I'd do without my current critique partner.

Oh good Christ. The first time I sent something in my current genre, my stomach was churning.

Luckily she - thethinker42 - liked it, and I gained in confidence to the point where I now send her every single chapter as I write it. You're not really supposed to send out first drafts, I know, but she's a fan, so why not?

And it bolsters my confidence to know she likes what I write (once she looks past the 'this is a first draft so remember that, right?' nonsense).

I didn't share my first novel with anyone. I'm glad I didn't. It was trash. Since then I've learned a lot so I can look back and see development, so that's cool. I just finished my third novel and am waiting for edits. Hopefully in a couple of months I can share it with somebody.

Hmm...the first story I ever shared with someone was in seventh grade. It was handwritten in a notebook, maybe the equivalent of 15k words. It was my first piece of fiction ever, and I gave it to my then-best friend to read. We had a fight a few weeks later, and in a fit of pre-teen rage, she ripped it up and flushed it.

Ah, memories...

Jennasis said:

So...was it like this for everybody? The very first time to shared your work?

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Oh man, I freaked. I still do whenever I send work to someone who's never read my stuff before. Hell, I still end up on pins and needles when I send something to scarletpeaches, and she's read almost all of my books (and chapters from books I never finished).

It's nerve-wracking, but hey, we're writing to be read, so it's a necessary evil. Mad props for getting the courage to show it to someone. It's a big step.

I remember my first crit like it was yesterday, even though three decades have passed. I was a young, fabulously talented poet under the tutelage of the great American poet Gerald Stern.

He sat across from me in his office midway through the first semester, shuffling my collection of poems in his hands.

"Cole," he began, in that gravely voice which struck fear in the hearts of freshman. And you could sense how much he enjoyed striking that fear.

I sat casually awaiting the praise, waiting for his guidance in how best to handle my imminent fame.

"Cole," he repeated. "You have wasted how many sheets of paper? I count twenty-three. It's a shame you're past the drop-add date."

I grew to love him. Sort of.

My advice is to revel in the criticism. Don't fear it. Learn from it. And keep writing.

Oh boy. Two years ago, during my sophomore year of college, I took an advanced fiction workshop class. It consisted of everyone in class submitting their story a week before "their day." I'm sure everyone knows how workshops work. Everyone got a copy, marked it up, and the next class everyone would critique it right there in front of you. And you weren't allowed to defend anything! It was a great experience, but nerve wracking. You learn so much though.

On a side note, there was a couple of really snotty, snarky members of the class who would out-right make fun of stories outside of class. Humph. Obviously, I'm still not over it...

ChaosTitan said:

Hmm...the first story I ever shared with someone was in seventh grade. It was handwritten in a notebook, maybe the equivalent of 15k words. It was my first piece of fiction ever, and I gave it to my then-best friend to read. We had a fight a few weeks later, and in a fit of pre-teen rage, she ripped it up and flushed it.

Ah, memories...

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Oh, that's HORRIBLE! LOL
I had a similar experience, only instead of her flushing it, she just wrote silly comments in the margins. I had forgotten about it until I read your post. But I couldn't really blame my friend, I was really into V.C. Andrews back then--the drama was a little heavy.

Now, the SYW board here is really the first time I have ever shown a "stranger" anything. And I was crazy scared the first time. It lessens each time--but still--I get butterflies. I don't know if it ever goes away.

Oh I feel your pain!!! I did let someone read my short stories and after positive feedback I was comfortable letting someone else read it too. Now with my novel... that's a little different.

I've been sending 3 chapters at a time instead of the whole thing, like letting go of my baby one little step at a time. Good luck to you, keep us posted!

Good job! Gotta start developing that rhinohide some time.

Sharonb423 said:

Oh I feel your pain!!! I did let someone read my short stories and after positive feedback I was comfortable letting someone else read it too. Now with my novel... that's a little different.

I've been sending 3 chapters at a time instead of the whole thing, like letting go of my baby one little step at a time. Good luck to you, keep us posted!

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I'm still sending mine out one chapter at a time, so I feel you there. I can take crits very well on short pieces. It's like taking it in sips because you know a big gulp will burn your tongue and leave it feeling furry for the rest of the day.

I can let people crit short work all day long. Maybe I'm just a short story writer and not a novelist... hmm.

Now, to the OP. Congrats on getting up the nerve. It's not going to be as bad as you think. We get nervous because our work is personal to us. But in the end, you only want your "baby" to be better and stronger. This is just one more step in making it the best it could possibly be. Kudos and keep us posted.

It gets easier.

P.S. Your hubby sounds like a very wise man.

Does he have a brother? Or sister? lol

Shared my work crayons in kindergarten. Never looked back.

Hahaha great story:
My first short story I wrote, I handed to my mentor with pride.
It was returned to me without any comments.....

with a match taped to it.


(for the clueless: the match was so I could burn it)

Nice, huh?
But it truly did suck... it was entitled "the 8th princess" and that should say enough, really.

When I was a kid, I used to show my work to my parents. They would always look at in in an "oh, that's cute" manner, and all but pat me on the head. I eventually stopped showing them my work.

Since then, I haven't worked up the courage to show my work to anyone. I've never really had friends that read, though, so that's part of it. I know that one of these days I'm going to need to find someone to show it to, or else I'll never get thick enough skin.

I shared on the syw forum this weekend, for the third time. I requested on the third critt, a tough critter re-crit it. It was not pretty! For three days I was devastated. On the fourth day I got it out of the files and started re-writing, using her crit. It is much better and more in line with the time in history the novel was set in. That being said, I then put it back in the file. Will let it cook for a while and work on every part that was weak. The point to this is syw is a wonderful learning tool because it is so personal. You take more from that than a hundred writing classes. The most important thing I learned. Do not, I repeat do not, post a first draft unless you can handle the feedback and take the suggestions and everything and learn the lesson. To answer you question, Yes, it is very hard to put your work out there. But your learn so much it is worth the pain and embarrassment. Good for you for doing that and good luck.
Jane

I just sent tt42 what I've written of chapter twenty-four...

scarletpeaches said:

I just sent tt42 what I've written of chapter twenty-four...

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Folks. Seriously. You have to read this book when it's done.

*reads chapter 24...again...*

I guess I was too ignorant when I first started down this path to know that my work sucked. I was willing to hand it out to anyone who would acquiesce. Now I'm a little more subdued in my approach.

SYW is a good thing but be careful, the masochistic tendencies buried deep inside you will definitely surface.