The other day I was reading an article about a crime author. The guy’s books are massively popular and a number of them have been turned into high-profile movies. One of his books is purchased every two seconds. According to the author, a big factor in his success is his diet – he lives primarily on coffee and marijuana.
Those crotchety old drug czars are right about marijuana. It does seem to be a gateway — to success.
But this was mainly a side-note. What really caught my attention in the article was the author’s active avoidance of praise. He doesn’t seek out positive feedback and approval for his books, he just writes and publishes them. In the article he stated that if someone on a plane is reading one of his books (a big possibility when you’ve sold 70 million) he just lets the person read in peace.
The author told the following story:
A fellow author was on an airplane. The guy sitting in the seat next to him was reading one of his books. So the author asked the guy what he thought of the book.
The reader looked over and replied “It’s shit, but it was the only thing I could get at the airport.”
Yup, don’t go there girl. Someday on a flight one of my seatmates is gonna say “Screw this” and shut my book before reaching for the in-flight magazine. I’ll laugh, because it’s okay. What others think of your work is irrelevant. And not having your book in the airport is fine as well — the airport is a grim place, full of people who would rather be elsewhere. On an airplane, nothing is ever good enough.
I have six books in me but that’s what you get when you eat books!
When I finally finish my novel, revise it to a point where it’s worth reading, and get it published, I would love to have people read it, on airplanes or whatever.
On the other hand, “It’s good airplane reading” isn’t exactly great praise for a book!
While this guy has a great philosophy, I wouldn’t mind having 70 million people read my book. They could hate it; I don’t care. I just would like them to read it! LOL