by Peter Leavell, @PeterLeavell
After reading three chapters, I put the book away. And there the novel sits. And as what we call progress marches on, the book does not change. The only one who cares is me as I am dragged along by time. Perhaps I feel regret over not caring for the story, or some intrigue as to why people connected with the characters cannot put the work down. The work was a bestseller, after all.
The decades pass. As time reshapes society and the novel’s pages yellow with age, I am given scope and experience. I learn, I change, I grow. I laugh at a child’s birth and cry at a brother’s death. I celebrate my victories and am consoled in my defeats. Those I love change and drift, while others remain steadfast and close.
One day, nothing sounds good to read. I chance upon the unchanging novel. From the first line, I’m swept away. So moved am I by the individuals and their plight, my very core is shaken. For a moment, I’m swept into eternity, then quietly brought back to earth.
As a writer, bad reviews, low sales, and disinterested readers can plague your career. Keep in mind, you don’t connect with every novel, either. They have a right to not like your work. But like you, they are in a locked position in time and space. But it’s not the book that changes. We change. And that’s the beauty of a book. Essentially, a book is a dead person’s brain. And we are the changing variable. So are our readers. They may retry your novel in a week or a year or one hundred years and love the story.
Emotionally, where should this thought put you as an author?
Poor Herman Melville of Moby Dick fame not only died an unknown pauper, but editors spelled his name wrong in his obituary. While he probably doesn’t care because he’s dead, he’s beyond famous.
I suggest we write for the joy of the moment. For the feeling of have written. For the sake of creation. For building characters and worlds of our own. And if we see we’ve connected with others, we’ve bettered poor Melville.
Disappointed readers? There’s no need to be a sad author. Simply write, send out your work, market as you see fit, and leave the rest to God.
Philip Anderson keeps his past close to the vest. Haunted by the murder of his parents as they traveled West in their covered wagon, his many unanswered questions about that night still torment him.
His only desire is to live quietly on his homestead and raise horses. He meets Anna, a beautiful young woman with secrets of her own. Falling in love was not part of his plan. Can Philip tell her how he feels before it’s too late?
With Anna a pawn in the corrupt schemes brewing in the nearby Dakota town, Philip is forced to become a reluctant gunslinger. Will Philip’s uncannily trained horses and unsurpassed sharpshooting skills help him free Anna and find out what really happened to his family in the wilderness?
Peter Leavell, a 2007/2020 graduate of Boise State University with a degree in history and a MA in English Literature, was the 2011 winner of Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest, and 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best award for First-Time Author, along with multiple other awards. An author, blogger, teacher, ghostwriter, jogger, biker, husband and father, Peter and his family live in Boise, Idaho. Learn more about Peter’s books, research, and family adventures at www.peterleavell.com