5 Author Challenges and Book Publishing Letdowns Every Writer Faces
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No matter if you are just kicking off your career as an author or you have already been published, at some point in your journey as an author, the truth is you are going to face some author challenges, letdowns, or setbacks. As someone who works with authors for a living, believe me when I say even the most high-profile, best-selling authors also run into disappointments throughout their career.
It's important to me to not shy away from some hard truths and the realities of what it is like to be an author. So, today I want to go into some low points or disappointments that you might face across your author journey. In fact, most writers face all of the author challenges I'm going to go over today.
1. Waiting Forever for Feedback
Getting feedback on your work is a crucial part of the publishing process. It is the part that I am most involved in as a developmental book editor, and I truly see the value in it because receiving feedback and then editing your manuscript accordingly is what's going to make it as strong as possible for your eventual readers.
But the truth is that the feedback stage of the process often takes much longer than most writers anticipate. Reading an entire book and then providing thoughtful, constructive feedback is a very time-intensive and energy-intensive process, so if you have sent your manuscript for feedback either to beta readers, critique partners, an editor or your literary agent, it is likely going to take them quite a while to get back to you.
In the case that you're working with a professional in the publishing industry, such as your literary agent or your editor at your publishing house, it could take anywhere from four to eight-plus weeks. If you're working with a beta reader or critique partner and you don't set a clear expectation for when you are going to hear back, then you might find yourself waiting months and only hearing crickets.
The best way to set your expectations when it comes to feedback is to be upfront with whoever you are sending your manuscript to in asking for an estimated turnaround time. But even when you do that, I would still recommend being quite flexible on your end because in the case of a beta reader or a critique partner, for instance, it's likely that that person has a lot of other responsibilities, such as a job, that they need to prioritize, and they are doing this favor for you in their free time, so you do want to be understanding of that.
When it comes to working with your literary agent and the editor at your publishing house, the publishing industry is notoriously slow-moving, and the professionals who are working in the industry are often very backlogged. I promise that it is not due to a lack of interest in wanting to work with you — obviously, your literary agent and your editor signed with you because they want to work with you on this story. It is just a case that they need to find the time to sit down and do it and ultimately fit it into their other priorities that they have at the moment.
2. Getting Underwhelming Responses From Friends and Family
The next big author challenge or disappointment I see authors facing is underwhelming feedback from friends and family. The story you've written is likely incredibly personally important to you. Whether it is a personal story in some aspect or it's a fictional world that you have created, it's likely that you want to share that with your loved ones because it is such an important part of your life and you've put so much time and energy into it.
In the event that you do decide to share your work with your spouse, partner, friends or family, I recommend trying to resist the temptation to put a lot of weight into how they are going to respond, especially if they are not a particularly creative person or they don't read widely in the genre you are writing in. That's because I've seen authors get deeply hurt and upset if one of their loved ones reads their manuscript and then doesn't provide them the super enthusiastic response that they were looking for, or perhaps they respond, but it's overly vague and you can't really tell if they even read the book or not. It is possible that what you have written is just out of their wheelhouse and they don't know how to respond or how to evaluate it against others in the genre. So, try to remove any expectations you have set around how they are going to respond. And whatever their reaction is, do not take it personally.
It can be really helpful and fruitful to cultivate a group of writing friends who do share your interest in your genre because their feedback in many cases is going to be more helpful and more valuable than feedback from friends and family who don't really understand what it is you're trying to accomplish. Friends you meet in writing-oriented contexts are likely going to be more attuned to the craft of writing and will be able to give you more tailored feedback than friends and family. I'm not saying don't share your book with friends and family; I'm just saying don't put too much weight in what they have to say.
3. Bad Reviews
The next big book publishing letdown that all authors face is bad reviews. Bad reviews are the bane of an author's existence, but they are an undeniable reality of publishing your work. This is something you can't avoid and are inevitably going to face at one point or another in your author career. Because of that, I think it's best to get ahead of it now and realize that no matter how much blood, sweat and tears you put into your book, there's still going to be someone out there who gives you a one-star review.
If you want to feel better about bad reviews, check out the Yelp page of your favorite restaurant. You will certainly see many one-star reviews of people who do not agree with you on the quality of the restaurant. That's why you're going to have to learn to just brush off the negative reviews. Remember that your book is not meant to be for everyone, and that is absolutely okay. Think of a movie or a musician that your partner or your friend or your family loves that you hate. Everyone has their own subjective taste, and that comes to books as well.
Whenever you do find yourself confronting a bad review and then feeling bad about it, or even potentially doubting your abilities as a writer, I want you to turn to the five-star reviews and relish in those. Those are the readers who understood what you were trying to accomplish. The story resonated with them, and ultimately those are the people that you are writing for.
4. Low Attendance at Events
There was a Twitter thread that went viral where an author posted that only two people showed up to her author signing event, and she felt very upset and even embarrassed about it. It caught fire on Twitter, and many high-profile authors chimed in to say that they had experienced the exact author challenge, including Cheryl Strayed and Margaret Atwood.
This goes to show that if you host or attend an author event and no one shows up, or very few people show up, it does not dictate your value, your credibility or your skills as an author — and it certainly does not mean that you will not have a successful career. Just look at any of the examples of best-selling authors who chimed into this Twitter thread.
Author events can definitely be fun, and it can be a way to make you feel more legit as an author, but remember what is most important is the story that you are putting out. The truth is that the vast majority of your readers are not going to be people that you meet at author events anyway, so there isn't necessarily going to be a huge correlation between a successful author event and the success of your book.
5. Not Winning Awards or Becoming a Bestseller
The final book publishing letdown that all authors face at one point or another is not winning awards or becoming a bestseller. This is another challenge that even the most high-profile authors face. Whether it's a Booker Prize or a Goodreads Choice Award or a bestseller list or even the coveted Pulitzer Prize, there are always going to be other authors who win over you, and that is completely okay. Remember that simply being in the running for a prize is a huge accomplishment, but even if you never reach that point, that is no reason to doubt your abilities as an author.
Awards can certainly feel good, and to some degree they can generate more sales for your book, but by no means are they the end-all, be-all for you as an author. There are plenty of successfully selling books that do not have any specific accolades attached to them. It can be really easy to get caught in this trap of chasing awards and recognition and bestseller status, but remember that your value as an author ultimately is within yourself. It has to be generated internally; you cannot rely on external committees or criteria that are out of your control. You have to be writing for yourself and recognize your value for yourself.
I hope this gives you the motivation to persevere through your publishing journey, even through the tough times, author challenges and book publishing letdowns.
Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!