Comments on: But Who will Want to Read it?

By: Judith Kinghorn

Judith Kinghorn — Fri, 31 May 2019 11:16:33 +0000

Hi Susie, what a lovely message – thank you so much for your kind words. I agree with you, Jane Wymark read The Last Summer beautifully (though it’s always slightly surreal to hear one’s work read out loud by someone else and never quite how you heard the voice!) And I’m delighted if my writing has inspired you. Like many writers, I’m never entirely satisfied with my own work and like you, I go back again and again to the writers who’ve inspired me.
Good luck with your writing and very best wishes,
Judith

By: Susie Pruett

Susie Pruett — Thu, 30 May 2019 21:27:35 +0000

Ms. Kinghorn, I’ve read all your books and enjoyed each one. However, “The Last Summer” is genius. Your writing and the story you told so captured me that I read it and then listened to it. The narrator, Jayne Wymark was perfect for the audible version. I’m a newbie writer and have turned to your writing many times for inspiration. Not that I could ever write as well as you, but it helps to read writing one admires. Thanks so much for all your books. I am a permanent fan.

Susie

By: Featuring Women Writers on WWWB 2013 - Women Writers, Women Books

Featuring Women Writers on WWWB 2013 - Women Writers, Women Books — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 23:12:32 +0000

[…] on the page as kernels of possibility: An interview with Belinda Pollard – Rachel C. Lewis But Who will Want to Read it – Judith Kinghorn Writing with Dyslexia – Tamsin Jupp How to Avoid Writer’s Arse – […]

By: Anne Tel

Anne Tel — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 13:10:33 +0000

I agree reviews should not crush us or make us vain. When your book is published, you share your masterpiece you have been working on for months or most probably even years, it is exciting to find out what people think about it. It is a one-way communication. You wrote it, you kept it to yourself, after publishing it is accessible to thousands of people.
I think it is actually good for your reflection to learn from your readers. They take the effort in writing a review. Personally I appreciate it. It is rewarding after years of hard work.
By writing a book, you created something unique that will last forever. You share it with the world, and it is good that it really means something to people. It is good to have an opinion about it and people talk about it off- and online. Our industry is build on reviews. It is great as long as the reviews are positive.
If a review is negative, try to learn from it or accept that you cannot make everyone happy. Keep on doing the good things and keep on writing the stories you believe in.

By: Scarlet

Scarlet — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 15:57:39 +0000

Ah, those smug people that put down writers! It reminds me of that adage “If you can’t xxxx, teach”, which I have always thought would be better rephrased as “If you can’t be supportive – shut up”. I feel the same about the fluctuation of writerly confidence. Not so much when I’m writing for business, that is somehow less personal; but my own work, the stories, poetry that I have invested part of my emotional life in, it is like exposing my soft underbelly and even a tactless prod can wound.

Good for you that your response to all of it was demonstrable and enjoyable success. I loved The Last Summer and I look forward to reading your second book.

By: Kristina James

Kristina James — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 03:54:48 +0000

Judith,

Thank you for sharing your story. I know personally I have felt many of the same emotions that you mentioned, especially self-doubt. Even after I tell myself that there may not be anyone who wants to read my work, I still can’t stop writing.

There’s a lot to be said for your silence regarding books that you did not enjoy. I think that is valuable advice. Aside from opinions being different, the world is a small place and no one knows if one day that author may be critiquing something they wrote.

Best of luck,
Kristina James

By: Judith Kinghorn

Judith Kinghorn — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:37:59 +0000

In reply to Randy Kraft. Great advice! And I agree 100%. Thanks.

By: Judith Kinghorn

Judith Kinghorn — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:35:32 +0000

In reply to Natalie Lucas.

Thanks, Natalie. So much of what we write about is an exploration, an adventure – which is what makes it frightening and thrilling!
Good luck with your writing.
Judith

By: Randy Kraft

Randy Kraft — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:54:19 +0000

Wasn’t it the great Toni Morrison who said that you should write the book you want to read but haven’t found… so, in that way, you write for yourself, and while we all want readers, in the end, we write what we want to read. That may be the only way to diffuse or reject critique.

By: Natalie Lucas

Natalie Lucas — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 13:00:56 +0000

To not read or at least not be affected by your reviews is incredibly good advice that I suspect almost no author is capable of taking. As you so brilliantly illustrate, we’re contradictory creatures – sure enough of ourselves to devote absurd amounts of time to perfecting single sentences, yet always doubting our abilities, always hoping to be accepted (by agents, publishers and, eventually, readers).

For me, just being able to answer that “What do you do?” question with the simple reply “I’m a writer” was a massive hurdle, one I still sometimes stumble at even with a book I can hold in my hand. I fear the responses of your party guest and Cheryl’s friend, but I suspect only because they mirror my own uncertainties. These uncertainties, though, are a major part of why I write: every story is a challenge, an adventure and an opportunity to discover something new about my relationship with words. The day I think I can write something with ease will be the day I don’t bother picking up my pen.