Enquiring Minds need to know…

[erastes]

(name that quote….)

I’m interested – published authors, do you read your stuff once it’s in print?

I don’t. I think it’s the equivalent of an actor who can’t bear to look at him/herself on screen perhaps.  I think mine stemmed from my first print sale, which was “Bright Souls” a vampire short story – and being Alyson they provided no back and forth editing, no galleys etc (lesson learned very early on) and when I got my author’s copies I was understandably thrilled. But oh the disappointment when I saw the actual piece – someone – god knows who, had put apostrophes all over the place and it looked awful.  I could have cried.

These mistakes weren’t mine – any of mine were still there too, and I think that’s what put me off.  So I can’t read my stuff.  I know I will have to at some point, read Transgressions because in case it goes into a second edition, I’ll need to winnow out the errors that I know are there, but I just can’t do it yet.

Part of it is also that I’m getting better, little by little, and when I do see an excerpt of Standish for example I think “oh GOD – I wouldn’t write like that now.”

What about you? Do you read yourself? or do you, like me, shove your author’s copies on the shelf and never touch them again?

 

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Comments

[markprobst.livejournal.com]

By the time it goes to print I am so sick of having read through it umpteen times I no longer have any interest to read it again. However when I do read passages (for selecting excerpts or whatnot) I sometimes cringe at stuff I know could have been better.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I agree - I can't tell you how badly I wanted to scream if I read "David was not where he should be, he rarely was." one ... more... time!