Feedback …

When Published

I like to celebrate. As a child, when I received full marks for a spelling test, Dad rewarded me with a Kitchener Bun from the Fish ‘n Chip shop/Bakery which in the good old days of my childhood was situated opposite Glenelg Primary School. Years ago, now, when I used to drive my son his course in Magill, my mum and I treated ourselves to lunch at the local hotel.

Every so often, I check my Amazon account. I wipe off the virtual cobwebs of neglect, and dig deep in the files of my mind, retrieving the password to enter. I expect nothing to have changed.

I’ve been busy with my blog and the rewards, small, though they are, compared to the rest of blogging world, but the steady trickle of views, likes and comments, satisfies me. Over the years, the number of followers has steadily grown.

Once long ago, now, I made a daring move, and posted my short story, Boris’ Choice—not for the faint-hearted or while one eats breakfast…After the post, I checked for results on Amazon with my War on Boris Series books?

And…there were. Yes!

Then, I checked the reviews. Now, I don’t know how other writers have fared with reviews, but for months since I published my books, I had received no reviews. Yes, I asked my readers to do the deed and tick the star-boxes and comment, with no results. Yes, they’d say, and the weeks went by and nothing. Were they just being polite? A little research on comments on Amazon yielded answers. This platform is selective in who can give comments. If they think the author is using friends and family to generate positive, five-star comments, they will not publish those comments. Amazon were onto me, I thought.

Eventually, though, feedback and comments began to trickle in.

Anyway, back to checking the reviews…I looked again at one of the countries one of my books sold. The page appeared different. A yellow bar, and a comment. Genuine feedback. Not a great appraisal, but an appraisal all the same. I knew the person responsible for this first-ever comment for my book but was not surprised at their response. I did wonder at the time how my novella would work for them—not well—just as I imagined when they informed me, they’d bought the book on Kindle. As I said before, Boris and his antics are well…not for everyone.

The point is that trusted readers, friends, writers’ group colleagues need to give honest feedback that helps the writer refine their craft. We as writers need to be open to how we can improve our writing.

But, once the work is on a public platform, feedback has a different purpose. Comments from readers can help sell the work, or help prospective readers determine if the story is for them.

Of course, there’s always the Trolls who get a kick out of making hurtful comments. In Amazon and WordPress there’s an option to screen harmful comments out. And of course, there are people who mean well but the story or genre is not for them.

That being said, and for fear that there will be readers who will misunderstand my works, the over-riding theme of my stories are the classic fight of good against evil. How evil, like Boris, can creep into our lives. And when for whatever reason, usually when we maintain and enhance our self, and to avoid discomfort, we allow evil to stay. This evil, however subtle, will drive us to isolated places in our lives, like Boris does in The Hitch-hiker; places we never wanted to go. I want young adults and people young at heart, to make choices and use their energy for goodness and to fight evil, so they can live a full life and be an agent for good in their community and the world.

Especially currently.

© Lee-Anne Marie Kling 2016; updated 2022

Feature Photo: Tyranny of Golf © L.M. Kling circa 1982