Daily Archives: June 4, 2018

I gave the readers what they wanted

A little while ago, I published the final volume in my fantasy series, The Fireblade Array, and I purposefully left the ending vague. Up to that point, I had not yet had to write a final, final ending, what with seven large books running sequentially over seven years, so perhaps this is in part responsible for what happened next.

Almost all the reviews that came in binned it. Readers complained about being left in the dark, about its depressing nature, and about their upset over the lack of redemption or happiness for the key characters. Some of the most hardline fans said nothing at all, which was even more heartbreaking for me to bear. I felt as if I had let down those who had supported me through each publication.

And so I did what we are told we should never do: I went back and altered the ending to give the readers something closer to what they wanted. It is an opportunity that the digital publishing world offers that the paperback world never could – the ability for me to make a rapid change, and for buyers to obtain an updated and improved version of the book at no extra cost.

At the time of writing, the ending had made compete sense to me, but now I see why I was wrong. It is said a writer should have confidence in their writings, and enough of it not to make changes to the final script. But I say, why not have the confidence to accept I needed to learn and improve the way I write a book?

I’ve yet to receive many reviews of the new version of the book, but I am hopeful that the little extra work I put into it will reap some positive results.