Welcome to another Open Book Blog Hop. Here’s this week’s question. “How do you turn off your internal editor when you are reading for enjoyment?
Well, to me, that’s like asking, “How do you breathe?” I don’t know. I just do it.
When I lose myself in something I’m reading for pleasure, I rarely think about how the work could be improved or changed. If something stands out, I may mention it when I review the book. Otherwise, I enjoy what I read for pleasure, knowing I don’t have to worry about editing it. I don’t read anything I don’t like.
If you’re an author, how do you turn off your internal editor when reading for pleasure. You can click here to participate on your blog and read other responses. Thank you for stopping by.
Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography
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by Two Pentacles Publishing
I have great news! For those who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled in the United States, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is now available in an audio format from their site. To download this book click here.
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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me
Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.
Independently published with the help of DLD Books.
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by Two Pentacles Publishing
Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.
After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.
Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.
Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?
My Corner 
Yes when I’m reading for enjoyment i don’t think about editing.
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I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone, no matter what the occupation, to think about work all the time. Thank you for commenting.
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I am only too willing to switch of that part of my brain when reading for pleasure…
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I don’t blame you. As much as I love to write, I always enjoy escaping from work with a good book. Thank you for your comment.
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💖
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Most of the time, I don’t mentally edit while I read. However, if I continually find too many adverbs, repeatedly used plots, Etc. I will mark them and I absolutely will mention in an interview. I will always find something positive to write about, and I rarely read anything I don’t enjoy unless it’s for work but I believe writers don’t learn if all they ever hear is “Oh how wonderful!”
If someone is looking for a gooy fluffy 5 star review with not one word of what could be improved, thy never want me to review them.
The best review I ever got stated great things about a book I wrote. It also told me what desperately needed to be improved on. It inspired my Pathway to Freedom Broken and Healed memoir.
I might have never written anything more than what I had done when he sent that interview had I not been inspired and motivated to do a better job.
This is me. I don’t expect people to agree.
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I’m with you, Patty. Unless something stands out or doesn’t work, my internal editor stays silent. I appreciate your insight.
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Something I’m noticing is that there are a bunch of “best selling authors” who are getting by with a whole lot of junk which are things even five years ago would not be allowed. I believe this is largely due to the fact that if you say the least bit of negative thing concerning a book in a book review on Amazon they will not approve your review. We’re creating a bunch of thin skinned softhearted weakling authors. Heck for that matter it seems to me anyone under the age of 50 is more softhearted and thin skinned than any bunch I’ve seen in my life. Or maybe I’m just getting old.
Patty Fletcher lives in Kingsport Tennessee where she works as an author and social media marketing assistant. Learn more at: http://www.pattysworlds.com
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Patty, I know what you mean about negative reviews. I was once banned from writing reviews on Amazon because I wrote a negative review. Now, if I don’t have anything nice to say about a book, I won’t review it. If I know the author, I may email that person with suggestions for improvement. But it’s not worth it to put a negative review out there and offend the author. Frankly, I wouldn’t want somebody posting a negative review online of any of my books for all to see, especially if it didn’t include some constructive criticism. Call me softhearted, but I seem to have mellowed out in my old age. I’m dictating this. So, please excuse any mistakes.
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Hi, I would never write only a negative review.
That’s not what I mean.
I always have something positive to say about a book, as you may have seen if you read a review of a book review, I wrote last evening on my FB timeline.
If I dislike a book that much, it is quite doubtful I’d have finished it. I’ve put down more than one book in my life.
What I mean is that if you write a review which mentions the least bit of a problem with the book, or God forbid only give it 3 and ½ stars which is the lowest I’ll go they won’t take it. It’s automated. There’s not even a live person making that decision, as far as I’ve been able to learn. At least not the last time I tried it.
Now, if I review a book, I get from somewhere other than Audible, I review on Goodreads or my blog. But I’m so far behind there, I’ll never catch up.
On Audible, if anyone cares to take the time to look, they’ve made it quite simple to rate a book without ever writing a word. They’ve checkboxes for everything from narration style, down to content.
It’s a private and acceptable way to review honestly and no matter how you rate, they accept it.
Book reviewing is an art unto itself. I’ve researched much concerning writing reviews.
Patty L. Fletcher
Bridging the great chasm which separates the disAbled from the non-disAbled
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Itâs difficult to turn off the warier in me when reading a book for pleasure. I donât do the two at the same time. I have 2 more âchaptersâ to write in my new Tracy Gayle story, âSabotage.â When Iâm finished with it, Iâll go get myself some books to read for enjoyment.
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Good luck with the new Tracy Gayle story, Trish. I’m looking forward to reading it.
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Pattyâs posted 3 of the parts so far. Itâll v 20 parts. I have two more to write.
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Oh, that’s the story you’re working on. Yes, I’ve read the part Patty has posted. When you finish it, you should have DLD Books publish it. That way everyone can read the whole thing at once.
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I intend to do that. Thereâll be other stories with it in the book. This oneâs about 25,000 words .
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I do sometimes have trouble falling into that immersive state as easily as I did when I was younger, had read less, and wasn’t yet a writer. But, when that happens, I generally set the book aside and try another.
@samanthabwriter from<a href=”http://samanthabryant.com“>Balancing Act</a>
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I’m glad you found a technique that works for you. Thank you for commenting.
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I was a teen when I started to develop my inner editor. It’s now part of me that won’t go away.
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Wow! For once, I’m at a loss for words. Thank you for commenting.
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My tolerance for typos is related to my enjoyment of the story. Get me hooked on the narrative and I can be very forgiving. A glaring error on the first page is another matter.
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Absolutely!
I’m getting ready to have all my first books published redone. The biggest complaint I received from people has been editing mistakes.
My first editors edit and publish in out-of-date models. Then I had an editor for a while from New Zealand and she edited with her settings set only to her country’s grammar. I didn’t realize it until I started getting mail.
Because I don’t want to be known as someone who doesn’t pay, I am continuing to pay her off but it’s a real mess.
People should seriously not be 100 percent trusting of their editors. Know your grammar and have a secondary proofreader. Then people who have internal editors living inside themselves won’t be bothered by such.
We who read via screen reader don’t always catch things.
Patty L. Fletcher
Bridging the great chasm which separates the disAbled from the non-disAbled
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Since I listen to books instead of reading them with my eyes, unless my text-to-speech program says something funky, I don’t notice a lot of typographical errors. Besides, unless you’re beta reading for someone, what good does it do to let that internal editor rear his ugly head?
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