As I was scrolling through the dumpster fire, I came across your review for 'Born to be Bound'. I loved it! It was an absolute delight to read with some of the best burns I've seen in a long while. If I had the funds to purchase books, I now know to not buy that particular one. Thank you for suffering through the incessant, hoity-toity babble to warn the rest of us.
I get by on limited income, books are a luxury I can rarely afford. Fanfiction fills my need to read and consume written stories. And now I can't unsee the asexual erasure in the A/B/O tag on Ao3. I'm moderately pissed off at myself now.
I'm a disgruntled fanfiction writer. I will do what I do best. Say, "I can fix that." Then write it into existence. I'm going to add an asexual Alpha/Omega couple to my current A/B/O fanfic. I'll use a popular ship that is a minor background pairing.
On a related note, how do you keep your sanity alive reading badly written books for a living? Are magical abilities granted to editors? Like, does some higher power descend upon you saying, 'Congrats! You're strong to survive the trials of terrible wording inflicted upon the English language. Take this level up and go forth!' ?
Hi! I’m glad you messaged me. Nice to meet you!
Awww! I’m blushing from your praise. That was only for chapter 1 and there are 10 chapters in this, so I’ve got a lot more to go through. I’m hopeful it will get better.
I really understand not being able to buy books. That’s pretty much me all the time. LOL I’m a disabled, chronically ill person who can’t work a regular 9-5 job so I do other stuff to pay the bills. There’s a few ways to be able to read original fiction for free. The first is that a lot of authors will offer books for free as reader magnets. The second is that publishers of all stripes will send out ARCs of books to people with the understanding/hope that they will review the book. This is how I get most of my more recent releases. Finally there is reading from the library. I’ve been utilizing both Overdrive and Hoopla.
And fanfiction is a wonderful thing. A precious thing. I am 100% here for fanfic, especially since I still write it myself. LOL
Don’t be pissed off that you missed the lack of ace rep on the tag. Be proud of yourself that when it was pointed out your first thought was “How can i fix this?” Because that speaks volumes about you as a person. And you’re a good doobie. I think it’s awesome that you’re going to add more asexual rep to the ABO tag. We need that. There are not nearly enough characters on the Ace spectrum and it really runs the gambit. I’m a demiromantic/bisexual myself. There needs to be more Ace rep out there. Good on you!
So you want to know how I keep my sanity when reading bad books?
So here’s the thing, most of the books I edit aren’t badly written. They really aren’t. Even those that if they were published in the form I got them in would be called “badly written” have potential. They’re unpolished. They have flaws. They need work. And it’s my job to help the author get their book into the best shape that I can.
Also most books, even Addison Cain’s Born to Be Bound have something good about them. Something. And one person’s yuck is another person’s yum. This book happens to be hitting a lot of my yucks and there’s some structural, logistical, and tonal problems with the book. That being said, I can say that from the one chapter I’ve read I wouldn’t have guessed that the story started its life as a Batman fanfic featuring Bane/Original Female Character. So she filed the serial numbers off well, I guess.
The other thing that keeps me sane is a philosophy I have about editing/life. No effort is wasted if you learn something or help someone else to learn. I wanted to be a teacher before I hit some pretty big obstacles and had to switch gears. And in my heart, I still want to help make the world a better place. And if that means that I help others create beauty, then that’s a good legacy for me.
I also have a good support system and invest in self care. That can be reading a good fic, watching something fun, or even playing a game for a little bit. I also don’t edit constantly. I take breaks. Edit for an hour, take a 20 minute break. This keeps me more focused and allows me to not get dragged down. Plus it works better for my disabilities since that’s a thing.
Additionally, I 1000% agree with the maxim that any problem in a book can be fixed in the editing process. It just takes a lot of work and a lot of suppressing of the author’s ego and the author has to be willing to do that. That last one is the toughest, because these books are their babies. Their children. It’s hard to hear that their child isn’t perfect. And editing can feel like an attack if you aren’t used to it. I do a lot of hand holding. I make sure that they know that just because I’ve found something I need to change that it isn’t a reflection on them. The only time it becomes a reflection on the author is when they have been told something is a problem and they choose to ignore that anyway because it doesn’t fit with their vision. I’m a pretty hard core editor. I tend to give it to my clients straight. And I think my clients know that I honestly and truly want them to succeed. Because I do. Honestly, a well-edited successful book is like a huge piece of advertising for me as an editor. Like straight on. I want my clients to succeed because then I’ll succeed. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.
Now there are books that I’ve edited that are absolutely horrible. Books where I’ve gotten them in the copy edit phase and I’ve wondered why the acquisitions and content editors are letting this subject go to press. But in the end, I have to remember what my job is. When that happens, it’s the self-care route again.
But seriously, most books have something good in them. It’s a question of finding it and drawing it out.
