What will you tolerate, as a reader?

5/6/2012

4 Comments

 
Are you one of those readers that will gloss over killing and dead bodies in a book but will cringe or even yell at the author if there is so much as a hint of a curse word?

Are you one of those readers that will allow all types of sex and bondage and alternative lifestyles but will blast an author for one typo?

Are you one of those readers that is so holy that the hint of even a kiss will send your lust drive over the cliff?

Or are you a reader that has the philosophy "anything goes"?

What kind of reader are you?

Do you gloss over the occasional blip in the editing process? Or do you leave a scathing review because "in" should have been "on" on page 223.

Do you get lost in the story or does the story get lost on you?

I don't know. I'm confused. I don't see how a person can raise their ire about "fuck" being in a story yet not bat an eyelash about a dead body being on page 1. With blood and guts spilled. And even some semen left behind from the brutal rape. By a vampire. That sparkles. And then that vampire is the good guy and the woman that is no longer around is the villain. No offense toward Twighlight fans. I'm one of you.

Just sayin....
4 Comments
Erin
5/6/2012 01:26:25 am

I'm the type of reader who gets totally absorbed by a story but typos are a speed bump in the reading flow. However, I would rather quietly email the author, when possible and let them know about typos so they can correct them in future editions. No reason to make a big deal about it. That's like the difference between quietly pulling a friend aside at a party to let them know they have something caught in their teeth and announcing it to the entire party.
I think sometimes readers forget another human, someone with feelings, wrote that book. They shared something special with the reader and that should be respected

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Tripp
5/6/2012 01:39:12 am

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, as writers, we put a lot of ourselves into every good story we write. The better the story is, the more of ourselves we've put into it.

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Oleg
5/6/2012 01:40:26 am

Anything goes is my philosophy.

I have only been reading study material as of late but when it comes to any sort of story but I see it like this, the specific content of the story be, it semen, corpses or fairies, does not matter. What DOES matter is the theme itself.

If the story is about how world war 2 went on during the holocaust, I'll read it. If the story is about a fellowship of heroes looking to destroy a magical ring, I will read it (I've yet to start this one). If the story is about about an old man who started painting during his vacation and somehow whatever on his paintings comes true, I'll read it.

BUT if the story is about sparkly vampires who rape underage girls I will have to pass on this one. Sorry Twatlight fans but I ain't one of you.

Just sayin...

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LB
5/6/2012 02:30:50 am

As an editor, errors will always catch my attention, though it takes a whole lot of them to actually throw me out of the story. Bad writing is a different creature altogether, and I will call an author on things like unrealistic dialogue, one-dimensional characters, and infeasible plots. Lack of logic and lazy writing are two of my biggest peeves, along with overuse of things like adverbs and metaphor. As far as content, there aren't many things that I can't or won't tolerate--as long as it's pertinent to the story being told. Whether it's sex or violence or off-color humor, if it doesn't build the characters or advance the story, I don't want it in my book. "Foul language" I couldn't care less about, as that sort of thing doesn't bother me a bit.

Short version: if a story is well-told and believable, then that's what really matters.

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