Selfie with me and Lee Child at Thriller Fest 2016
The difference between good and great individuals is a subtle line of grey. What constitutes greatness? It is a subjective inquiry itself. I recognize that in the world of Thriller Writers, Lee Child is a great author. There is a defining characteristic that makes him outstanding from the rest of the authors I had encountered in the convention – his acceptance to feedback.
When the topic on the panel turned to reading reviews about their books, Lee Child said, “I read my one star reviews on my books to see what people got to say.” This characteristic of him being coach-able and ready to accept one star feedback is the probably the biggest differentiation factor between a good or great author. When I asked him privately about his decision to include a Chinese Female Detective in his book, MAKE ME. He replied, “I write what people want to read. That’s what the market wants.”
On further inquiry on the panel, Lee Child revealed, “I chose the name Jack Reacher as my wife told me that Reacher was a good name for a character in my book as I was asked on many occasions to reach for the top stands of groceries isles, and it stuck.”
I believe Lee Child’s ready acceptance to feedback is his greatest reason for his consistent success. For an author to consistently hit the best seller lists with no up or downs annually, Lee Child has shown himself to be a consistent performer at his productions. His greatness is his ability to produce a consistent product that delivers on it’s promise.
There are many “good” authors who might have one or two bestselling books at the start but upon their next book release, their rankings and reviews went down. Even at the very top level of authors, most authors do not consistently hit the charts with every book like what Lee Child has done.
At the end of this inquiry, I realised that my barrier to my own greatness as a writer has to do with my acceptance of feedback. I should readily accept feedback and read one star reviews to improve on my craft to move from being “good” to being “great”.
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AVERRAL writes under pen name Scarlet Risqué. She stars in Scarlet Queen YouTube with over a million views. She holds a degree in business. The RED HOURGLASS is ranked Top 50 Espionage Thriller on Amazon. She is currently writing the sequels to the Hourglass Series. Grab a free copy of her novel now RED HOURGLASS on Amazon |
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