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 who or what validates your work?

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Abe F. March
JoElle
Malcolm
Carol Troestler
Don Stephens
flashgordon
Helen Wisocki
lin
A Ahad
Rhymer
Gina
zadaconnaway
RunsWithScissors
alj
Dick Stodghill
Shelagh
alice
madhatter
dtpollard
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dtpollard
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dtpollard


Number of posts : 636
Registration date : 2008-06-08

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 2:26 pm

Is there a person, group, event or result that validates what you have written as having hit the mark you intended. Is it a multiple source type situation with different types of feedback for different goals that you set.

I have a few key readers and a couple of review sources that I rely on for quality feedback. Sales feedback is a never ending and vague quest.
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madhatter
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madhatter


Number of posts : 502
Registration date : 2008-02-13
Location : Tallahassee, FL

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 2:44 pm

Every time I have a reader gush and carry on. I receive validation every time I write "THE END".
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http://www.rhettdevane.com
alice
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alice


Number of posts : 15672
Registration date : 2008-10-22
Age : 76
Location : Redmond, WA

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 2:51 pm

People who tell me they read my book and liked it.
The most common response was they either laughed or cried.--that tells me they connected or related someway.

I got my Publisher's book of the week award.
My husband is very proud of my book.

My friends have been very supportve--Carol and Ann who are excellent writers have encouraged me. Shelagh wrote me a wonderful review--so did Carol.

W Lane Rogers liked my book and wrote me a good review

I have been unable to speak publicly about my book--my voice has very low volume--because of PD and other issues.

The doctors refer prospective Deep Brain Stimulation patients to me and I give them my book.

100% success so far in selling them on the surgery.
I like my book--it is more pleasing to me than some of the best-sellers I have read.

All proceeds benefit Parkinson's disease through Virginia Mason Foundation in Seattle, WA.

Whose book are you promoting at the convention?


Last edited by Alice on Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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Shelagh
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Shelagh


Number of posts : 12662
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : UK

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 2:57 pm

Hi DT,

When my brother read my story in Forever Friends, he was not very impressed. I explained to him that I had written the story for my mother's enjoyment and she liked the story, so I succeeded in pleasing the person I was trying to please.

Conversely, a story my brother enjoyed reading, Leo's Daughter: Mistress of the Web, did not appeal to my mother. She told be that she had read the story several times but she just didn't get it. When I tried to explain the Greek mythology behind the story she stopped me. She didn't want to know. Of course, she was quite right, if you have to explain the story behind the story, you have failed in some way.

So, writing for one group of readers will not appeal to another group. You have to make a decision and accept that not everyone will enjoy reading your stories.

The good news is: my mother knew that the story she didn't like would appeal to my brother and, likewise, my brother appreciated that my mother would like the story he did not.


Last edited by Shelagh on Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:23 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dick Stodghill
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Dick Stodghill


Number of posts : 3795
Registration date : 2008-05-04
Age : 98
Location : Akron, Ohio

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 3:37 pm

If an editor decides to buy a short story, that's good enough for me.
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http://www.dickstodghill.com
alj
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alj


Number of posts : 9633
Registration date : 2008-12-05
Age : 80
Location : San Antonio

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 6:22 pm

Several people whom I respect highly as writers have validated my book by writing reviews. Two of our members here are among them: Charlie Moore and Abe March. Others, including members here as well, have expressed positive opinions of it, including Alice and Betty. One of the associates at the Joseph Campbell website reviewed it there, and that is important to me because it validates my premise, that Murphy's life fits in with Campbell's Hero Cycle. All of those help to validate the work.

This one is special in another way, as you might catch as you read it. A friend here in SA bought a copy as a gift to her father. His father had served with the 36th Infantry, from the Texas National Guard, and was one of the first ashore at Salerno, and told his son, my friend's father, stories of that campaign. This is what her father wrote to her:

Quote :
Thanks for the Audie Murphy book. You have a talented friend up there. The way she threads Audie's personal experience and comments through the narrative makes it readable and interesting. I'm almost half through - a very good account. Her aptitude in putting down her thoughts by poetic expression in the "Ode" is not often seen....About two years ago John Eisenhower was writing a book about the Italian Campaign and contacted me for some information about the battles around Monte Cassino, the Rapido River attacks. Pop's unit was one of the assault regiments in those attacks...

So if this man thought it was "a very good account," I figure that's validation, too.

Ann
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RunsWithScissors
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Number of posts : 823
Registration date : 2008-12-31

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 9:59 pm

deleted by merri


Last edited by merrihiatt on Thu Feb 19, 2009 12:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
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zadaconnaway
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zadaconnaway


Number of posts : 4017
Registration date : 2008-01-16
Age : 76
Location : Washington, USA

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyWed Jan 28, 2009 11:22 pm

Who validates my work? The readers, of course. I have yet to hear from anyone who didn't like it. (Maybe they just haven't voiced their displeasure) There are those who called it therapeutic, and that means a lot to me.
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http://www.zadaconnaway.com
Gina
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Gina


Number of posts : 136
Registration date : 2008-10-03
Age : 54

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 5:04 am

For my Utamaro book, it's been the enthusiasm of readers. I really wanted to get people to look beyond the pretty pictures and get more excited about the subjects, and that's actually happening, so I'm thrilled. Funnily enough, it was the feedback I got from a talk I did last week that really validated my work. It was based on the contents of the book, and the museum staff were so complementary that I have been floating around on cloud nine ever since. I don't generally float, so this is new for me.

For 'The Wonderful Demise of Benjamin Arnold Guppy,' it's been the response I've been getting from readers. I was aiming for 'funny,' but I'm getting 'hilarious,' which is ten times better. My mother laughs at me, as does my husband. I swear that sometimes even the rats are laughing at me. But I didn't know if anyone else would appreciate my sense of humour. So just hearing people laugh has been so amazing.

So, it's the readers. I could have just said that I guess.
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http://www.ginacolliasuzuki.com
Rhymer
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Rhymer


Number of posts : 278
Registration date : 2008-12-24
Age : 33
Location : usa

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 6:07 am

Writing the end to any story, book, piece of poetry etc. validates it for me. What makes me happy is when I receive honest feed back from someone who has read my book. I will always ask what part did you enjoy most and when they point to a certain place or paragraph in my book it makes me know they are sincere and have read my work. The latest was from a friend I won't mention the name of because you folks probably would know them. They had read my excerpt of Shadow People on my website and reviewed my work down to a misspelled word. They finished telling me how interesting they thought the story line was and that they especially enjoyed the Cain and Abel twist I had used. This told me immediately they not only had read but had offered sincere thoughts regarding my work.
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A Ahad
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Number of posts : 1102
Registration date : 2008-03-25
Age : 55

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 6:19 am

In the first instance, before your book is accepted for publication, you have to validate it yourself. When my manuscript was read by a person who was running a reading group in my local library, he said: "If I were a publisher and this landed on my desk, I wouldn't read past the first few pages. It's not double spaced, it reads badly and with 50,000 words it fits between a novel and a novella."

A close friend of mine said: "I will only read it if it ever gets published. Until then I'm sorry I have no time."

After the book was published and both those people heard praises from the radio and media, they shook my hand and said "Well done!" Very Happy
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 9:46 am

I hate to say it (in a vague way) but at the moment there is only one validator I really give a damn about:

who or what validates your work? New-5-dollar-bill


Lead me to freedom, Marse Abaham
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http://linrobinson.com
Helen Wisocki
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Helen Wisocki


Number of posts : 870
Registration date : 2008-03-21
Location : Massachusetts

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 10:52 am

My validation has come from the people who praise me for tackling a subject that brings awareness to a problem that many thought was no longer going on.

And then when a young woman read the book and wrote to me about her own story, asking me to write about it, I was honored to take on the challenge--and actually just finished it yesterday after a year of writing. Of course, there's editing and finding a publisher, but the first phase is done.

Knowing that I can make a positive difference in a person's life is such a great reward.
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http://www.innocencebetrayedbyclergy.com
flashgordon
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Number of posts : 241
Registration date : 2008-01-11

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 12:01 pm

Well, getting positive feedback is always validating. I guess when someone out of the blue emails me or tells me that what I have been doing benefited them in some way. Money is always nice, but it is ephemeral. A nice thanks or "I like what you are doing" is always better in the long run.
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http://newgreatbooks.blogspot.com
Don Stephens
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Don Stephens


Number of posts : 1355
Registration date : 2008-01-25
Age : 85
Location : Wherever my hat's hanging today!

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 12:09 pm

I’m like Rhett, I feel validated when I write “The End”. I don’t write it until I’ve completed my rewrites and edits and am totally satisfied the story is ready to submit.

I feel revalidated when someone reads my work and tells me they liked it.
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Dick Stodghill
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Dick Stodghill


Number of posts : 3795
Registration date : 2008-05-04
Age : 98
Location : Akron, Ohio

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 3:26 pm

I like it, Don, but I think I told you that.
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http://www.dickstodghill.com
Carol Troestler
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Carol Troestler


Number of posts : 3827
Registration date : 2008-06-07
Age : 86
Location : Wisconsin

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 4:23 pm

I have a story that appears on inspirational websites. (The downside is I haven't always given my permission or it is credited to "anonymous," but that is another story.) On one site there are seven pages of comments on how the story made a difference in their lives, they were sending it to their family, etc.

Now that validated me.

Carol
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http://www.authorsden.com/ctroestler
Malcolm
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Malcolm


Number of posts : 1504
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : Georgia

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 6:03 pm

The only one who can validate my work for me is me.

It's great when others like it, too.

Malcolm
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http://www.conjurewomanscat.com
lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyThu Jan 29, 2009 6:56 pm

I usually like to get a couple of hours parking validated with mine.
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http://linrobinson.com
Malcolm
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Malcolm


Number of posts : 1504
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : Georgia

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyFri Jan 30, 2009 9:34 am

Not bad, Lin.

Malcolm
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JoElle
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JoElle


Number of posts : 1311
Registration date : 2008-05-09

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PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyFri Jan 30, 2009 12:12 pm

Elves don't need their work validated.

They write it ... because it is fun.

Fun is fun and doesn't require validation.

** I'll validated your parking ticket, Lin!!
Cool
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alice
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alice


Number of posts : 15672
Registration date : 2008-10-22
Age : 76
Location : Redmond, WA

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptySun Feb 01, 2009 9:55 pm

Dear Alice,

I was able to read your book as the result of it being purchased by the Parkinson Association of Greater Daytona Beach, Florida in 2008. It was brought to one of our monthly support group meetings for people interested in reading. I picked it up and took it home to read. Your uplifting book is in our Parkinson library. for others to check out and read.

Warm greetings from Florida

I received this email today. This is what validates my work.


Last edited by Alice on Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:24 am; edited 1 time in total
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Carol Troestler
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Carol Troestler


Number of posts : 3827
Registration date : 2008-06-07
Age : 86
Location : Wisconsin

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptySun Feb 01, 2009 11:23 pm

Very nice, Alice.

I am trying to think about how to improve my writing, and in doing so, think about what has been validated.

For the past 15 years I have written different Christmas letters. The most popular was my letter about my piano, and here I shared the one about taking my grandson to his hockey game.

Just before Christmas my daughter-in-law said her grandmother was anxiously awaiting my Christmas letter. Another friend said she had kept them all and had reread them before Christmas this year.

My latest rejection said I wrote encyclopedic in my books. I think I did, but know I don't in the Christmas letters. So I'm going to rewrite as I write those letters. The publisher also said I could resubmit.

So looking at validation helps me be a better writer. And I also agree with JoElle, writing for fun is the best reason to write and is the best writing!! When I write for publication, my writing sometimes becomes stilted and encyclopedic.

And Alice, your book is indeed uplifting. There is a special talent in writing to uplift people and give encouragement.

Carol
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http://www.authorsden.com/ctroestler
Abe F. March
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Abe F. March


Number of posts : 10768
Registration date : 2008-01-26
Age : 85
Location : Germany

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyMon Feb 02, 2009 6:12 am

Carol said, "My latest rejection said I wrote encyclopedic in
my books. I think I did, but know I don't in the Christmas letters. So
I'm going to rewrite as I write those letters. The publisher also said
I could resubmit."

Years ago, when having a conversation, I felt the need to give as much background information as possible before getting to the point. The frustration shows on the listeners face saying, get to the point! I learned to get to the point and then provide background as needed.

A preacher giving an hour sermon may find many in the congregation falling asleep. If he were to condense the same material to a half hour, it would pack more punch. With lots of work, doing it in 15 minutes would be dynamic and have everyone’s attention.
The same is true with a story. The reader will quickly become bored with too much detail. How to weave important details into a story often requires outside help. Knowing what is pertinent and what is superfluous is a tough choice for the writer but more easily detected by a third party.

You have good material Carol. Don't give up on it.
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Betty Fasig
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Betty Fasig


Number of posts : 4334
Registration date : 2008-06-12
Age : 81
Location : Duette, Florida

who or what validates your work? Empty
PostSubject: Re: who or what validates your work?   who or what validates your work? EmptyFri Feb 13, 2009 5:42 pm

First, I have to say that you all validate my work with your kindness and help and friendship.

Today, I worked in my vegetables preparing the other half of the farm for planting. Some people came with little children and picked strawberries and beets and broccoli. The little boys were 3 and 5. The three year old asked me about a pile of gravel that is in my yard...what was it there for. I told him it had sharks teeth in it and it was kind of hard to find one but he could look. His mom and brother were right behind and looking very hard for the teeth.

I love to see imagination alive.

Later in the evening, the teacher of the Duette school came with a whole bus load of children who had read my book, Wooffer. The kids had all made valentines for Wooffer with pictures and hearts and saying how much they loved his stories. I wish you could all have seen those children when I brought Wooffer out to meet them. It was as if they had met a famous dog. I tell you all, you cannot get more validated than having your dog be famous.

Love,
Betty
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