When a Reader Doesn't Finish Your Book

There are few moments as quietly devastating for an author as learning someone didn’t finish your book.

A DNF, short for ‘Did Not Finish,’ can feel personal, even when you know it shouldn’t. Months, sometimes years, of work sit inside those pages. Late nights, self-doubt, edits, rewrites, and the hope that somewhere a reader will fall in love with the story the same way you did.

When one of my ARC readers DNF’d my book, I was devastated. It took me days to climb out of the melancholy. My mind immediately went to the worst place. Maybe the story didn’t work. Maybe the characters didn’t connect. Maybe all those hours had somehow missed the mark.

Now the book has out for a couple of weeks and I'm not challenging any records, but what few reviews I have, are all Five Stars.

That was the moment the truth settled in. Not everyone will love my book.

Some readers will adore it. Some will enjoy it. Some may dislike it. And some will never make it past the first few chapters.

Ironically, I rarely DNF books myself. For years I believed if I start a book I should see it through. Sometimes pushing past the slow start reveals something wonderful.

But the older I get, the more aware I am that time is not limitless.

On the rare occasion I do put a book down, it’s almost never because the writing is poor. It simply means the story is not for me.

And that’s okay.

As writers, our job is not to please everyone. Our job is to find the readers who feel at home in the worlds we create.

Have you ever DNF’d a book, or received feedback that was difficult to hear as a writer? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Share them in the comments and join the conversation about the realities of writing and reading.

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