Expectations and Mediocrity

Expectations and Mediocrity
Terry Odell

Light brown dog peering through a fenceRecently, James Scott Bell posted an article about whether writers should write mediocre books. Having just completed a book that’s on the fringes of my normal writing genre, I’d been struggling with the “is it good enough?” question. Given my primary goal in writing this book was to be able to use my recent trip to the Faroe Islands as a tax write-off, I had to resist the urge to crank something out quickly, just to have something to wave at an IRS auditor should they question the validity of my deductions.

I couldn’t. I needed to write something I’d be proud to have my name on. Not something that might have a reader crossing me off their reading list.

JSB’s post reminded me of frequent discussions I have with my son, who’s a photographer.

Our trip to the Faroes, wonderful as it was (There were Puffins! And waterfalls! And striking landscapes! and sheep!), led to discussions with both my son and the organizer of the tour.

Now, I’m no spring chicken, but I think (or thought) I was in decent physical shape. The description of the photography tour/workshop said most days would be “easy walks, gentle hikes.” There was one day, they said, that would be longer and more strenuous, but the views would be worth it. My expectations were nothing like the actual efforts required for almost every shooting venue.

Granted, the weather increased the efforts required. We had rain, which made the uneven terrain muddy and slippery. Add schlepping camera gear, and those of us in the over 70 group were challenged.

My “solution” was to minimize the gear I carried. Never mind that the tour organizer said, “Bring everything” almost every time we got out of the van, I opted to leave almost all of my gear behind. Not once did I use my tripod to get wonderful long-exposure shots. Only once did I bother with a polarizing filter. It was damp, drizzly, and sometimes the drizzles were more like light rain. I didn’t want to go to the trouble of changing lenses, or adding and then removing filters when everything was getting wet. My main lens was water sealed, but raindrops on the lens mess up one’s shots. Most of the dedicated photographers in the group, however, did make these extra efforts.

Getting back to the point I made with my son, and also the tour operator who seemed surprised when I told him my favorite site (other than the puffins, of course) was a stop at a lighthouse. The van parked maybe a five minute walk away. The ground was relatively level. And there was more to photograph than waves crashing against sea stack.

Of course, had I been a serious photographer, I’d have been content to have my camera set on its tripod, and sit around waiting for the light to change for the better. But I’m a writer with a photography hobby. Not a serious photographer. I belong to a book club, not a camera club. He was also surprised when I told him that on day 3, I had under 300 images on my memory card. He probably had 3000.

Although I had much of the suggested equipment, I decided it wasn’t worth dealing with given the effort required to get to the designated shooting area. Yes, I hiked the 7 kilometer round trip to get to the top for the “hanging lake” iconic shot. Uphill. Through mud. Slippery grass.

Terry Odell standing atop a cliff in Vagar, Faroe Islands

Photo by Jason P. Odell

"Hanging Lake" Faroe Islands

Lake Leitisvatn, Sørvágsvatn, Faroe Islands

No, I didn’t climb even further for a ‘better’ view. Most of those ended up being one shot. Nor, after that day, had I any desire to go on yet another hike to get a sunset shot. (Note: this time of year, sunset is around 10 PM). Did I feel guilty? Did I regret it? Nope.

My son and the tour organizer are photographers. Their reputations and their business depends on people seeing photos that say, “If you come on one of my tours, you, too, will be able to get photos like this one.” Putting out a mediocre shot will do more harm than good.

How does this relate to writing? Ah—maybe she’s getting to the point! Putting out a mediocre book isn’t going to help my career or my reputation. Taking photographs that are acceptable to me to put on my website’s photography section is my goal. Heck, the odds are the vast majority of people looking at them are seeing them on their phones.

It all boils down to audience and expectations.

If you’re going to a photography website, you want to be impressed with the images. You’re probably interested in photography as much as looking at striking pictures.

My audience is readers more than anything else. Do they like my photos? Feedback says they do.

But … think about how many mediocre books get stellar reviews. Do readers really know what makes an outstanding book? If I had decided to crank out a down-and-dirty novel based on a trip I took, would my readers know?

Some would, of course. But how many would praise the book for any number of reasons that had little to do with the quality of the writing? My guess (assuming they take the time to write a ‘review’—but that’s another story) is quite a few. People are praising the schlock put out by AI.

Something that can help a book rise above the mediocre level is editing. As authors, we have a myriad tools available: critique partners, beta readers, professional editors, and a variety of software options. How far we choose to go is up to us.

Did you like the photos I shared above? I worked on them to a small degree. Nothing fancy when taking the pictures, and minor tweaks using Lightroom software. In the context of writing, these would be chapters I asked my critique partners to look at. I used my writing skills to create the chapters (taking the picture) and then applied my parnters’ feedback (where I agreed with it) to enhance the words.

Compare this to a professional photographer’s efforts. In this case, the photographer applied his knowledge and skills to set up his shot. These are the ‘tools’ he used:

Camera: OM System OM-1 Mark 2
Lens: Olympus 8-25mm f/4 PRO
Exposure Data
1.6” f/8 ISO 400
Shot at 8mm (16mm full-frame equivalent)
Tripod + Polarizing filter

Seascape at Faroe Islands by Jason P. Odell

Drangarnir, Faroe Islands, Photo by Jason P. Odell

But he wasn’t finished. While he doesn’t use “betas” because he knows what he’s doing, he has his editing toolbox, which includes Lightroom and Nik Color Efex, which he used for this final edited version.

Faroes Seascape by Jason Odell

Makes mine look mediocre, doesn’t it? Did you change your opinion of my images?

**Want to see more of his images? Go to Luminescent Photo.

Bottom line for me: people bring their own expectations and experiences to whatever product they’re looking at. If they’re reading a book by a best-selling author, odds are most of them are predisposed to assume it’s going to be great. And many—probably very many—of them don’t really know how to judge quality. One of the things I’ve noticed in the book clubs I’ve belonged to, is that readers don’t read like writers. When I mention that I found the author’s use of having more than one character in a paragraph with dialogue distracting, none of them were aware there was a “convention” of One Speaker Per Paragraph. It’s always interesting to see what they notice—and what they don’t.

What about you, TKZers? Anything you’ve noticed getting raves when it falls into your definition of mediocrity? Or something you consider fantastic, but then see feedback to the contrary?

Cover of Double Intrigue by Terry Odell(Oh, and if I can take a moment for some BSP. Double Intrigue my international romantic suspense set against the Danube river cruise I took last December is now available for pre-order.)


How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hands full. A murder, followed by several assaults. Are they related to the expansion of the community center? Or could it be the upcoming election? Gordon and mayor wannabe Nelson Manning have never seen eye to eye. Gordon’s frustrations build as the crimes cover numerous jurisdictions, effectively tying his hands. Available now in ebook, paperback, and audio.
Like bang for your buck? I have a new Mapleton Bundle. Books 4, 5, and 6 for one low price.
New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

Where Does My Book Belong?

Where Does My Book Belong?
Terry Odell

a wall of bookshelves full of books with a big question mark

Back in the days before I even gave writing a passing thought, my reading tastes ran to mystery and science fiction. Later, when I was toying with writing an original piece, I headed for the mystery genre. My daughters, who were reading sections as I wrote them, told me it was a romance. What? I’d never read a romance. Later, I learned there were sub-genres of romance, and one, dubbed romantic suspense, was included under the romance umbrella. I’m still irked that they didn’t call it romantic mystery because suspense is a different sub-genre under the mystery umbrella. I asked, and was told that the powers that be had decided to lump all mystery sub-genres together in the romantic suspense category.

For the record, writing a Romantic Suspense, be it mystery, suspense, thriller, police procedural or any other mystery genre, means you’re effectively writing two stories, with two protagonists who are almost equals, each with their own character arc. They can be working together or in competition, but they have their own GMCs. Not easy!

Readers of any romance genre bring their own expectations, and if there’s “romance” anywhere in the book description, they want—at the very least—a promise of a Happily Ever After. Of course, you have to solve the mystery, too. Or, in the case of my Blackthorne, Inc. novels, which are “action adventure romance”, you have to catch the bad guys.

Readers in bookstores—or libraries—gravitate to the shelves that hold the genres they’re looking for. When I was shopping my first true mystery, Deadly Secrets, it was turned down because the publisher wouldn’t know how to categorize it. Yes, it was a police procedural, but it had a “cozy” feel, and I was told to pick one, rewrite, and resubmit, or submit something else that fit their cubbyholes.

I was fortunate with the timing for this one—indie publishing had just become a thing, and I could publish it myself. Which I did.

Of course, all publishers, be they indie or traditional, have to fill out categories and keywords for their books. Something to let readers know what to expect. But ebook publishers can choose more than one category, because the shelves in online bookstores are almost infinite. You no longer have to be a huge best seller to warrant shelf space in two departments (think JD Robb, whose books can be found on both the romance and mystery shelves in brick and mortar stores).

When I returned from my trip through the British Isles, I thought I’d write a simple romance. (Motivation—write off the cost of the trip.) It didn’t take me more than a few chapters to realize I had to include mystery elements. The category romance genre (think Harlequin) wasn’t working for me.

Now, I’m writing a novel, Double Intrigue, set on a Danube River cruise. (Same motivation as above). As with Heather’s Chase, the book set in the British Isles, my intention is to subtitle it “An International Mystery Romance,” thus connecting these two books.

Here’s my dilemma. My main characters are not law enforcement by any stretch of the imagination. Not even amateur sleuths. Their relationship begins simply as two people who meet on a cruise. Their goals are completely different. One, Shalah, is a travel agent who’s got her big chance to prove herself and move up in the company she works for by documenting her trip so the agency can sell the itinerary.

The other main character, Aleksy, is from Prague, and he’s involved in some shady doings in the art world.

Because I’ll be including “romance” in the metadata, their attraction must end up fulfilling a romance reader’s expectation, which, in this case, is a promise of that HEA. I don’t wrap up my books with 2 kids, a dog, and a white picket fence.

Aleksy appears to be in line to succeed the current head of the “institute,” but does he want to continue doing what he’s spent his life doing? Is the institute on the verge of being discovered for what it really is? Would he be arrested? Is his best option to get off the cruise ship and disappear?

Oh, and then there’s the “twins separated at birth” trope that shows up, too. Contrary to expectations, Shalah and her newly found sister aren’t getting along well.

What about the “mystery” angle? Can I even call it a mystery? There’s no crime being solved on the page. No cops or detectives as major players. What other shelves could it fit on?

How would you classify this book, TKZers?

One more thing. Speaking of travel, I’m leaving Sunday for a trip to the Faroe Islands. It’s a photography workshop. Maybe I can come up with an idea for another book. And another tax write off. And some more “Wanderings” posts for my new Substack. This week, it’s about my trip to Croatia.


How can he solve crimes if he’s not allowed to investigate?
Gordon Hepler, Mapleton’s Chief of Police, has his hands full. A murder, followed by several assaults. Are they related to the expansion of the community center? Or could it be the upcoming election? Gordon and mayor wannabe Nelson Manning have never seen eye to eye. Gordon’s frustrations build as the crimes cover numerous jurisdictions, effectively tying his hands. Available now in ebook, paperback, and audio.
Like bang for your buck? I have a new Mapleton Bundle. Books 4, 5, and 6 for one low price.
New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings
Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”