# My fourth novel (political satire), CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE HEARTLAND **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [June 27, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190 "2023-06-27T19:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/21 "2023-07-10T21:39:08Z")
I made a lot of small changes and a few significant changes, based on all the feedback. I’m very satisfied with my work, but we’ll see if it catches on like I hope it will. The critiques were not at all dispiriting, and many were encouraging. Just about everyone had something helpful to provide. Thanks for asking, and thanks again for your input! ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/22 "2023-07-10T21:48:36Z")
Please let me insist, as I am curious about your approach and would like to know if it works: were the suggestions coherent? Or did we contradict each other? E.g.: someone writes: dialogue good, but descriptions not vs. another who states: plot great but dialogue shallow, both examples as hypotheticals. And very glad to read you are satisfied with your work! That is surely a beautiful feeling! Enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/23 "2023-07-10T22:18:28Z")
There were just a couple of contradictory recommendations in the feedback, but most of it worked well together. And thanks for asking! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/24 "2023-07-10T22:25:49Z")
Feedback is _always_ contradictory when you get comments from multiple people. I can state with confidence that Andy got conflicting suggestions, because I commented that I liked how it jumped right into the story on page 1 and filled in the gaps as it went along. Andy has written much more than I, so I look forward to his take. But I’ve found when soliciting feedback, it’s best to keep in mind the story _I_ want to tell and see if people are understanding it, versus getting sucked into chasing the story other people think I should tell. All feedback is very useful, it’s mostly a matter of how I frame it in my own mind. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/25 "2023-07-10T23:19:19Z")
Yes, this is absolutely true. I think I’m a good writer and hope I may be (or may become) a great writer, but most of all I write for myself - books that I would enjoy reading. I definitely disregarded some input that didn’t mesh with the story I wanted to tell, but even that feedback was helpful to me in understanding how readers might interpret the book. ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/26 "2023-07-11T23:56:17Z")
Ha, this sounds like a fun read! I put in an order for the paperback; I’ll probably pass it around to some of my Rumpke people. I will get a review into Amazon as soon as possible. I can’t wait to read it! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/27 "2023-07-12T00:03:30Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > But I’ve found when soliciting feedback, it’s best to keep in mind the story _I_ want to tell and see if people are understanding it, versus getting sucked into chasing the story other people think I should tell. I’ve experienced that with anonymous reviews for law journal articles. One in particular was upset because I didn’t include legal issue Y in my article about legal issue X. Legal issue Y was certainly important, but that’s not what my article was about. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/28 "2023-07-12T00:33:21Z")
Terrific, thank you! I hope you enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2023, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/29 "2023-07-31T11:04:57Z")
Anyone finish reading it yet? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/30 "2023-08-31T21:39:39Z")
…anyone? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190/31 "2023-10-05T14:41:34Z")
Epic Indie Books interviewed me about the book! > **[SPSFC 3 Author Interview - Andy Crawford — EPIC](https://www.epicindie.net/indie-scifi/spsfc-3-author-interview-andy-crawford)** > > 1.       What inspired the world, characters, or core concepts of your story? Was it a particular event, piece of media, or a speculative scientific idea? It was a particularly vivid dream I had. In the dream, a recent... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-fourth-novel-political-satire-cultural-practices-of-the-heartland/986190.md?page=1)