A few weeks ago, after I officially announced the removal of The Silver Ninja book one from store shelves. I received a most unexpected e-mail. (DISCLAIMER: I fixed some typos in his note prior to posting.)

Dear Mr. Luna,

I bought both your books and I was instantly drawn into
the epic story you have masterfully created I have NO idea why you
wish to remake the first book other than because of the bashing you
received for it cause I loved every second of its contents BUT I am
eager to read the remake when you finish it and anything you dish out
I wanta be a good writer myself one day and I hope to even do graphic
novels along with novels themselves your books were a great
inspiration to me and I am spreading the word to all my buddies in
highschool about them hoping to get them hooked as well so far so good
XD

Sincerely,

*** Davis
(Due to legal reasons, I am not posting his full name.)

Aside from the lack of periods and some grammatical problems, I thought this letter was very sweet. I still approached it with a bit of skepticism however. After all, spammers have become much more clever and I didn’t want to be fooled by another elaborate scheme to sell me Chinese knockoff purses or Russian brides.

I wrote back a carefully written reply so that 1.) I could see if this person really read my books. 2.) If my reply somehow ended up on the internet that it was at least written well.

Surprise, surprise, he wrote back with proof! He mentioned the conflict with the suit, knew Cindy and her friends, and noted how he loved the action sequences. He even asked why my book couldn’t be found on store shelves. (I’m still searching for a physical copy on the shelves. One day, one day.) This kid was real and I was ecstatic. Of course I loved the positive reviews I have received on Goodreads and Amazon but it’s a completely different experience when a fan takes time out of their day to write a letter addressed to you.

How ironic that the purpose of his letter was to ask me why, why was I remaking a book that he LOVED–

–and I hated.

Damn. Wasn’t ready for that.

I didn’t think that I was going to be one of those creators who would have to tell a fan, “I’m glad you liked it but I think it sucks.” This isn’t the first time someone has said this to me but now that three different people have said this, I’m starting to feel like a jerk.

It feels like you’re digging into someone’s chest and ripping their heart out.

Too extreme?

Okay. It feels like you’re telling someone who has a crush on you, “Sorry but I don’t like you like that.”

It sucks, plain and simple. I politely explained in my response that though I was glad he enjoyed the book, I personally needed to do a better job writing it so that I could be happy with the end result.

Sound selfish? It is . . . kind of.

When a writer decides to go through the hell of creating a book. It’s not for the fans, it’s for themselves.

All of your favorite authors (with maybe some exceptions) have embarked on this journey to satisfy that maddening need to spill their ideas out on paper. It has nothing to do with fans, nothing to do with fame, nothing to do with wealth, and everything to do with writing. Author’s hope to make money, hope to achieve fame, hope to satisfy the fans but it is not what fuels their passion.

I was honest with the kid but not brutally honest as I tend to be. I can sometimes be very harsh when people ask me about becoming writers because I feel that they don’t respect how much effort and work goes into the act of writing. They’re always talking about ideas and what they want to write but never actually get around to doing it.

Seeing as this kid loved my first book, I encouraged him to pursue what made him happy. I told him that the masterpiece he writes as a teenager may be embarrassing to reread as an adult. A natural part of the learning process. We exchanged a few more e-mails discussing my books, publishing, his aspirations and then I closed the conversation with a thank you and an offer of a signed copy of Edition 2 when it’s finished.

He happily accepted and exclaimed that he can’t wait to read what’s next.

I am determined not to let him (and you readers) down.