In one of my stories,
I accidentally changed the color
of the demon hero
mid-story from purple to red.
I didn’t see it
(not until after the story was published).
My editors (multiple) didn’t see it.
None of the reviewers saw it.
I haven’t received a single reader email
pointing out this should-be-obvious error.
Why?
Because the story fulfilled my readers’ emotional needs
so well,
they didn’t see (or care about) the error.
With another story,
readers write me about every single typo
(every story has at least one typo
– it is almost impossible to get 10,000 words correct).
They complain about the color of the hero’s hair.
They complain about the heroine’s reaction.
These complaints aren’t about the errors.
They’re about that story
not satisfying the reader’s emotional needs.
The readers know they’re not happy with the product
and they’re looking for reasons why.
If you have squeaky customers,
customers complaining about nitty gritty errors,
this might be an indication
that the overall product isn’t satisfying
your customers’ needs.
Grab this opportunity for improvement
(or possible product expansion)!