What is a reader owed?

One of the books that I’m currently reading is The Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers.



In it, the authors explicitly state that when a reader purchases a book they do so with certain expectations. They expect to be entertained regardless of the genre, but with genre specific books they have more specific expectations.

For example, a romance reader expects to read a story that details the ups and downs of love and relationships and preferably ends happily. A thriller reader expects to read about dead bodies in one capacity or another along with edge of your seat action. In this way it’s posited that an author enters into an informal contract with their readers; with expectations on both sides.

This got me to thinking about just what the reader is owed? Is there an unwritten contract between an author and their readers?

As an author, when I put out a new book it's fair to say that I expect people to read and enjoy it. Not many of us publish works that we expect people to hate reading right? Going further, it could be said that we also expect them to rate or review our book and thereby share their experience with more potential readers. This point is hazy of course as by no means are readers required to do this, but as authors we do tend to hope.

So that forms our side of the "contract". What about the reader? Certainly when someone spends their hard earned dollars on a book they do so with the expectation of enjoying it. No surprises there.

But to say all they expect is to enjoy it is too vague for me. How will they enjoy it? What would cause them not to enjoy it...thus breaking the contract. I think every author can agree that unpolished work published for reader consumption is a bad idea. Certainly if you purchase a book and feel as if every page requires grammar and editing work, you're going to be disappointed. In that case, the contract has been broken.

But again, that's simple and obvious. Of course readers expect professional results from us; as well they should! If we delve deeper though, what are some other ways that readers may be disappointed with our work? Let's say for instance that you're Stephen King. You're known and loved the world over for your thrilling horror novels. Readers buy your work with the expectation of being scared. Now what if you decide your next book will be a romance novel?

It will assuredly be professional in terms of grammar and editing. The story (assuming you can write romance, and let's say you can) will be entertaining. On the surface there is nothing wrong with the book. But have you broken your contract to your loyal readers? Remember, they expect to be scared not read about love. As authors do we owe it to the reader to write the genre they want us to write? Is it okay for us to experiment?

You see it's not as simple as it might've first appeared to be.

What about endings? Is the reader owed a specific type of ending based upon the genre you write? If your ending is unhappy or a cliff-hanger have you broken that contract with the reader who expected everything to end neat and tidy?

The problem as I see it is that it's virtually impossible to please everyone. If you end it happy, some readers will love it and some will hate it. If your manuscript is drenched in violence some will say it's too much but if it's not there some will bemoan its absence.

This is why the concept of a contract doesn't hold for me. Not that I don't owe the reader something because I do. If you buy my books I owe you a story; the one you hold in your hands. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it makes you feel something. And I hope you share that feeling with others.

Would I call that a contract? No. I look at it more as a shared experience.

How about you?