Why it’s All About the Readers

When I first put my novel “Keeper of the Scale” up as an unknown author on Goodreads I had little expectation that anyone would actually rate, let alone review it. So when I received my first site review soon after – from a reader named Ananda – I was floored. Both by her beautiful words and enthusiasm, as well as for the fact that she lived in another part of the world; the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The fact that my book was being read not just in the States, but globally, jolted me back to the reason I wrote Keeper of the Scale in the first place: to connect with readers.

Yes, a writer writes. But without readers, what’s the point?

Seeing Ananda’s comments reminded me why we writers are driven to spend endless hours putting one word after another, creating something out of nothing.

It’s all about the readers.

Soon after I had a lovely email exchange with Ananda, and something she said really stuck with me: “When we read your books, we read your words and we judge your book based on that, your skill to transport us into a completely different world where everything is possible. BUT when we (readers) actually have the privilege to talk to you, authors, we discover the soul behind the pen. And there's the bond!”

After our correspondence I realized that somehow, somewhere along the lines, I had forgotten what writing a novel was really all about. I had forgotten about my readers.

Which got me thinking how writing your first book is a lot like dating. In the beginning you are enamored. There is the thrill of the idea, of meeting your characters, of seeing your novel start to take shape. Your creativity flourishes, you feel alive, you jot ideas down in line at the supermarket, on napkins at restaurants, in parking lots.

In the beginning it's all about your readers – you can't wait to share your story, you wonder if they will be able to connect with your characters and how best to keep them turning pages. You believe you have some kind of message to share and you can hardly wait to get it all down.

In the beginning it's fun. You meet with your writers group, talk about readers, ask your friends to give some honest feedback. Your book is a wonderful means to bond with others. You've never been happier.

And then one day it happens. You finally finish your manuscript and the courtship ends. In fact it comes to a screeching halt. Suddenly it’s no longer about getting to know your characters and reaching readers. Instead it's all about revising with the single minded goal of landing an agent. You are no longer a starry eyed romantic looking at your novel through the eyes of a reader, rather more as a business person. More removed. You start to question your book, yourself. How many words can be cut? Is the plot really working? Should there really be so many secondary characters? Was this whole idea of writing a book a crazy mistake? Will an agent like it? Will an editor like it? Will anyone like it?

The honeymoon, as they say, is over.

And from there things only get worse. You finish revising and start pitching agents. And getting rejected. A lot. You realize what a naive fool you've been, slaving away at the keyboard all these
years. You vow this will be the first and last time you ever do anything so idiotic. You begin to feel a bit disconnected with your book, with your potential readers, with the message you thought you had to share.

Even after you finally, miraculously do land an agent, it’s no longer the same. Now your thoughts are consumed with your agent pitching publishers, landing a contract, appealing to editors. But again, through no fault of your agent or editors pitched, you get rejected. A lot. Your dream of connecting with readers seems further and further away. Times are rapidly changing in publishing, editors are being laid off, your genre is no longer popular… There is simply less room for new authors. Your book, which once filled you with so much excitement, is no longer fun. That's when you make the decision to go Indie.

One way or another you're going to get your story out there. And you do. And, the crazy thing is, the minute you self-publish it’s no longer about landing a book deal. It goes instantly, and surprisingly, right back to where it all began – to connecting with readers. You're seeing your book fresh, wondering once more if readers will discover it. Despite yourself, you're enamored all over again.

Thanks to Goodreads, I was able to connect with Ananda. Who is she? A mother, a wife, a chick-lit blogger. A bookworm. A kind soul. But I’ll always remember her as my first Goodreads reviewer. The one that got the conversation going. The one that reminded me of what it’s really all about.

Because writing a novel really is, and always has been, all about the readers.--DC

Keeper of the Scale