My Deal With Readers

I was reading comments by an author over the weekend and she was complaining about “when” her readers bought her books. Her point: if all of her readers bought her book in the same cycle – her preference was on her actual release day – then she had a better chance of making a bestseller list.

I think this might be a good time for me to reiterate the deal I have with my readers. It goes like this:

I will write the best book I can for you.

That’s it. That is the sum total of our deal. I owe you the best book I can write in that moment. You do not owe me a damn thing. Not a review or a purchase on a specific day. Nothing. You can buy the book whenever you want, however you want, in whatever form you want. You can get my book from the usual channels (like Amazon, B&N, BAM or wherever you shop), at a used bookstore, from a friend or from a library. That is your choice – always.

Your money and time are important and when you choose to spend either on me, I am humbled and deeply grateful. But it is not your job to make my career. Yes, I understand that if people don’t buy my books then I might not be able to continue a specific series or write for a specific publisher. Those are my concerns, not yours. Those issues do not – IN ANY WAY – impose an obligation on my readers. I don’t worry about my readers’ careers and it is not their job to worry about mine. They should read and enjoy. Period.

I read my first romance in 1998(ish). A co-worker handed me three romances and told me to enjoy a happy ending for a change. I made my career as a custody litigator then and dealt with non-happy endings all the time. Those used books were gifted to me. I did not pay for them. I loved the authors – Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Lael Miller and Julie Garwood – and ruthlessly hunted down every book in their backlist, some from used bookstores. If anyone had told me that I had to buy these books in a specific way, I would have told them to kiss my ass. Honestly, I probably would have used nastier words.

A few years later I read my first Harlequin series romance (that wasn’t a backlist title of an author I already read) when I got one free in the Goody Room at RWA’s yearly conference (it was by Susan Mallery). I have read hundreds since then. I read my first digital book because a friend gave me a gift card and I used it at Ellora’s Cave (for Lora Leigh books). I buy ebooks the majority of the time now.

You’ll notice a theme here – free, free, free. Free books and used books led me to new authors. In fact, thanks to three free books from a friend, I discovered an entire new genre. That led to a new career. Those three free books literally changed my life.

I continue to buy thousands of dollars of books per year, in print and in digital. I buy what I want, when I want, how I want. I buy books for other people. I talk about books. When I finish some books, I pass them to friends who I think will like them. In other words, I give them used books so they don’t have to buy them. I give books away to the Salvation Army and Operation Paperback and others. And, yes, I even buy used books now and then. My money, my time, my choices. No apologies. That’s the gift I got as a reader. That’s what I want my readers to have.