Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
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Rodney G. Miller
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Why read? Why write?
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I this day and age every writer is trying to make money. Otherwise, what is the point of writing novels. Even heavily subsidised educational journals make money from those who subscribe to them. Nothing is free these days.
John wrote: "I this day and age every writer is trying to make money. Otherwise, what is the point of writing novels. Even heavily subsidised educational journals make money from those who subscribe to them. No..."
You are too quick to generalize about that. I am not the only author who writes simply for pleasure, by far. My goal in writing novels is to entertain others with my stories: that is my point. It is as simple as that. I have written 30 ebooks up to now in nine years, have accumulated over 150,000 downloads by readers and got hundreds of ratings and reviews, all this while publishing online for free through a vanity publisher.
You are too quick to generalize about that. I am not the only author who writes simply for pleasure, by far. My goal in writing novels is to entertain others with my stories: that is my point. It is as simple as that. I have written 30 ebooks up to now in nine years, have accumulated over 150,000 downloads by readers and got hundreds of ratings and reviews, all this while publishing online for free through a vanity publisher.
I have to agree with Michel.
It seems to me that competing and pushing for a publisher and then sales is a lot of work with very little chance to make money on it anyway. Once you have dealt with the costs.
Most authors never make any money from all that effort.
On the other hand, most of us have jobs and so any writing we do is in our own time, therefore as a pleasure / hobby thang.
So the point for me is to merely enjoy, and hopefully others will enjoy the fruits of my labour in turn?
It seems to me that competing and pushing for a publisher and then sales is a lot of work with very little chance to make money on it anyway. Once you have dealt with the costs.
Most authors never make any money from all that effort.
On the other hand, most of us have jobs and so any writing we do is in our own time, therefore as a pleasure / hobby thang.
So the point for me is to merely enjoy, and hopefully others will enjoy the fruits of my labour in turn?
Years ago, a colleague in journalism told me a writer wasn't a writer unless they were read whereas a painter only had to leave his pictures lying about in order to be 'seen'. She was confusing the purpose with the reward. Yes, it's frustrating to write without an audience: I published my 1st book in my twenties and it was 25 years before I published the next one. I didn't consider the books inbetween a waste of time. They were the process of learning my craft. The 2nd book was a lot better than the 1st one and that was enough. Lynn Bushell: 'Painted Ladies.'
I love your post, Lynn, and thank you for sharing. I wrote my first six books years ago during my first marriage...not to be read, but for my own enjoyment. And believe me, they got me thru some trying times. I finally gathered the courage to publish them in 2019, and they were not been a waste of time at all. I still treasure them and so enjoy that other readers are enjoying them now, too!! My 'newer' books have been well received and I agree, they are better than my firsts. I wish you every success!
That's a lot of books, Gail. I take my hat off to you.Lynn
We read to gather facts, to study or research on some observations and to create a future for ourselves generally. Writing sometimes often goes with reading. We may have many reasons for writing. One can write to pour out one's mind on things one have learnt from studies, research, experience etcetra. Teaching is also one of the reasons for writing. I have lecturing and teaching experiences. I have to study and write to prepare lecture notes and lesson notes before teaching or lecturing. There are many benefits that go with writing and there are many reasons for writing and reading. What would the world have been today had it not been that some books where written? Imagine what a world, for me as a Christian, without the Bible. What indeed would the world have been like had it not been that we have the opportunity to read some books?
I don't see a 'like' button in this format, but if there were one here, your post, Lynn, would be my first official click in this community. Well said.Lynn wrote: "Years ago, a colleague in journalism told me a writer wasn't a writer unless they were read whereas a painter only had to leave his pictures lying about in order to be 'seen'... "
"The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."Samuel Longhorne Clemense aka Mark Twain (Author) 1835 - 1910
In my case - because I can't do otherwise! Reading and storytelling has been part of my life since I was a kid. :)
I read because more often than not a good book is better than anything on television. It also allows me to escape for a few hours. A good story can take you anywhere. You can choose the topics you engage with. If you want to get away from covid or racism or politics, or whatever, there's a book out there for you. I write for the same reasons. It's my chance to get away from the real world for a short period of time.
Me too Kristine. It’s like therapy to me.
Why write? For those who do write, most, like myself, do it because we like to write and thus make our ideas, opinions and feelings available to others. A few do it in order to couch on paper and record their life experiences, like in memoirs. Others do it while hoping to make enough money out of their writing to make a living from it. Personally, I believe that those who write simply to earn money write for the wrong reason and tend to produce less inspired stories, due to having less emotional motivation in their work. But that's only my personal opinion.