Why You Should Pay for Books

Writer Wordart (Photo credit: MarkGregory007)

This morning, I read a blog post by my friend, Alan Jobe, regarding the trend toward pricing e-books at “free.” Alan has been reviewing books for a number of years and worked in a library, so I know the man has a strong appreciation for the written word. His thoughts on the subject were enlightening. This post is written in response.

As someone who has been a full-time novelist for nearly three years (thanks mostly to the faith and patience of my hard-working husband), I can tell you that being a writer is no way to make a living.

The truth is that, while publishing has gotten easier, finding an audience has become increasingly difficult. I am thankful to have a fair number of vocal readers, most of whom have paid for every book I've written. With each book I write, I hope to pick up more of these readers. Progress is slow, though. And my dream has a deadline. Without a larger audience, I will be forced to return to editing full time in the near future, which means I will likely stop writing entirely.

So, how do you build an audience in today's publishing market? With a glut of terribly written novels competing against others of higher quality, it is no surprise that "free" is often the only way to get a "new-to-you" writer onto the average e-reader. After that, the quality of the work is the only tool the writer has in getting readers to buy another of his or her books.

Alan argues that he has no reason to buy a book when he can get so many for free. If you agree with his argument, please keep this in mind: if writing becomes a “non-profit” industry – so to speak – readers will soon find themselves in a barren literary wasteland. That’s not to say there won’t be books – there will be millions of them! But none of them will be fresh and new, because no one will be writing anymore.

My plea is this: if you read a free book and enjoy it, buy one of the author’s other books. Most e-books cost about what you would pay for a cup of coffee or maybe a fast-food hamburger. If you read a new author and love their work, tell your friends! There is no shortage of e-books, so there’s no reason to horde all the good writers for yourself.

Five New Year’s Resolutions for Writers

Image by joka2000 via Flickr

In just two short days, 2012 will dawn, bringing with it the same promise of every previous new year. Many of us will make resolutions to ourselves and our loved ones: to eat less, exercise more, be nicer, become organized, etc.

If you are a writer, chances are good that by March, most of those resolutions will have gone out the window. When you are stuck on your storyline, that bag of chips or box of cookies will practically jump into your hands. When your creative juices are flowing, who has time to jump on a treadmill? Whether your writing is going well or poorly, the chance that you will snap off the hand (or various other extremities) of anyone interrupting you is close to 100 percent. And, of course, any writer who claims to be organized must be fooling himself.

Therefore, I present to you a few resolutions you might actually keep:

1. Avoid Gloating. That five-star review that’s got you over the moon today? Go ahead and share it. However, don’t assume that every reader will think you are the next (insert most-admired author’s name here). In fact, tomorrow you may suffer the crushing blow of a one-star review. Which leads to…

2. Don’t Lash Out in Anger. Remember, people, the internet is forever. Just because someone doesn’t like your work, doesn’t mean he or she is an imbecile or a monster. If you call him or her that, you are the one who winds up looking like a fool and probably losing readers as a result.

3. Finish that Novel/Novella/Short Story. I understand that not everyone writes at the same pace. However, endlessly polishing your work (yes, I am talking about that manuscript that is now in its fifteenth draft) is just another form of procrastination. It’s done. Publish it already. After that…

4. Write More. We are all proud of our first novels. When we finally put them out into the world, we can’t help but believe our baby is going to shine brighter than any literary star out there. And maybe it will, someday. In the meantime, it’s going to be overshadowed by the brilliance of other works. You know what will help your baby grow brighter? A few siblings. A cluster of stars always shines more brightly – think of the Milky Way.

5. Be Kind to Fellow Travelers. Writing is often a solitary road, even in today’s connected world. Therefore, when you read someone else’s good news on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else, take a moment to congratulate them. If someone is down, offer comfort and encouragement. If you know the answer to a question, share it. Try not to trample the dreams of others. That dream might be the only lifeline they have left.

 Happy New Year! Here’s wishing all of you a bright, productive 2012!

Do You Have a Book in You?

Next month, along with thousands of other writers, I will be attempting to write a complete novel for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). In order for me to accomplish this goal, I will need to double my daily writing output from 1,000 to 2,000 words. While this is a challenge, it’s not impossible; I do hope my friends and family will forgive my absence over the coming weeks, though. I hope to pop my head up for a few days around Thanksgiving.

This morning I was thinking about all the people I’ve known over the years who told me they had a novel in them. If you are one of those people, now is the time to prove to yourself and everyone around you that you do: sign up for the NaNoWriMo challenge. Put your effort where your mouth is. Don’t think about the 50K word goal – just write every day for a month and see where you are at the end. NaNoWriMo offers a multitude of peer groups to join; if you need even more support, I highly recommend joining the Book Junkies on Facebook.

From my personal experience, I can honestly say that writing one book has the potential to open your creative floodgates. It took me six months to write The Thief of Todays and Tomorrows. Before I was done with it, though, I had ideas for several more novels. My NaNoWriMo novel will be my eighth book and I’m sitting on at least six more plots.

Stop telling me you have a novel in you – write it down and share it with the world.