101 Reasons to Stop Writing

The Fundamentals of Our Publishing are Wrong

 
This Month's Demotivator:

Reason #6: You Don’t Read What You’re Writing

Think about the list of books you made for Reason #2: You Don’t Buy Books. (Pretend you made a list.)

Imagine you had to put all those books back on the shelf at the bookstores you bought them from. (Or, just think about your favourite/most frequented stores.)

Now imagine your next book, all gussied up in a sexy cover, with a jacket blurb that exactly captures the spirit of your story. Where would it be in those bookstores? Would your book be anywhere near the books you bought, or somewhere else?

Would you (or a hypothetical reader just like you) even pick it up?

 

7 Comments

  1. links from Technoratiالمكتبات؟ هل سيكون في أي مكانٍ قرب الكتب التي اشتريتها، أم سيكون في مكانٍ آخر؟ هل ستلتقطه – أو سيفعل قارئ افتراضي -؟ شون لندسي، 6 نوفمبر 2006Reason#6: You Don’t Read What You’re Writingتعليق: كاتبٌ وليس قارئاً! يوسع الكثيرون استخدام مفهوم: “أنا لا أؤمن بكل ما أكتبه، ولا أفعل كل ما تفعله شخصياتي”. – الضروري في الكتابة -،

  2. Bo:

    It’s reason ONE, not #2.

  3. It’s hilarious that you’re the first to notice that, including me.

  4. Anonymous:

    at the risk of sticking my head out, I read on the Sara Douglass website that she doesn’t read ‘Fantasy’ which is the genre she gets paid to write.

  5. Yes, I read my genre. That’s why I write my genre, because I’m so freaking in love with it I want to see more of it, even if it’s mine, and even if it never sees publication.

  6. Yep

    I read several genres and all of my stories would go along side them somewhere
    so:

    ‘Check’

  7. Kramer auto Pingback[...] You don't buy books.4. You need to average 1,666.666 words per day.6. You don't read what you're writing.9. A better word here and there won’t make your writing suck less.11. You think Web 2.0 will [...]

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