QUESTIONS
Do people want to read what I’m writing?
Should I keep investing all this time in this book?
How do I know if readers will want to read it?
If you’re working on a writing piece and have made substantial progress, there’s a moment of panic that happens. Nobody wants to waste time. Writing is an investment in time with an uncertain award at the end of the rainbow.
Is it time to find out if your project is worth continuing?
ANSWERS
If it’s meaningful to you, it will resonate with readers. If you approach your work with passion, the reader will feel your energy through the page.
Does it matter if the market has space for your subject? Do writers lead the discussion or do publishers? Where do the readers fit in?
Writers are readers. Writers are not influenced by business matters in the same way as publishers. So in this sense, they’re freer to express what is true for them. Writers are creative professionals who write to find meaning in their experiences and thus the world around them. People who write feel deeply. I seek meaning in my text that will, in turn, make the reader feel something like how Adele makes people feel with her deeply emotional songs.
So yes, please read your work to an honest group of colleagues. Listen for when they laugh, watch for when they smile or nod. Listen for gasps or a-has while you read. Did anyone cry or tear up? In this way, you will gauge the interest level of readers. If you write from the heart about something that matters to you, readers will read it because we read to feel something.
Leave a comment below to share what you think.
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