Expectations

I was told this was an important subject that should be addressed in a blog and since it was brought up while someone was reading my blog, I guess that means I needed to write it.  So here I am on a Sunday afternoon and instead of reading a book that is calling out to me, I am writing a blog on expectations and responsibilities. I know there will be some authors and readers out there that will want to hunt me down and beat my ass about this blog, so let me start pissing them off right now.

I feel that both the author and the reader have a certain responsibility in their relationship. I am not talking about ass kissing the author or commenting on each review or post that a reader makes. A reader/author relationship is a strange thing. Sometimes it is fan worship. Other times it is a support group. Each person has their own job in the relationship, and we forget it once in a while. This blog is a reminder to both parties what their job is. No, I am not Dr.Phil and yes, this is my personal opinion on it. You can stop reading here or continue and see what gobblygook I am spouting on about.

Readers like to gush about a book and how much they love the author and that is great. But the big question is—Is it really true? I am going to admit I am guilty of this occasionally. Sometimes the book is not fantastic. It is good but not great. I can remember parts of it but not all of it. I read a lot and that means it takes a lot to get me to remember a book. I have a horrible memory, but there are some books that just never leave my melon.

Now we come to the responsibility of the reader. An author does not know if they are reaching a reader, if everyone just says that the book is awesome. Sometimes you need to reach out to the author in a PRIVATE place, not on their Facebook wall but in a message. Send them an email. There are a lot of ways to contact authors. Be honest, but remember that this book is their baby. Treat them with the respect that you would want someone to treat you with. Don’t try and tell them how to write their books. Tell them what you liked or didn’t like about the book. Be specific. They will not be able to fix the book you are talking about, but it may give them something to think about when they sit down to write the next book. They can’t fix what they don’t know is broken. I can tell you as a beta reader that you can’t catch everything. Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see something.

This is not the only responsibility that a reader has to an author. I will admit I am guilty of this one too. Patience. I hate this word, but I know that I have to learn to deal with the fact that an author can’t just pop a book out every other day. Writing is a long process. Sometimes with new authors it doesn’t seem that way. You want to know why? It is because a few of them have slaved over a book for years. Then they put it away and write a few more. Then they pull out that first one and say, “Today I am going to submit this book.” Then if they are lucky, it gets accepted. Now the fun begins. There is a process that takes time from when the book gets accepted to the time it is available for purchase. We are not talking days. We are talking months. In the meantime, they have sent in all the other books they have written. So from the time the first book is published till their next book is available may be just a month apart, but it was written sometimes years apart.

For most authors it takes several months to write a book. From the time they type the end till it gets published is even a few more months. I know we wish that we could read books one right after another, but that is not possible. You have to give the author time to not just conceive the plot and characters but to write the book. Then there is the process of getting it published. Most authors want to give us the books we are asking for, but they need the support of their fans to give them the time to write the books. Oh we can ask them about the books and sometimes, they will be able to give us hints, but we have to remember what a long process writing actually is. So suck it up, Buttercup and stop hounding the authors.

Now to what I feel is the author’s responsibilities. We, as your readers, should expect to get the best book you can write. If you are an author and expect us to give you our money then we should get quality books. I know that every book is not going to be awesome, but I expect a well written book.

I am a character reader. I like the characters that could be my neighbor (if he was hot and rich). I want to be able to remember them after I have closed the book. I want a story that makes me laugh, cry, or get angry. Your job as an author is to make me care about the characters and what they are going through. 

Are you going to hit it out of the park everytime you are releasing a book, probably not. But if you put your heart into it then I will respect that sometimes a book just doesn’t gel. Most authors I know want to put out the best book they can, but so many things go into it. They have families that also need attention. Maybe their muse has become a bitch and won’t talk to them. It could be anything that can make a great idea go a bit off center. 

Now here is where I am really going to piss some off. I have found several authors that are just pumping out books. I have read a lot of them. I still like the books, but they don’t resonate with me. I can’t remember the characters or, hell, even the plot lines. Sometimes it is because there is no plot and the characters are one dimensional, at best.

As money gets tighter, I have found that I would rather buy quality over quantity. I have stopped buying a lot of these authors. These books are good for a quick read but not for much else. If I gave one of these books to a friend then chances are it would not make a fan out of them. 

Now don’t get me wrong. There are some authors out there that can totally write a book in a week. These authors are few and far between. If they do self-publishing, they can get the books out to the readers much faster because there are fewer hoops to jump through.

I don’t expect the moon and stars but sometimes we are lucky and get both from an author. This is because they put their heart and soul into the book and we as readers are doing our part in giving them feedback and supporting them when they are writing.

So are you holding up your part of the relationship?

 

Sinfully sarcastic,

Shmuttmeister