A Love Letter to Readers

I've been up to my ears in work lately. And the end is not in sight. So, the anxiety monster has been poking his little head over my shoulder quite frequently. I've been fighting the "I sucks" on a regular basis. I'm always reaching out to my awesome writer pals and they're always there to cheer me on. But you know what really lights a fire under my ass? Readers.

Readers, bloggers, reviewers, all you lovely people who take the time to read those silly words I put down. To all of you who post reviews, be they one star or a billion. To all of you bloggers who put my book in your multitude of Top Ten lists, be it a Top Ten Rereads or your Top Ten "I don't get it"s. Can I just say THANK YOU! 

Sometimes I dread sitting down at my manuscript. On those days, all it takes is a kind word from a reader to get my fingers typing. And sometimes, all it takes is a one star review to get those fingers typing, too. Because I want to do better. 

They say, "Write for yourself." And there's a lot of truth to that, but I also think it's a good idea to find a balance. Yes, write for yourself, because if you don't love what you're doing, it's probably not going to turn out well. But I think we should also write for our audience. Give them what they want!

Recently there was a hashtag on twitter started by @ShaelynCherie called #RBWL or Reader Blogger Wish List. It's similar to the #MSWL (Manuscript Wish List) editors and agents do where they tweet what kind of stories they want to see, but I think #RBWL might be more important. These are requests from the people who really, really matter: THE READERS (sorry agents and editors). 

So, here's my writerly advice for the day. Whether you're published or aspiring, get to know your audience. Read their blogs, follow them on Twitter, start conversations and get their opinions. Because just like you want to write the best words you can, they want to read the best words you can write! They don't want to hate your book, they want to love it!