Do Your Readers Believe You Are In It For The Money?

I have read and enjoyed a lot of books. I admit that I read anything that people ask me to read, and I read anything that strikes me as interesting.  What I don’t enjoy reading is something that makes me feel that I bought a too short book for the price I paid.

I understand that writers are, in many cases, writing to earn a living doing something that they enjoy doing.  I understand that this is a good goal to have.  What I don’t understand is over-priced books.  I spend a lot of time on Twitter and buying books to review, and while most books are a good read, and I enjoy giving reviews, there are simply some books that I find hard to get through.  Sometimes I feel that the only reason an 88-page book cost me $10 is because the author wanted to make a quick dollar.

This is where I want to ask the writer, do your readers believe that you are writing for them or for money?  I am sure that some will say, “I am doing both,” but actions speak volumes. I am also sure that some do just want to make money, and the readers can be second to anything else.  There are also new authors who simply did not take the time to really find out the market for their books.

What I believe any author, or writer, or publisher should ask themselves, is: Do my readers believe I am in it for the money? I don’t think that a book should be published simply because it is finished. I have seen and heard of too many self-published books that didn’t do well because they still needed some work. I have also seen some wonderful books written by self-published authors (The Dog Who Ate the Airplane by Edward  Coburn and Heckler by Michael Schultz come to mind) that I enjoyed a lot.

The key to success in writing is knowing what your readers like and what they think, and what you can do to improve your work.  I love to read, and I like to sit down and enjoy a book and not have to worry about how much money I spent on it.  That is the way it should be.  The answer to the question “Do your readers believe you are in it for the money?” should be, no.  It should be because you can write a wonderful story, and not the money or if it was self-published, but because we love it.