READING!
One of the things I have been seeing a lot on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs is that people aren't reading anymore. It's a common complaint, usually from those who are unpublished and are trying to be published.
People aren't reading anymore, that's why I can't sell my books. Especially kids. Kids don't read. They play X-Box, they surf the 'net, they watch TV. But they aren't reading.
Phhheerrrrtttt.
I don't think that's true.
People are reading. People are reading books that catch their imagination, that grasp their interest. People are reading things they enjoy.
If people aren't reading (especially kids), then why do I keep seeing hundreds of kids in my school carrying the TWILIGHT series. Why did millions of people--kids and adults alike--haul around 900 page Harry Potter tomes?
The key is--especially with kids--is you have to have a well written idea that reaches above and beyond the X-Box, the Facebook, the TV. You have to find that niche that makes people go out and say "Wow, I need to read that book."
The most interesting thing I'm finding is kids who are reading the TWILIGHT series are going out and getting other romantic vampire books. The Harry Potter fans find other fantasy novels.
People are going to read what they like, and that's what's going to sell. Adult men are going to gravitate toward history, sports, and Chuck Pahlinuk (sp) novels. It's how they were brought up.
People are still reading. They're just not reading what we (you, me, other authors) want them to read.
People are going to read crime fiction and thrillers, but they need to find books that will draw them to other books in the genre. I found the genre through Robert B. Parker and (gasp!) James Patterson in college. Jeffery Archer and Michael Crichton in middle school. Others will find it through Dan Brown or Janet Evanovich.
Don't complain that people aren't reading. That's the wrong argument. Complain that there aren't enough books exciting enough to pull people away from everything else authors are competing with.
People want to read, I fully believe that. They just want to read something good. And then go watch TV.
People aren't reading anymore, that's why I can't sell my books. Especially kids. Kids don't read. They play X-Box, they surf the 'net, they watch TV. But they aren't reading.
Phhheerrrrtttt.
I don't think that's true.
People are reading. People are reading books that catch their imagination, that grasp their interest. People are reading things they enjoy.
If people aren't reading (especially kids), then why do I keep seeing hundreds of kids in my school carrying the TWILIGHT series. Why did millions of people--kids and adults alike--haul around 900 page Harry Potter tomes?
The key is--especially with kids--is you have to have a well written idea that reaches above and beyond the X-Box, the Facebook, the TV. You have to find that niche that makes people go out and say "Wow, I need to read that book."
The most interesting thing I'm finding is kids who are reading the TWILIGHT series are going out and getting other romantic vampire books. The Harry Potter fans find other fantasy novels.
People are going to read what they like, and that's what's going to sell. Adult men are going to gravitate toward history, sports, and Chuck Pahlinuk (sp) novels. It's how they were brought up.
People are still reading. They're just not reading what we (you, me, other authors) want them to read.
People are going to read crime fiction and thrillers, but they need to find books that will draw them to other books in the genre. I found the genre through Robert B. Parker and (gasp!) James Patterson in college. Jeffery Archer and Michael Crichton in middle school. Others will find it through Dan Brown or Janet Evanovich.
Don't complain that people aren't reading. That's the wrong argument. Complain that there aren't enough books exciting enough to pull people away from everything else authors are competing with.
People want to read, I fully believe that. They just want to read something good. And then go watch TV.
Labels: Harry Potter and the Really Long Book, Kids, Reading, Thrillers, Twilight, Writing
posted by Dave White at 8:28 PM
5 Comments:
Is Phhheeeerrrtttt the sound the horn makes at MSG?
Jaymar
It's a really good point. When my kids ask for TV instead of a book, I tell them that "TV turns your brain to mush and books are good for your imagination." The statement is open to argument, but for an 8- and 6- year old it gets my point across. I let them stay up a little later if they're in bed reading with a flashlight. I also try to let them see ME reading whenever possible. As to what books folks are drawn to, I agree. These days it has to be something better than what's on TV. My husband, a non-reader, is fond of saying he can get a whole story in a one-hour TV program but it would take him weeks to read a book. I'm a fan of books on CD -- I can effectively read in the car and check stuff off my reading list. Like anything else, you can make time for it if it's prioritized.
I preferred video games to reading until high school, by which time I knew I wanted to be a writer. By senior year, fiction had so captured my imagination that I sold my Nintendo Entertainment System and 90 games, and gave away my Super Nintendo.
As Rachel said, I found what my imagination made of the words so much more appealing then the set graphics and limited action of video games (jump, duck, punch, kick). I feel the same way about movies made from books.
What appeals to me most about reading is the sense of creative participation. Readers help an author's descriptions and dialogue come to life. The only better feeling is writing.
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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