A Conversation with a Skeptic-Friend-Turned-Fan
So I’m six months into this writer journey, with two books under my belt, and had a recent experience I thought worth sharing.
My friend agreed to let me share this once she read it first and once I kept her nameless, so here goes:
Confession: “I didn’t plan to read your book”
“So… this is really awkward, but I just read your book (the first one)… and I think I owe you an apology.”
Huh?
(I was lost.)
“I know you’ve been talking about this book and this writer thing for months now…”
Yeah, I’ve been a bit of a pain, I know — but as an indie author, if we don’t shout about our books, no one will read them…
“Right. So like, when you first published, I told you congrats…”
Yeah, I remember. Thanks, I appreciate your support!
“And I told you I’d buy it, which I did…”
Oh, great. Thanks again…
“But at the time I figured: okay it’s a few bucks, what the hell… though I didn’t really plan to read it.”
Ah, okay…
(Now I get the “awkward” part)
“I do read, but not that much, and I’m busy with work and my kids…”
Sure, I get it. Totally understand…
“And then, the other day, I was in a waiting room at the hospital for about six hours.”
(*We chatted for a bit on her personal family matter – this part I won’t share*)
“So I had my phone, and literally nothing to do for a long time, and I saw someone reading a book next to me, and I remembered I had downloaded your book months ago, so I hunted on my phone to see if I still had it… I don’t really understand this app thing, not sure if it disappears after awhile…”
Okay…
(This is getting to be the weirdest “apology” and most awkward long-winded convo ever)
“So yeah… I started reading it…”
Oh, great. Let me know how it turns out. Hope you like it.
“…And I finished reading it that same day.”
Bless your soul. Amazon says it takes 14+ hours on average…
“Yeah, that sounds about right. The six hours in the waiting room… then another hour on my journey home… then four more hours… took a break to organise my kids for bed and to get ready for school the next day… then the remainder of it I read well into the early hours of the morning… and I had work the next day!”
Oh, dear.
“In fact, I think I might have given myself a bladder infection coming down to the end, because I put off STOPPING for quite awhile.”
YIKES! Okay… ah, sorry?
“So… right. The apology part. Well… like, I always knew you were into writing, but somehow it just… wasn’t what I expected.”
What did you expect…?
“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe that it was going to be too ‘high-brow’ for me to ‘get’ (like I said, I don’t read a lot) since I know you’re like, smart and stuff… or maybe that it was going to be bad or just kind of ‘meh’ and I didn’t want to feel awkward talking to you if I didn’t like it…”
Ah, okay…
“I just didn’t expect it to be like… like… I don’t know. You know when you binge-watch shows you stream because you just can’t stop? I’m not a big reader, and I just never felt that way from a BOOK.”
Ah, okay…
“Like I could PICTURE all these characters, Like I could FEEL everything. Like I wanted to BAWL and SCREAM and fling the book when I got to Chapter…”
(*spoiler – not sharing that part*)
(And now, I’m laughing — and noting who to keep in touch with, to one day help me write my Netflix pitch!)
“So… yeah. I just wanted to say — I’m so sorry I took so long to read it. And so sorry I didn’t even originally plan to read it. I promise I will now, for anything else you write.”
Thanks, I appreciate it. I really do.
Why are “friends” the last to believe?
So that conversation led me to think a lot about how isolating it can be as an author, particularly an independent/self-published or “indie” author.
I just did my first couple of “Author Takeovers” recently, where you “take over” a Facebook group and chat with its members for awhile in real-time. (To get an idea of what this entails, read this post.)
It was AWESOME to know that people tuned in just to say hi and that they appreciated your book.
And here’s the thing I realised, while doing it:
My biggest fans are people I’ve never met, and likely never will.
Ironically, “supportive” friends can sometimes be the last to appreciate your work.
In many cases, it goes a little something like this:
- They’ll say “congrats” a million times and tell everyone you’re awesome… but never buy the book
- They’ll share your post and/or tell others you wrote a book, and pretend they’ve read it
- They’ll browse reviews and then tell you they’ve read the book, when you absolutely 100% know they haven’t
- They’ll buy the book with no intention of ever reading it, and tell you “I’m supporting you with a sale”
…Yeah. And this is the supportive friend, which many authors are not even lucky enough to have!
Somewhat salty support…?
Nothing against these types of friends, by the way. ANY tiny nudge of support is appreciated! As an indie author, we take EVERYTHING we can get!
…And I’m not saying my book is the best thing ever, or that it will change your life.
Some people loved it, and they GOT it. Others… simply… won’t.
So, I reiterate: I’m not screaming “READ MY BOOK” to everyone. Obviously, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea!
But I’d much rather you pass along the info to someone you know who DOES read and might actually buy it AND read it.
It’s a little insulting to tell a writer “I’m supporting you with a sale” (woo-hoo! I get a buck and some cents), with absolutely ZERO intention of ever reading it.
While a sale is always nice, I’m not in dire need of the pennies. I’m writing to share a story, not to make a mint off of my closest friends!
So I’m not baring my soul in my writing just for empty admiration.
If you DON’T plan to read it, be upfront about that, and find other ways to support!
If you DO plan to read it, then give your friend the benefit of the doubt, and go in blindly with the faith that there’s something of merit in their work.
And remember, there are several ways you can support your writer friend — even if you don’t read, or don’t read their genre.
We live in a shareable world driven by social media influencers, and amidst the cacophony of noise, any little nudge will help.
You can share my posts, my promotional images, my Author website, my purchase links (Kindle or paperback), my Facebook page @SFortuneAuthor, my Instagram feed @sfortuneauthor, or my Twitter feed @authorsfortune.
Or, if you’re not on social media, no prob… you can do the old-school version of this. Drop it into a convo: “Hey, so my friend published a novel…” Yeah, it’s that simple.
Like I said, there are LOADS of ways to support your writer friends, without giving an empty promise about reading/buying their books. If you want to help but don’t know how, just ask!
