Your observation that reading is no longer considered necessary by writers is interesting and troubling. Personally I can’t see how it is possible to separate the two. If you don’t enjoy reading why would you write? And if you don’t read, how can you judge your own writing? Separately I admire your tenacity in continuing to submit stories to magazines, I gave up on this soul destroying activity when I joined Substack and feel better for it.
I can't separate reading from writing either, and when I write there's always some underlying motivation in me that this story I'm writing will have that magical effect on reader somewhere, that they won't be the same aftwr having read it. If you don't read, then how can you know to strive for this feeling, how can you know anything at all about story?
I haven't published any fiction on Substack yet, that to me seems like a brave thing to do. I'm working up to it 🤓
It’s not easy building an audience on Substack for fiction and particularly if you are a complete unknown like me, but the feeling of being in control makes up for it.
Thanks for recommending my standing stones! There really is something to be said about these relics and the connection to the past they bring.
I know exactly what you mean about people wanting to have a book with their name on it and not reading anyone else. About ten years ago, I remember an author I know saying something similar. I think they'd just been doing a workshop for writers and when she asked people what they were reading, almost all of them said they don't have time because they're writing. I find that extraordinary - I find time to read, even if I'm writing. How boring would a piece of writing be if it's by someone who hasn't read a book in years?
I hate to mention the dreaded AI, but it's something that taps into the urge some people have to get their name on a book cover. They'd crank out a book using AI, not even writing it, and then go, "look, I've got my name on it, I'm a writer too!" Except they're not, they're a prompter at best and a thief at worst.
I do wonder if the way Amazon has made self-publishing so easy has contributed to the shift. I know lots of writers who've worked really hard on books they can't get published, and they've turned to self-publishing. I don't have any problem with that (in fact, I self-published a novella in the 90s by photocopying it like a fanzine!). But unfortunately there's a lot of other people who bash out a novel, do no more than check it for spelling mistakes, and stick it on Amazon with a crappy MSPaint cover (these days of course there's crappy AI covers which rip off other people's, of course). Then they tell everyone they're an author because a book exists with their name on it. Well done for doing the first draft, but really, there's more to writing a book than that!
Shortly after AI came out I remember reading that Amazon put a limit on the number of books a person could publish in a day to five, because people were just churning them out through the machine. But I can imagine the motivation behind that being money rather than having your name on a book.
There's also the problem of celebrity authors who love to see their names on the cover of a book, in particular children's books. They pay a ghost writers a fixed fee et voilá, they are now an author, and this in itself feeds this prestige around being an author. It also squeezes the professionals, the true children's authors to the margins.
Like you I have nothing against self-publishing. In fact that may be a route I choose to take for a particular project I have. But like you say, it does mean those who don't have the insight into how a book is crafted can publish their first drafts believing them to be finished
I think all of this, all the things you mention has lead to a sort of chaos within the industry, and devalued the book as art form, and this in turn might be why people are hesitant to buy an authors book at an event, because it's "just a book".
I know exactly what you mean - it really has devalued books. I find it depressing when people list their books on Amazon for free as a way to advertise later books in the series. I know it does work, and does result in more sales, but I do feel that ir comes at an enormous cost and people shrug at the thought of paying even 99p for a book. That cannot be good in the long run.
Yes, agree. It leads to people coming to these events thinking books are cheap, a throwaway product. AND YET they want to write them, presumably with the aim of selling them - I don't get the equation.
It's so easy to feel powerless within the industry, so I have to always bring it back to what I love, which is reading and writing. I will keep feeding the ecosystem both ways without trying to control the outcome (which is what I tried to do during 2024 after my book was published, and which lead to misery and burnout).
First of all, thank you for buying my poetry book, Illicit Croissants At Dawn, and mentioning it here. It's very kind of you.
Would you believe I've never been to a reading?! There are none that I know of in Geneva - although David Nichols was there recently, but I was here in Spain already, and had missed him in Barcelona when he was here earlier this spring. I don't enjoy reading books in French, although I can, being bilingual. I'll read French magazines though. Maybe there are readings, but since I'm not part of a reading group I don't hear about them. I don't attend book clubs, partly because I'm too sick to leave the house most of the time (which could be a problem with going to readings, too!!!). I once went to a writers conference in Geneva and hated it, as it seemed like everyone was trying to out-intellectual each other, and that's not my vibe. It's a long time ago, so maybe I was feeling insecure. I don't know.
I held a book reading once, when the the orginal version of Just Like A Movie was published by a US publisher. At the time there was a small, lovely English bookshop in Geneva. I was terrified! Few people showed up, and like you, only one kind soul bought my book. I'm hoping to hold one here in Spain - I see there's a new English bookshop in Barcelona, and I've signed up for a reading there (Daisy Buchanan and Donna Freitas) in June, but it will depend on my tummy whether I can go or not). I could also hold one here, at home, but there again, I'm handicapped by my illness at the moment.
As for buying books and reading, I buy far too many. I buy books all the time; another two arrived yesterday that I'd forgotten I'd ordered! it's silly, in a way, because there's no way I can keep up with the reading. I like to be supportive of everyone (hello people pleasing mechanism...) so if I see someone here with a book to promote I'm there like a shot. And then, sometimes the book arrives and I realise it's not my thing at all, and then what on earth do I say. It's a conundrum, to me at least.
I read a lot. I also listen to a lot of audiobooks, because an old neck injury prevents me from holding a book up (especially a big hardback) for long periods of time. I read a lot of posts on here. In fact, since I got ill with my IBD all I do is read and write, because I'm so housebound. But we can't write without reading...or at least I don't see how. The more I read, and the more I write, the more comfortable I am writing. it's a muscle as well as a talent.
I'm off to Barcelona this afternoon to see my Spanish gastroenterologist. I'm hoping there might be something else I can take to allow me a little more freedom. Eating would also be appreciated!
I bought your book! Of course I did! I look forward to receiving it.
Thanks for this great piece, and sorry for writing a Ted Talk.
Thank you for this comment, you are so lovely in every way ❤️
And re talks, this is why I felt the need to specify "Brighton" in my post. Here you could go to author talks and poetry readings and storytelling nights every night of the week and still miss out. Whereas where I lived in Sweden, never an author in sight. So it very much depends on where you live, and as you say, there's no point in going to events that don't interest you.
I buy books too, so many books. But during lockdown I gave myself the challenge to read through my shelves without buying new ones. It was so much fun, and I found real treasures that had just been sitting there for years. Now I'm back to buying books and try to balance reading one old book per new bought book. But whenever I think my book buying is a problem, I look at my shelves and think "I'm rich".
I really hope you can get some help, so that you don't have to be so housebound. I'm still struggling with fatigue, but I think I might have turned a corner yesterday. I don't know where I would be without my reading. Having access to all these worlds, and also knowing that there are other people, like you, out there, disappearing inside literary worlds when one's own world needs to be kept small. A different kind of book club 🥰
"A different kind of book club" is perfect, as is looking around at all your books and thinking "I'm rich". We are so rich, aren't we! I hope you continue to feel better.
Thank you so much ❤️ It can be so disheartening, which is why I felt the need to explore what's changed, and I think it must be the perception of the book itself, as a product I mean, it's somehow been cheapened. I'm staying at home from now on, focusing on writing, which is the thing that I love to do ✍️🤓
Thank you. I write these things to straighten out my own thoughts, and to always remind myself that it's the writing that's important. Or I find myself getting lost in all the things that surround writing 🤓
Your observation that reading is no longer considered necessary by writers is interesting and troubling. Personally I can’t see how it is possible to separate the two. If you don’t enjoy reading why would you write? And if you don’t read, how can you judge your own writing? Separately I admire your tenacity in continuing to submit stories to magazines, I gave up on this soul destroying activity when I joined Substack and feel better for it.
I can't separate reading from writing either, and when I write there's always some underlying motivation in me that this story I'm writing will have that magical effect on reader somewhere, that they won't be the same aftwr having read it. If you don't read, then how can you know to strive for this feeling, how can you know anything at all about story?
I haven't published any fiction on Substack yet, that to me seems like a brave thing to do. I'm working up to it 🤓
It’s not easy building an audience on Substack for fiction and particularly if you are a complete unknown like me, but the feeling of being in control makes up for it.
Thanks for recommending my standing stones! There really is something to be said about these relics and the connection to the past they bring.
I know exactly what you mean about people wanting to have a book with their name on it and not reading anyone else. About ten years ago, I remember an author I know saying something similar. I think they'd just been doing a workshop for writers and when she asked people what they were reading, almost all of them said they don't have time because they're writing. I find that extraordinary - I find time to read, even if I'm writing. How boring would a piece of writing be if it's by someone who hasn't read a book in years?
I hate to mention the dreaded AI, but it's something that taps into the urge some people have to get their name on a book cover. They'd crank out a book using AI, not even writing it, and then go, "look, I've got my name on it, I'm a writer too!" Except they're not, they're a prompter at best and a thief at worst.
I do wonder if the way Amazon has made self-publishing so easy has contributed to the shift. I know lots of writers who've worked really hard on books they can't get published, and they've turned to self-publishing. I don't have any problem with that (in fact, I self-published a novella in the 90s by photocopying it like a fanzine!). But unfortunately there's a lot of other people who bash out a novel, do no more than check it for spelling mistakes, and stick it on Amazon with a crappy MSPaint cover (these days of course there's crappy AI covers which rip off other people's, of course). Then they tell everyone they're an author because a book exists with their name on it. Well done for doing the first draft, but really, there's more to writing a book than that!
Shortly after AI came out I remember reading that Amazon put a limit on the number of books a person could publish in a day to five, because people were just churning them out through the machine. But I can imagine the motivation behind that being money rather than having your name on a book.
There's also the problem of celebrity authors who love to see their names on the cover of a book, in particular children's books. They pay a ghost writers a fixed fee et voilá, they are now an author, and this in itself feeds this prestige around being an author. It also squeezes the professionals, the true children's authors to the margins.
Like you I have nothing against self-publishing. In fact that may be a route I choose to take for a particular project I have. But like you say, it does mean those who don't have the insight into how a book is crafted can publish their first drafts believing them to be finished
I think all of this, all the things you mention has lead to a sort of chaos within the industry, and devalued the book as art form, and this in turn might be why people are hesitant to buy an authors book at an event, because it's "just a book".
I know exactly what you mean - it really has devalued books. I find it depressing when people list their books on Amazon for free as a way to advertise later books in the series. I know it does work, and does result in more sales, but I do feel that ir comes at an enormous cost and people shrug at the thought of paying even 99p for a book. That cannot be good in the long run.
Yes, agree. It leads to people coming to these events thinking books are cheap, a throwaway product. AND YET they want to write them, presumably with the aim of selling them - I don't get the equation.
A great post, Lisa. And really interesting, too. Thank you for sharing your experiences both as reader and author so openly and honestly.
It's so easy to feel powerless within the industry, so I have to always bring it back to what I love, which is reading and writing. I will keep feeding the ecosystem both ways without trying to control the outcome (which is what I tried to do during 2024 after my book was published, and which lead to misery and burnout).
Very wise words ❤️
Hi Lisa!
First of all, thank you for buying my poetry book, Illicit Croissants At Dawn, and mentioning it here. It's very kind of you.
Would you believe I've never been to a reading?! There are none that I know of in Geneva - although David Nichols was there recently, but I was here in Spain already, and had missed him in Barcelona when he was here earlier this spring. I don't enjoy reading books in French, although I can, being bilingual. I'll read French magazines though. Maybe there are readings, but since I'm not part of a reading group I don't hear about them. I don't attend book clubs, partly because I'm too sick to leave the house most of the time (which could be a problem with going to readings, too!!!). I once went to a writers conference in Geneva and hated it, as it seemed like everyone was trying to out-intellectual each other, and that's not my vibe. It's a long time ago, so maybe I was feeling insecure. I don't know.
I held a book reading once, when the the orginal version of Just Like A Movie was published by a US publisher. At the time there was a small, lovely English bookshop in Geneva. I was terrified! Few people showed up, and like you, only one kind soul bought my book. I'm hoping to hold one here in Spain - I see there's a new English bookshop in Barcelona, and I've signed up for a reading there (Daisy Buchanan and Donna Freitas) in June, but it will depend on my tummy whether I can go or not). I could also hold one here, at home, but there again, I'm handicapped by my illness at the moment.
As for buying books and reading, I buy far too many. I buy books all the time; another two arrived yesterday that I'd forgotten I'd ordered! it's silly, in a way, because there's no way I can keep up with the reading. I like to be supportive of everyone (hello people pleasing mechanism...) so if I see someone here with a book to promote I'm there like a shot. And then, sometimes the book arrives and I realise it's not my thing at all, and then what on earth do I say. It's a conundrum, to me at least.
I read a lot. I also listen to a lot of audiobooks, because an old neck injury prevents me from holding a book up (especially a big hardback) for long periods of time. I read a lot of posts on here. In fact, since I got ill with my IBD all I do is read and write, because I'm so housebound. But we can't write without reading...or at least I don't see how. The more I read, and the more I write, the more comfortable I am writing. it's a muscle as well as a talent.
I'm off to Barcelona this afternoon to see my Spanish gastroenterologist. I'm hoping there might be something else I can take to allow me a little more freedom. Eating would also be appreciated!
I bought your book! Of course I did! I look forward to receiving it.
Thanks for this great piece, and sorry for writing a Ted Talk.
Cesca xx
Thank you for this comment, you are so lovely in every way ❤️
And re talks, this is why I felt the need to specify "Brighton" in my post. Here you could go to author talks and poetry readings and storytelling nights every night of the week and still miss out. Whereas where I lived in Sweden, never an author in sight. So it very much depends on where you live, and as you say, there's no point in going to events that don't interest you.
I buy books too, so many books. But during lockdown I gave myself the challenge to read through my shelves without buying new ones. It was so much fun, and I found real treasures that had just been sitting there for years. Now I'm back to buying books and try to balance reading one old book per new bought book. But whenever I think my book buying is a problem, I look at my shelves and think "I'm rich".
I really hope you can get some help, so that you don't have to be so housebound. I'm still struggling with fatigue, but I think I might have turned a corner yesterday. I don't know where I would be without my reading. Having access to all these worlds, and also knowing that there are other people, like you, out there, disappearing inside literary worlds when one's own world needs to be kept small. A different kind of book club 🥰
"A different kind of book club" is perfect, as is looking around at all your books and thinking "I'm rich". We are so rich, aren't we! I hope you continue to feel better.
xx
I get this… I did 2 book events last year that all I got was a few people to sign up for newsletter no sales!…And FYI…. Ijust bought your book!
Thank you so much ❤️ It can be so disheartening, which is why I felt the need to explore what's changed, and I think it must be the perception of the book itself, as a product I mean, it's somehow been cheapened. I'm staying at home from now on, focusing on writing, which is the thing that I love to do ✍️🤓
Some good points, as always Lisa - thanks!
Thank you for reading 🤓
Very interesting Post, Lisa. It leaves me with a lot of thoughts! Thanks for sharing so honestly.
Thank you. I write these things to straighten out my own thoughts, and to always remind myself that it's the writing that's important. Or I find myself getting lost in all the things that surround writing 🤓