Is Nobody Reading Your Work

Is Nobody Reading Your Work Some days it sure feels like were writing into the air with nobody enjoying our words. Readers no longer leave comments on blogs. Few  leave  reviews for books. We cant tell if people read our magazine features unless they reply in an email, and we cringe at the open rate of our newsletters. It feels like nobodys there. Admittedly, I reply less on blogs than I used to, because its just something else to keep up with. I do try to leave book reviews, because I know how important they are, but since nobody responds to a book review, it does make one wonder if anyone notices. Were swamped with reading material, swamped with how-to-be-better material, flooded with newsletters from writers whove become editors, teachers, promoters, motivational speakers, agents, or publishers because there is more money to be made selling services to desperate writers than in simply writing. Before someone teaches me how to become a better writer, I want to know where they got their expertise. Where have they excelled? How well did they write before they crossed over? But thats too much trouble, so I usually delete their messages, too. Youve got to be a writer because you love words. And you become a writing teacher because you have a history to teach from. In this crazy time when everybody calls themselves author, when Im asked whats the best advice I can give a new writer, I say something along the lines of this: Write daily. Write because you enjoy it. Write for the long term. If you want immediate money, get a job. This writing career is about loving to tell stories. Readers want to hear about how great your story is, not how many copies you sold or how brilliant your promotion campaign was. Readers want to be lulled and drawn into a new world they  love, not sold a popular fad.