The Value Of Your Reader – Does It Really Matter?
How much do you value someone reading something you’ve written? At all? Do you feel that those people (the readers) are now somehow indebted to you because you managed to impart your magnificent knowledge bank and hilarious witticisms on their feeble minds that can barely string two sentences together without the help of WIFI and coffee? Are these people worth anything to you? Surely they should be. Otherwise you are writing words for no one.
This doesn’t seem to be the case among many of the media companies now moving toward subscription content.
“Oh, you want to read something that I have written? Something that came from MY brain? My brilliant brain that I moulded in a really expensive University? FOR FREE??? I don’t think so. No, words that come out of my brain should only be reserved for esteemed members of society like the Queen or something. And they should be charged a fee. Yes. An expensive fee.”
I myself have quite the opposite feeling. I think it comes from being a self-published children’s author (or “Wanker” as my friends call it). I hold the view that the reader is priceless. That for you to be reading these words that I have written right now is one of the greatest gifts you could ever impart upon me.
Because I (unlike some) can appreciate that your attention span probably only really cares about three or less things right now >> What’s for dinner? Um, whose… um… you see? I couldn’t even think about more than one thing.
This is the exact same reason I have made my latest children’s book ANIMAL FRIENDS: FLOATING ORANGE CUBES free to download if you simply tweet about it on Twitter or share it on Facebook (See Dave, I told you there would be a Social Media element to this story J). Because I would value nothing more than if you and your friends could check it out. Otherwise, I just wrote it for no reason.
http://robt.info/books/story-for-kids-8-up/
Yep, so there’s the plug. You knew that was coming didn’t you? Like I said, I’m a self-published children’s author. A wanker. No one else, especially those damn media companies will talk about my book. So I have to.
I’ll show myself out.
