The Write Path

  Lately, I’ve seen many of those in the literary world (authors, agents, editors, etc.) advise up-and-coming writers to write to the market. But what does that mean? Writing to the market means producing the types of books that are known to sell well, and what author wouldn’t want their books to fly off the shelves? Any author that tells you they don’t care about sales is lying – at least a little. While financial gain may not (and shouldn’t) be the primary reason to write, it’s a fact that people want to get paid for doing things they enjoy. As the saying goes, do something you love and you never have to work a day in your life. The keyword  is love . In my opinion, writing to market is one of the most inauthentic things an author can do. It’s one thing to explore different ideas and trends that interests you, but to write something simply for a quick sale cheapens the craft. I choose not write to market because it’s important for me to write things I actually like. I ...

  Normally, authors have one request: leave a book review. But why is a review so important? You might be wondering what difference your opinion makes in the big scheme of things, but readers are valuable resources! Here are a few reasons why leaving a review is so helpful. It Gives the Author Valuable Feedback. If you loved the story, let the author know. You might think it’s enough that you purchased the book, and yes, that’s awesome! But what are your thought? It's possible that you could feel totally swindled. Reading a book takes time— was it worth it? Were you entertained? Would you recommend the story to others? If you didn’t like the story, why not? What could the author have done differently? Be sure to give your opinion without giving away the details of the story. Also, keep in mind that reviews and star ratings are two completely different things. While star ratings indicate whether you liked the book or not, it truly doesn’t provide any other useful information. I...