Will Anybody Even Read Your Book?
Writing a book seems like such a daunting task, doesn’t it?
Figuring out the plot, characters, outlining every scene, writing, editing, etc. The mental work it takes to create all those layers is exhausting. And you never really know if it’s any good.
I started to write my book this year, so I read a lot of newsletters and articles about writing and publishing to ease this constant doubt. But recently, I came across an advice that actually caused me more worries.
“You should only write your book if there’s a market for it.”
When I thought about the premise of my book, it dawned on me that I didn’t really know the type of reader I was aiming at. Would anyone find the story interesting? And if there’s no market for it, should I really quit writing it?
What is the market for your book?
The market for your book is one of those practical things to consider even before you put fingers to keyboard. Especially if you’re hoping to write a bestseller.
Though most writers dream of writing a book that will get swept off the shelves or get critically acclaimed, the idea behind a book isn’t always so conceited.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to write for fame and money, even George Orwell named sheer egoism as one of the reasons why writers write in his essay “Why I Write”.
I agree it might be a reason to start writing, but I don’t think it’s enough to persevere. This egoism might carry you through writing your first book, but only very few authors are lucky enough to have their book traditionally published and widely read or loved. Soon, you would surely get crushed by the silence that followed.
Besides, is ego enough to write a bestseller-worthy book?
Why do you write?
I think the answer to the “who’s going to read your book” is tightly linked to the reason we write.
We write because we have feelings, thoughts, and stories that are festering under our skin and itching to be poured out. We can’t keep them inside, otherwise, we would rot.
We don’t always write for others but for ourselves. But even if that's the case, our story might resonate with people.
Thinking about your potential readers is good. It gives you a higher chance of success, but I don’t think you should stop writing your book even if you feel hazy about your “target audience”. In publishing, it’s so hard to predict the outcome.
Write for other people or write for yourself. Whatever your reason is if you have something to say, even if it feels like it’s only important to you, write it. If we truly wrote books only for recognition and money, we would have picked a different job long ago.
Or who knows, maybe all writers are truly vain and demon possessed.
“All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention.” — George Orwell (Why I Write)
