Since publishing my first novella 11 years ago, I’ve come to realise something:
Readers are a delightful, baffling, hilarious, emotionally dangerous species.
How do I know?
Because I am one of them.
That said, here are 5 surprising things I’ve learned that even threw me:
1. They don’t care how long it took you to write it.
That three-line paragraph you agonised over for 40 minutes? They skimmed it (😭). But that joke your brain sneezed out? Highlight of the chapter.
Make it make sense.
2. They’ll forgive a slow start… so long as the ending delivers a memorable punch.
Give some readers a solid payoff, and they’ll excuse half the book dragging its feet. I personally DNF a book/movie if it takes too long to get going, but as I’ve already said…
Readers are a breed that comes in different shapes, sizes, and tolerance levels.
3. They will absolutely spot that continuity error.
And yes, they will email you about it. In great detail. Possibly with timestamps. Possibly from a hot tub with a full glass of merlot or worse…
Green tea.
4. They read between the lines — even when you didn’t put anything there.
“I see what you did in Chapter 14 with Character B. That explains the emotional trauma his/her bloodline has been carrying since the Before Times.”
Me: Does it? 😬
5. The right readers will find you.
You don’t need a million fans. You need only the ones who dig your stories. For me, that’s those who love short, fast-paced, gritty fantasy that blends sword & sorcery and epic fantasy.
And they are precisely the readers I cater to.
If you’re one of them — or suspect you might be — then I think you’ll love The Divided Region.
You can take a peek right here:
The Divided Region: Digital Bundle
DJJW