Sunday, December 24, 2023

Countdown to 2024 - Nine Writing Tips Before Christmas - #8 - Write What the Reader Wants

Countdown / Writing / Wallpaper.

Tip number 8 is so obvious that it hurts. And it hurts doubly so, because it effectively means that you have to sell your soul.

Write what the reader wants.

... but that's unfair! Should you shelve your dreams and go low and commercial?


Yes. You will have to sell your soul.

Well, it depends 😏

It all starts with that same question:

Why do you write?

Do you write for fun? Because you have a story to tell the world? Because you want to change humanity? Then keep going! It's worth it!

But... if you want to become rich, famous, or if you long for thousands of fans on platforms like Wattpad then there's only one answer: give the masses what they want.

Write what the reader wants

It's disgusting, but that's how the system works. If you write a great epos, but nobody cares about the topic, then no one is going to read it. So, get ready to sell your soul. From a more practical point of view: look what's popular, and accept that it might not be what you like.

With a bit of luck there's enough common ground left to write something you vaguely like yourself...

But... if you can accept that you won't be the #1 best seller next week, and if you can accept that your reader base will be somewhat limited, then there's joy to be found in writing.

And who knows... maybe you're the new voice the world is waiting for. I just want to give you a fair warning not to stop flipping burgers yet if that's what's paying the rent.


Eight Days...

... and then it's 2024. I have hopes and dreams, and some of those I'll never give up. I'll silently and stubbornly (is that English?) continue to work on my ultimate goal: World Domination.

Obviously, I have a few more goals, to keep life interesting. One of those is a short term, near term project: moving a book case downstairs. After suffering my share of health problems I want to do things again, be more active, and I've found that in the past doing DIY stuff makes me forget about 'the need to eat'. Getting things accomplished and losing kilos? Sounds like a plan!


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Wallpaper

Well, once you've decided to sell your soul, it's just a matter of choosing the appropriate currency...


(Click image to enlarge.)


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