Do You Read?

It’s a funny question to ask writers and authors because of course they do! (Ask authors if they write articles and guest posts and often it’s a different story though — even though they write books.)

Readers have many things in common:

We can’t walk out of a bookstore without buying some treasure (Usually).
Books are stacked by the side of the bed (or for the organized, a very packed bookcase).
Doesn’t matter if it’s a kindle (or other book reader), paperback or hardcover, reading is essential. However, there are preferences due to time and place, e.g., Kindle is great when traveling, but in front of a fire? Not so much. In that context, an actual book, please.
We knew what a virtual world was long before Second Life, and well-before current online experiences.
Readers understand one another’s “need to read.”
Readers are imaginative, curious, literate, inquisitive, smart.
Readers love to read, and therefore spend their free time well.

What would you add to the list above? Send me a note and I will add it. It’s not complete at this point by any means. I just wanted to get the ball rolling.

When it comes to the importance of reading, either you get it or you don’t.

Question:

People ask me, how do you find the time to read? And I want to respond with, “How do you find the time to breathe?” I am usually more polite than that, but I know if you’re reading this, you get it. You have to read. That’s all there is to it.

A Fun Game:

I have a little game I like to play that I want to share with you. Try this experiment:

Go into a bookstore and find a section you have never, ever spent time in before. Then, spend 20 minutes going through the books in that section, reading a piece here, reading another piece there, and discover what you learn. Even we adventurous readers can sometimes stay within the confines of certain genres, so play a little and mix it up a bit. Expose yourself to new ideas.

A Surprising Experience:

Just recently I was on someone’s website who had a list of 25 random facts about themselves. I was curious so I started reading the list until I got about halfway through and read the one that said, “I haven’t opened up a book since high school.”

What??!! I was incredulous! Seriously? And you actually admitted this for all the world to see? Wow. Just wow. How embarrassing, but to this person it was said with a sense of pride.

Well, we’re all allowed our own likes, dislikes and beliefs, but that is so far out of my understanding of the world that I just don’t get it. I’m sharing this here because I know I’m not alone.

I agree with what Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way, says about books:

“I prefer books to articles, to blogs, to videos, to TED talks to basically anything (except first hand experience, obviously). If I don’t have a book in my hands, I feel like I’m wasting time. If I’m not reading a physical book, I save pretty much every article I think I want to read to Instapaper and read it later on my phone away from the computer. I find most of them through my Feedly and through Flipboard.”

My day: I am a very early riser (4:00 a.m. I know, I know, kind of crazy, but it works for me.) No one else is up at that hour, not even the dog, so I start the day by writing first. It’s the best time to get my ideas out of my head and onto the paper because things are the freshest. Then I meditate, then read. Usually it’s something uplifting…something that helps me set a good direction for the day. By then it’s 6:00 a.m. and others are getting up too. Two hours of work and bliss is already done. As I said, it works for me.

I always have a book with me in my bag, or I’ve got something on my Kindle app that I’m reading. Then when I have a long line to deal with, I can indulge. It’s amazing what you can do when waiting in line and it takes away the angst of having to wait in the first place. I much prefer reading to checking Facebook, or Instagram. Those things are fun, but I definitely limit how much time I spend on those platforms. Then, before falling asleep, more reading time. It’s the perfect way to drift off to sleep.

I was once asked:

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without and why?

Books. Physical books. It’s the perfect technology.

It’s only natural I got into book promotion as a career path. It allows for so many things that make me happy: Books, authors, media, writing, reading. Everything.

How did I get so lucky?

I don’t know, but I do know that reading has expanded all of my horizons, and I’m betting it has for you too.

When it comes to promoting and marketing your books, don’t listen to the naysayers who say reading and publishing is dead. Remember, they may be the ones who haven’t opened a book since high school (Yikes!). There are plenty of readers out there. You just have to find them and figure out the best way to reach them, which is what book publicity and book marketing is all about. It’s what this blog is all about. More coming up!

To your success!

Joanne

P.S. If you haven’t take the How Media Savvy are You Assessment, it’s time. Let’s see how you do, and then figure out what your next steps are.