Readers

If you surf too many writers' blogs, they can get a bit repetitive. Everyone talks about their writing process, everyone links to everyone else, everyone talks about the RITAs on the same day. I'm not excluding myself here, either. This is a darned writerly blog, here.

So, some big-name writers got together and made a blog called Squawk Radio. You can snort at the strange name or the ultra-cheesy graphics, but if you spend a little time reading it, these guys can teach you a lot - not about writing, but about talking to readers.

The blog is aimed at readers, pure and simple. Sure, there is some stuff about writing, but only enough to interest a reader, not another writer. They talk about bands and their lives and the stuff they're working on and whatever else. And they get TONS of readers on there. Which makes me remember that the readers are supposed to be what it's all about, and it's easy to leave them in the dust.

But what is a reader, exactly?

Now, I love the folks at All About Romance, but sometimes the message board discussions make me shake my head. The readers on there are nuts. They catalog their books, they obsessively plan which realeases they are going to buy months in advance, they use spreadsheets and databases to track what they've read. Spreadsheets and databases. And every once in a while they ask each other, "Who's buying all those cheezy Harlequin Presents books? 'Cos it sure isn't us." And they wonder what "the average reader" is like.

Okay, here it is: The average reader just wants something to read.

That's it.

The average reader spends a lot of time in doctor's offices, train stations, mechanics' garages, and other sundry waiting rooms. They have lunch hours at the office. When life goes bad, they're at hospital bedsides, or in the hospital themselves. They don't care how this writer manages POV or how long that writer took to sell, or whether the pressure of making a series is ruining Lisa Kleypas' creativity. They just want something to read.

When I take a look around my commuter train, I see people reading the following: Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling, Nora Roberts, Tom Clancy, James Clavell, Nora Roberts, the odd Edward Rutherford brick, Nora, Debbie Macomber, Fannie Flagg, and Nora. When I was recovering from spinal surgery, I read the Outlander books one through four - Drums of Autumn had just come out - twice through. Life sucked and I was in pain, and I just wanted something to read.

Really, man. It doesn't have to be complicated, does it? I think a lot of us overthink too much. That's what the Squawk Radio writers understand, and it's what a lot of us could learn, if we paid attention. Because the readers out there have trains to catch, and they're waiting.

Abby