Building A Loyal Readership

A lot is made these days of "building a readership" - and...in building a readership, the primary focus is often numbers.

Nothing is wrong with numbers, of course. In fact, numbers are great.

But...numbers are like word count. When word count becomes the focus of a writer's writing, the work usually strays (sometimes irrecoverably) into the wastelands of passionless (throwaway) writing.

Much more important than word count should be this: Words that are full, beautiful, expectant - words that burst open with passion and promise and...you know, general usefulness.

Don't get me wrong - word count is important. A project never ends if the writer does not add to the word count daily - but the two elements must go together, because those thousands of words and hours of work will end up in the trash if the words themselves don't work.

And that, Dear Reader, is the parallel between your work in progress and your readership. Numbers are vital, sure, but just as important as the numbers themselves is this: How serious are those numbers? Will those numbers actually purchase your book? Will they actually read your work? Are they actually loyal to you? And...if they're not loyal to you, what can you do to change that?

Edit your readership in the same way you edit your words: Keep working and working, and find what you can do to turn those *numbers* into a loyal readership.

And keep working.

And keep working.

Other Places Where I Hang Out:

↑   ↑   ↑   ↑   ↑
(A Delicious Little Pre-Publication Sample Of The Great Lenore)