Lots of Effort Goes into a Book

Most of you who read this blog are writers or authors so your first reaction to the title of this post might have been "well duh..." And you're right, writing a book, any book is usually not an easy, carefree process. There's a lot of work and effort that goes into every piece (if you are a serious writer).
Again, no argument there. However, have you ever thought about the fact that a book can take a lot of effort on the part of a reader too?

This point was brought up on an agent's blog last week one day and it made me stop and think for a minute. He was absolutely right. Even if someone loves to read, and the actual reading comes easy, it still most likely involves a fair amount of effort to make it through an entire book.

First, consider that most people (at least adults) have to carve out time to read for any period of time beyond a couple of minutes. Few have the luxury of just picking up a good book whenever the mood strikes. Getting to read at all may involve putting kids to bed quicker, picking up the house faster or scarfing down lunch to steal a few moments of reading time. Just getting the book in the first place for some right now may mean squeezing a little extra life out of a tight budget. Definite effort involved.

Second, there are those who either like to read, or who maybe need to read something (how-to etc.) but they aren't the best readers in the world. They need to take things slow and getting through a book takes them a bit longer than other people. Lots of effort involved here too.

So what does that mean for us writers and authors? Simply put, what we offer our readers must be worth the effort.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett