Authors Loving Authors | How To Find (Great) Indie Books
Hello Friend!
Did you realize that writers are readers, too?
“What!?!” you may gasp.
I forsooth the truth, dear fellows.
And I ridiculously did not realize the full scope and implication of that until I became a writer, hung out with writers, read the work of my writer friends.
This is the thing…
Great writers are great readers.
I mean think about it — Would a painter start painting without looking at other people’s work? Sure, they studied different stroke technique, color application, the use of perspective. But even past that, if you want to be an artist, don’t you love art?
Look at math — you can’t do calculus unless you know addition and subtraction. I believe a little multiplication is beneficial. (Though if you need to catch two trains that are going opposite directions, leaving the train station at different times at different speeds…instead of trying to calculate when each one will arrive, just check the train schedule.)
(Just a thought.)
Same with history.
And athletics.
And cooking! No one’s born an Emeril Lagasse level chef, a spaghetti-hurling Athena cooking god leaping fully formed from Zeus’s head. No, they have to learn it, and practice and try other’s cooking that came before. Try other people’s recipes. And they likely LOVE TO EAT.
Writers love to read.
Or they are probably not very good writers.
"I’d rather spend my time honing my broiled salmon with lemon dill aioli skills."
Eat What You Love
One of the adages I learned as I have studied writing is: read what you want to write.
If you read biographies non-stop and want to write a paranormal romance…
If you love yourself a great space opera and never touched dark noir mysteries…
If you’ve never tasted a good beet-y borscht…
When you try to write or make one, you probably won’t be very great at it. You don’t know what you’re doing — and if you’ve never tried it, you don’t know what it tastes like.
(I love beets, and I heard borscht is great. I have had it a couple times, only a couple times by different cooks, and I still don’t know if I just haven’t had a good borscht or if I just don’t dig it.)
(To really know I’d need to try it a bunch. And to cook it well, I’d need to try to make it many times. Hone the recipe. Get creative. Try different combinations of herbs. Add my own spices.)
(I’d rather spend my time honing my broiled salmon with lemon dill aioli skills.)
(And my coleslaw skills. Yummy…)
(…hungry…)
So like any good cook, a good writer is devouring — or has devoured — books on the regular.
And will continue to do so to continue to learn.
And gosh is there a lot to learn!
This Blew My Mind
Why should readers care about all of the above?
(Why are we not having a snack right now?)
(Hmmm…. deviled egg….)
Because if writers are consuming huge amounts of books — written by other authors — they will have favorite authors, too.
…
OK, maybe that didn’t blow your mind like it did mine.
But when I figured that out I was like…
Swoon.
(Did you really expect something else from me?)
(If so, read these other blogs. Learn of all my swooning ways.)
I felt like I had stumbled upon a nest of swarming My Next Favorite Book possibilities!
My authors like other authors.
And since writer write what they love, they also read what they love. And if they are good writers, they are liking reading and loving great writers so…
BAM!
Spaghetti!
(AKA Great My Next Favorite Book and My Next Favorite Author potential.)
I Need To Go Eat
So to sum up!
Authors love other authors.
If you love your authors, then go find out what authors they love.
How do you do that?
Absolutely!
Let’s chat that and more next week.
Until then I hope it is a glorious one. And read on!
Stephanie Writt
Writer, instructor, graphic artist and all around lovely soul, with a generous sense of humor (yes, I am totally writing this myself), takes delight in sharing her geeky knowledge and ridiculous joy in reading, writing and business. As the current Director of Operation at WMG Publishing Inc., she has the privilege and mischievous pleasure in writing this blog every week.
A Great FOOD Story in Memory of a Great FRIEND of the Author's.
A Menu of Memory: A Bryant Street Story by Dean Wesley Smith
Every day, J.C. Dunn comes home to his wonderful house on Bryant Street. He used to love the place, now he fears it. Every night it smells of spaghetti sauce and fresh garlic bread.
He lives by himself and never cooks anything like that. But the smell, every day, persists, like a swarm of insects invading his home.
Dean Wesley Smith wrote this story in honor of his departed good friend Kip. When Dean started off writing, he worked for Kip in his spaghetti restaurant. A magical place.
Later on, until he died, Kip hosted writer workshops that Dean taught in his remodeled hotel. Dean still misses him.
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