Avid Readers Make the Best Writers

One comment I’ve heard from countless authors is, ‘I have no time to read anymore.’ This is a sad state, because the moment a writer stops reading they stop learning how to write.

Many of today’s writers believe they do not need a basic understanding of the classics to become published. It is so hard to explain why they need to understand the classics.

Who better than Dickens to teach character development? Can anyone number the number of today’s bestsellers follow the Jane Eyre story arc? What about a writer who can challenge our basic morality and ideals as well as Shakespeare did?

More than 3000 students have passed though my courses in the last five years. In that time, I’ve learned one thing, ‘Avid readers make the best writers.’

Publishers know this. They constantly beg writers to read the bestsellers in their genre, and study the publishing house’s recent releases before they submit. At Enspiren Press, we are constantly asking authors to read our recent releases.

Yes, we will accept a book with run-on sentences, and even some questionable grammar styles, as long as the story is well-told, is built on a strong structure, and which studies today’s social issues. Even our fantasies and historical novels are built on strong character development and social issues.

Unfortunately, many new writers feel that reading publisher’s recent releases is nothing more than a money grab, a weak attempt to sell books.

Not true.

There is a lot to learn from published books, especially the bestsellers. The first lesson is that book writing is not an exercise in vanity for authors. The fundamental purpose of a book lies in one thing – the reader.

The bestsellers are, in fact, bestsellers, for one reason. They gave the reader, exactly what they want.