When I meet with fellow writers, we often discuss the importance of writing for the reader. Sometimes we lose this focus, and write for ourselves instead. The result is beautiful writing that is more performative, rather than an engaging story that a reader can fall in love with.
So I knew for my next interview, I wanted to hear from a reader. Not just any reader, but a bookstagrammer with a passion for lifting up indie authors. Kate Brown loves fantasies and romantasies, but you can also find her reading thrillers and ghost stories until 3am. With a wide appreciation for genres and a natural inclination for promotion rather than criticism, I knew I wanted to hear from her about what gets her excited about a book.
Her musts? Twists. Humor. Emotional investment. Kate explains that the literature itself doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, but she wants to be laughing, surprised, heartbroken and rooting for the characters.
Not all readers agree, and Kate has received her fair share of unsolicited and disrespectful criticism about the books she often reviews. Readers who feel there is a hierarchy of literature and readers. That some readers are less than for liking romance, or less than for enjoying books that aren’t written with sophistication front and center.
Kate’s response? Opening a book for the joy of reading is what matters. There is room for everyone in the book world, but there isn’t room for making a reader feel less than.
Perhaps this is why Kate is such an advocate for self-published authors. Perhaps it is the “trolls” she’s encountered that makes her feel the need to lift indie authors up as they fulfill their dreams, by encouraging them louder than their critics.
It is inspiring to see a bookstagrammer not caring about being the most prestigious reader navigating the most challenging books, because it’s inspiring to authors that we don’t have to use the most complex, purple prose. It’s about enjoyment. Enjoyment while we write, but also, enjoyment for our readers and not our egos. If we’re not writing for them, are we only writing for us?
I am writing for the Kates. The cheerleaders of all readers and writers.
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