The Writer 11.2019

2 | The Writer • November 2019

FROM THE EDITOR

NICKI PORTER

Keep writing (and reading),

Nicki Porter

Senior Editor

@nickimporter

Read it and reap

Every now and then, I meet a writer who doesn’t

read.

I’m not talking about writers who are too

busy, frazzled, or exhausted to pick up this year’s

Great American Novel; I’m talking about writers

who have the time, energy, and resources to read

and refuse, because – well, because of a number

of reasons:

1. They are too busy writing to read. (Fair
   enough.)


2. They are not interested in what Other People
   are doing.


3. They worry it will dull their own Unique
   Voice and Thoughts.


4. They think it’s unnecessary because writing,
   not reading, is the only way to improve.

There may be tiny kernels of truth or logic in

all of these points, but I admit I never quite know

what to say when I hear them. Personally, I learn

something new – more often, a thousand new

somethings – about the craft of writing whenever

I read another author’s work. But the lost oppor-

tunity to learn from a master isn’t the only reason

to pick up a book now and then.

Because when you finally finish a manuscript,

you have three options: Either let it languish on

your hard drive while you start something new,

self-publish, or start querying agents.

You cannot query without knowing the market.

You cannot know the market without reading.

I am sorry, friends, but there’s really no way

around it: Your future agent will expect you to

name a few comparable titles that are similar to

your manuscript, and you will need to read those

titles and be prepared to discuss them. And any

professional agent is going to have a hard time

swallowing grandiose claims like “it’s Harry Pot-

ter meets Gone Girl.” Choosing lesser-known but

respectable titles in your genre is a much smarter

strategy – but it’s a strategy that comes with

plenty of reading attached to it.

Once published, you’ll be expected to talk spe-

cifically and intelligently about your genre. You

will be asked about your favorite books within

that genre. You will be asked how your writing

compares to Author X and Author Z, and if you

haven’t read Authors X and Z, how on Earth are

you to answer?

But the last reason to read is a simple gracious

kindness, to do unto authors as you would have

them do unto you. Because if you expect people

to read and pay for your work, you should read

and pay for the work of others.

Authors are nothing without readers. So be a

reader. If the entire population decided to forgo

reading in favor of Netflix binges or iPhone apps,

there would be no book sales to put food on your

table or gas in your car. Pay it forward now. Read

widely and generously, and encourage others to

do the same – and when your book hits shelves

for the first time, may it find legions of wide and

generous readers just like you.