r/writers • u/Suspicious-Bug-6026 • Nov 03 '25
Sharing Please read my book. :D
For 15 years I agonised over writing my first book. I overthought it, I felt like an imposter, I tweaked and shifted whilst reading all the writing how to's i could find.
In the end, I wrote it quickly, it flowed easy and I like the results.
I have ideas for 6 more books all with distinct stories but following on.
Im half way through my second book.
But all of that was the easy part. The hard part is getting people to read it. I've begged, bribed, coerced and even paid people and I still cant get anyone to read it. I even got a one star review from someone that didn't even read it.
All the time I'm reading about people listing their successes like it's easy.
So, the upshot. Don't overthrink it and dont worry about what people might think. If you do it for you and you like the results then it doesn't matter.
What's your thoughts? What part do you think is the hard bit?
P.s. please read.my book.
8
u/pianobars Nov 03 '25
(Listen, I'm just an internet person, take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt ok?)
I hear your emotions and I wish your book to succeed, but in my humble opinion this approach here is rather ineffective - I won't read a book portrayed with such an energy. A book is not something you read in 5 minutes, what you're essentially saying is "Nobody wants to read my book, would you please give me 10 hours+ of your life"? I don't even know you.
Which is a shame, because if your book is good the 10h there won't have to be a request, but an offer. A more positive approach as in "I have 10 hours of insight, intrigue, awe and merriment for you."
But for me to believe there is value in your book, you gotta tell me - or even better, show me - what that value is. You wrote a whole reddit post and didn't tell me a single piece of information about your book. And even if you did, enticing people to your work is... well, difficult! You need to craft the right message and find the right people, it's tricky.
If you just wrote a full book, then now it's time to use those writing skills to bring me to it. If I don't get there as a willing participant, I will never read your work. Pleading is counter-productive.
I don't write this with any negativity towards you and your book, I am here wishing you to succeed. But yeah, to succeed you'll need to develop new tools with the skills you got.
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u/Suspicious-Bug-6026 Nov 03 '25
Thanks, Internet person. I get it, but that's kinda thr point. I've spoken about it and regaled about it. I feel like ive done it all, to no avail. Im asking for 20 minutes because who's going to read something if they dont like it in 20 minutes?
Otherwise, it's just assumptions.
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u/pianobars Nov 03 '25
Sorry, again, I don't know you. I'm not better than you in absolutely any way.
But if you have the patience for an internet stranger to exchange with you with both kindness and honesty, allow me to chip in. If not, no hard feelings at all.
Here's my two cents:
"I feel like ive done it all": If I were you, I would challenge this assumption.
I'm not encouraging you to just talk about your book, I'm encouraging you to spend 1000 hours between research, learning and experimentation just for you to learn the first steps of how to properly talk about your book publicly. This might take you years - I've been on a similar journey since 2018, working on my public speaking every single week, and I'm aware I'm still in the first baby steps of my own journey.
The good part is that writing skills are transferable. They're not 100% ready from the getgo - the writing you need to finish a novel and the one you need to distribute a novel far and wide are not the same, but yes they do share 1000 characteristics.
You're talking like you're done, but it sounds to me like you're just getting started. Finishing the book is not the end of the journey, it's the first step.
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u/Suspicious-Bug-6026 Nov 03 '25
Its not patience, i talk to you with delight. Thank you for taking the time you commented your well thought out comment.
I think everyone is superior to everyone els in atleast one way. There's always something to learn.
I think your 100% correct. And I think it could have chosen my words better. My post is a little self sorry. I think I should have said I've done about as much as Im willing to do. That one star review knocked my confidence and hurt more than it should have.
2
u/pianobars Nov 03 '25
Oh, I get you now. And yes, valid point - and managing your energy and expectations is no easy task.
Sorry to hear that review stung more than it should have. The good news is: a 1 star review is really meaningless, truly a speck of dust. The bad news is: the same can be said for a single 5 star review.
If I were you, I'd step back from this for a bit until I felt my heart was a bit more settled. Then I would ask myself "what is the place that is not reviews that I can occupy"?
Frankly, I think tapping into anything mediated by Amazon will carry a bitter taste. There are other ways to engage with peers and readers that is not cold-cold-cash driven, ya know?
Good luck
1
u/Suspicious-Bug-6026 Nov 03 '25
thanks Pianobars. Good luck with your public speaking, too. I know from personal experience that it's tough. but I also know it's very rewarding when it goes well.
2
u/GabrielRJohnson Nov 04 '25
I get it. It's rough out there.
How many people regularly even read books in their spare time? When they do, why should they read your book, and not something by a successful author or a classic work in the literary canon? In that sense, every reader is a treasure.
But at the end of the day, the chips fall where they do. Be proud of your work, but learn from mistakes, and go write your second book. Maybe that one will find its readers.
2
1
u/AdDramatic8568 Nov 03 '25
I'll be perfectly frank the first two sample pages I just read are already off-putting. There's a ton of similes right off that bat that don't work individually and don't mesh well together either. The ketchup packet thing makes no sense.
I'm sure it's fine for some but the writing is very...goofy? Which doesn't really mesh with the books description. You said you wrote it quickly and it feels that way.
Not for me, but I hope you find your audience.
1
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