Is Anybody Listening?

I know you are out there.  I can hear you breathing.  More precisely, I can see the hits to this blog every day.  I know when specific posts are viewed.  Sometimes I can tell which other sites you use to link to my blog.  It is obvious that fifty hits in a single day from computers in Germany are most likely bots trawling the internet, but you aren't one of those.  Are you?

The reason I say all of this is because you are very important to what I do.  A writer creates a world and shapes it with words.  Words that readers either enjoy or despise.  Your feedback is what helps a writer refine their craft.

An artist knows people appreciate their work when studios put on shows and people come to appreciate the display.  Carpenters get validation when the furnishings they construct stay together and are treated well by their owners.  Fashion designers know their works are enjoyed when their models receive rounds of applause at fashion shows.  A writer's best source of feedback is comments and reviews.

If you read a blog post you enjoy, take a few seconds to leave a comment.  If you didn't enjoy it, take a few seconds to say why.  After you read a book, leave a review with the retailer you purchased the book from, even if it's only a star rating.  This gets back to the author and gives them more information than just a sales report.  

Did readers fall in love with the characters?  Was the story exciting or just drawn out?  Was the universe in which the story takes place believable?  With so much of the story in the author's mind, they don't always have the same impression as a reader would.  Only a reader can say what they did and didn't like about a book or story.  Since authors don't tend to be telepathic, you, as a reader, must let them know.

Just as an artist can alter their color palette to evoke different feelings, a writer can use different words or develop their characters more to get the same result.  The only way they know if the story is a beloved one is through your feedback.

I am asking you, the wonderful reader, to start the new year with a mission.  When you read a blog post, leave a comment.  After you finish a book, rate it.  Let the author and the rest of the world what you thought about the author's efforts.  Feel free to start with a comment on this post right here.