I discovered that I, a writer of what is known as creative nonfiction, could do the research and bridge the gap in my books and lectures through true storytelling. This is not ‘dumbing down’ or writing for eighth graders. It is writing for readers across cultures, age barriers, social and political landscapes.
My own life has been doubly disconnected, as I’ve written books under two different names. As an author, your name almost becomes a brand; readers know what to expect.
I want to stress the importance of being fair to our readers. You should not impose your own view and prejudice on the readers and try to lead them to a conclusion. As a reader, I understand what a fair report is.
I hope children will be happy with the books I’ve written, and go on to be readers all of their lives.
When readers close the covers on ‘Running the Rift,’ I want them to understand that it is not a genocide novel but rather a story of hope and rebirth.
To me, novels are a trip of discovery, and you discover things that you don’t know and you assume that many of your readers don’t know, and you try to bring them to life on the page.
Reading, like writing, is a creative act. If readers only bring a narrow range of themselves to the book, then they’ll only see their narrow range reflected in it.
While I’m critical to the Bush presidency, it’s been enormously beneficial for Salon because we’re seen as kind of an aggressive watchdog on the Bush White House. Particularly since Florida, our readership hit a whole new level, and we held onto those readers.
I want my readers to feel, to think, sometimes to laugh. But most of all I want them to enjoy a good read.
A drop in younger children visiting libraries is of great concern. As children’s laureate, I am passionate about the role of libraries, both in schools and in the wider community. They are unique places where children can begin their journey as readers, as well as being creative hubs.
We paint a slow picture. You can see the brushstrokes. We don’t get to the point, and sometimes when we do, our readers don’t notice, in fact. It’s so couched in nuance, it can fly right over a person’s head. ‘What was that you said? I couldn’t quite make it out.’
Catch-22’s first readers were largely of the generation that went through World War II. For them, it provided a startlingly fresh take, a much-needed, much-delayed laugh at the terror and madness they endured.
The thing that makes me happiest about Simpsons Illustrated are all the drawings that we get from readers. I wish we could print them all. They’re really imaginative. They show a lot of hard work.
I think it’s so important for young readers to find a book or series that ignites their passion for reading, especially boys, whose interest in reading wanes as they grow older.
Girls are the best readers in the world. Reading is really a way of kind of escaping so deeply into yourself and pursuing your own thoughts within the construct of a story.
We were constantly appealing for funds from readers when I edited ‘The Black Dwarf’ in 1968-69.
I don’t like the idea of a book being a test or being used for a test. The way – in my opinion – to make good readers is to let kids choose their own books and not test them.
I think Britain has this tradition which suggests that if you make the readers laugh too much, you can’t really be serious. Whereas, I think one of the functions laughter can perform in a book, as in life, is that it’s a reaction to genuine horror.
Japan, Germany, and India seem to me to have serious writers, readers, and book buyers, but the Netherlands has struck me as the most robust literary culture in the world.
Some readers tell me, ‘We always treated our maid like she was a member of the family.’ You know, that’s interesting, but I wonder what your maid’s perspective was on that.
I think publishers need to be the ones that publish the books and control that process: finding writers, helping them with their work, finding readers. I think writers need that.
Some readers took ‘Heaven’s My Destination’ as a satire on Christianity and the Midwest, but today it reads like a loving comedy.
There are readers who want every point to be clearly and unambiguously set forth, and there are those who want to pry ideas and meanings out for themselves.
I was able to accomplish pretty much everything I set out to do with my run on Superman, and I’m really proud of how it turned out. I hope that readers enjoyed it, too!
I admired the work ethic of the cowboys I read about. The idea of these young people taking on this much responsibility was impressive. I would like modern readers to have an appreciation of this.
I love being in touch with my readers and fellow writers! It’s just amazing to have such access to people.
If we as writers could predict what readers grab on to, we would write it.
My readers know my views on politics and politicians because I make no secret of them in my comments for ‘The New Yorker’ and elsewhere.
The futuristic city on ‘Legends Walking’s cover rejects any connection with the contemporary setting of ‘Changer.’ It was as if every effort was made to keep readers of ‘Changer’ from finding this stand-alone sequel.
It became very clear to me that Yooralla was not as interested in media coverage that explored issues faced by people with disability as it was in giving a pat on the back to journalists who maintained the status quo by giving readers the warm and fuzzies over their morning paper.
I come to writing the same way I come to teaching, which is that my goal is always to create life-long readers.
I don’t want to force my politics on my readers.
The travel book is a convenient metaphor for life, with its optimistic beginning or departure, its determined striving, and its reflective conclusion. Journeys change travellers just as a good travel book can change readers.
Of John Le Carre’s books, I’ve only read ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold,’ and I haven’t read anything by Graham Greene, but I’ve heard a great deal about how ‘Your Republic Is Calling You’ reminded English readers of those two writers. I don’t really have any particular interest in Cold War spy novels.
I think the thinking is, in the comic books, I should pack as much onto a page as possible, because, you know, it’s kind of the cheaper format, and you want to give readers as much as you can for their dollar.
I write about the trials and triumphs of contemporary life – and often the readers see themselves between the lines of the story.
All of us introverts aspire to be more outgoing, but it’s not in our nature. When I was nearly 50, I discovered that the best thing to do was to tell everyone I worked with that I’m just shy. People are not mind readers – you need to let them know.
For a variety of reasons, my books struck the marketplace like a thunderclap; and one of those reasons was that there were so few alternatives available. Readers who loved Tolkien, and who were not satisfied by Terry Brooks, had nowhere else to turn.
Many readers know my work first through ‘Housekeeping,’ simply because it was my only novel for a pretty long time.
I keep hearing from readers who say ‘Hoax’ helps them understand their own family a little bit better.
Young readers have to be entertained. No child reads fiction because they think it’s going to make them a better person.
It’s the tabloids, with their intense commercial need to get scoops to bring in readers, that run a regime of fear, where reporters are bullied, shouted at. That’s where things go wrong.
We authors certainly don’t know what is going to happen to our books. Are they going to disappear into the ether, following music downloads, or are ebooks going to open up a whole new world of readers? And how much are we being paid per copy? We haven’t a clue.
Henry Miller is a famous writer whose work has fallen out of fashion, but I strongly recommend that readers who don’t know his work pick up a book and experience this writer’s zealous, crazy, inventive, funny, sexy, often delirious prose.
Thanks to social media like Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads, I can easily reach out to so many people. Being a writer gives me the added bonus of a targeted audience: readers, who enjoy targeted ‘prizes’ for participation in fundraisers – books and other neat promo items.
I’m supremely grateful and seriously pleased that readers enjoy my words.
Together, Amazon and I are giving readers what they want – inexpensive, professional ebooks.
I just try to write the best story I can, a story I would love to read, and hope that readers feel the same.
Gone are the days when a publisher could take out an ad, count on a few reviews, and have an author do a couple of signings. Nowadays, readers want to feel a connection with an author.
A novel is, hopefully, the starting point of a conversation, one in which the author engages readers and asks that they see things from a different point of view than they might otherwise.
Everything I write is meant to share what I’m struggling with. I hope that it helps other people. I benefit from that a great deal because I always hear new ideas from my readers. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.
Listen, people like Brian Bendis did great things for comic readers, great things for comic readers.
I do a little fact checking now and then. Other than that its impact is simply that email has revolutionized communication for me, and my website has built up a community of readers, which is a lot of fun.
