That people “just aren’t into reading” is a problem…
…and it’s not just about whether friends will read our work. People who don’t read tend to be low information folks. I can’t understand being friends with people who are non-reading, low-information people. [OTOH could be they’re just being polite so they don’t have to say they don’t like your writing!]
Sounds awfully boring to me. I suppose the support on the side helps ease the divide a little. But I tend not to interact much with people who don’t read.
My friends generally are readers. And they like reading MY work & have said so. But they don’t like it if they have to pay for it even just a wee bit. Such as paying for my lowest Patreon reading tier [$3/mo] — cheaper than a macchiato; or becoming a Medium member, where less than $5/mo [$50/year] gets you unlimited access to ALL the terrific writers on Medium.
We have trained even compulsive readers to think of our work as leisure — a hobby, something we do just for fun, rather than to support or partially support ourselves.
Sometimes it really frosts my pumpkin…especially when, not only do they not subscribe but they don’t even re-post or re-tweet our promotions.
I try to think that the platforms’ algorithms account for their failure to even pass those on, but I have no way of knowing, & it doesn’t seem quite right when I have two people whose incomes I know are low so I don’t expect anything but an RT somehow get my messages & follow thru, but nobody else does.
I don’t understand why they won’t at least pass it on even tho I know they like my writing & read stuff when no $ are involved, not even a request for it.
I get more responses from strangers than from my friends.
Oh well. It’s their loss, because I will be posting very little they’ll be able to read for free. Mostly teasers to what’s on my Patreon account.
