The One Most-Kissed: You, The Reader

Image - iStockphoto: encrier — Image – iStockphoto: encrier

This Article Is Not About What You Think It’s About

You. The readers. Without you there wouldn’t be a book industry.

I can understand what motivates authors to write such lines. Everybody can understand this. Gratitude. And that’s one fine emotion. We could use more of it in the world. It’s great stuff. It’s completely logical – and completely commendable — when authors appreciate their readers. I’ll even go so far as to say that a writer who does not appreciate readers is a raging cad. Unthinkable.

Good authors appreciate their readers.

And that’s not what this article is about.

Here’s some more:

We owe you so much, and we are forever in your debt. Thank you for reading late into the night. Thank you for reading to your children. Thank you for missing that subway stop, for your word of mouth, your reviews, and your fan emails.

Thank you for seeking our books in so many ways—through brick and mortar stores, online, and in libraries. Thank you for enjoying these stories in all their forms—as digital books, paper books, and audiobooks.

Ring a bell? Let me jog your memory:

Thank you for staying in your car in the driveway because you were transfixed by the end of that perfectly marvelous NPR feature on All Things Considered…yeah? You’ve heard these public-radio pledge-drive pitches, too, right?

Well, that’s not what this article is about, either.