What’s In It for Your Reader? 15 Reasons You Need to Keep Writing
As an author, I am not fond of marketing. I’d much rather be settled in, a cup of cocoa on my left, a notebook on my right, and my fingers tapping away at the keyboard in front of me. However, without marketing, all that writing would just languish on a shelf gathering dust. So, market I must.
My first foray into this arena was almost my last. The guru in charge of the session asked this question – “Why should someone buy your book?” The question was supposed to help me gain an understanding of what was in it for my reader. However, I drew a complete blank. Why should they? I couldn’t come up with anything other than I had written a good story that they would enjoy, but somehow, entertainment just didn’t seem like reason enough to ask someone to spend their hard-earned money.
Thankfully, I didn’t decide to about-face toward a career with easily recognizable benefits. Instead, I determined to discover the value of reading in order to answer that marketer’s question. Here are the fifteen that have helped me understand that being an author is as noble a profession as any other
1. Entertainment
“No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.” – Mary Wortley Montagu
I’ll start with entertainment because it was the only item on my original list. Without a doubt, books are engaging and entertaining. We’ve all experienced a book we couldn’t put down. And we all hope that our next experience with a book is the same.
2. Learning New Things
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Whether you read fiction or nonfiction, you can learn things while reading a book. For instance, you might pick up a new word or hear about a new place. You might grasp a new concept or pick up a tidbit of history you missed in school. If you want to learn something, read a book!
3. Better Communication
“I believe there is power in words, power in asserting our existence, our experience, our lives, through words.” – Jesmyn Ward
Communication is an important life skill because it allows us to pass on needed information, form relationships, and generally, get things done. And guess what? Readers are better at both written and oral communication. Because they read, they use a stronger vocabulary and intuitively know the right style for writing.
4. Live Longer
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C.S. Lewis
This one blew me away. There was a retirement home study that found readers lived two years longer than nonreaders. Wow! If that isn’t a great benefit, then what is?
5. Improves Sleep
“Take a good book to bed with you. Books do not snore.” – Thea Dorn
Studies concerning reading are endless. One found that when you pair reading with a nighttime routine, you fall asleep faster. The only caveat is that you must read printed material rather than on a screen. That pesky blue light can wreak havoc with your body’s natural cycles.
6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills
“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” – John Locke
When we read, we tend to think ahead and see if we can solve the mystery, determine the outcome, or notice the one detail that puts the entire story on its end. This is known as analytical thinking and is another one of those skills that employers want their employees to have. If you critique a book with others, not only are you using analytical skills, but you are pairing them with communication skills. It’s a win-win!
7. Improves imagination
“Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.” – Khaled Hosseini
When reading fiction, your imagination goes to work visualizing the scenes, hearing the characters’ voices, and feeling the emotions. And why is imagination important? The benefits of imagination are as endless as the benefits of reading! Those with strong imaginations have fewer memory problems, increase problem-solving skills, and more.
8. Better Mental Health
“Reading—the best state yet to keep absolute loneliness at bay.” – William Styron
Feeling depressed? Studies show that reading a book will help. The field of bibliotherapy uses books to help people feel better. Try it for yourself.
9. Reduce Stress
“Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real.” – Nora Ephron
Remember what I said about studies? It seems that one found that reading for 30 minutes can have an impact on your health. How? It lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Another study found that six minutes of reading reduces stress by over 60%.
Feeling stressed? Pick up a book.
So, the next time you’re feeling stressed, remember the benefits of reading for pleasure and let the tension melt away.
10. Building Brain Connections
“To train your body, lift increasingly heavier weights. To train your mind, read increasingly tougher books.” – Johnny Uzan
Reading helps you build brain connections, much the same way that exercising builds muscles. The more a person reads, the stronger these neural networks become.
Do you know the phrase “use it or lose it”? Yep – it’s true for reading!
11. Concentration and Focus
“To read a novel requires a certain kind of concentration, focus, devotion to the reading. If you read a novel in more than two weeks, you don’t read the novel really.” – Philip Roth
There is an entire body of literature on something called deep work. Deep work occurs when you can do something for a long time without distraction. And guess what? Reading books helps a person develop this ability! Your readers need to learn to focus, so why not focus on your book?
12. Memory
“I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles.” – Arthur Conan Doyle,
Reading books helps to improve your memory. As you read, you have to keep all the details in mind. There’s the plot, the characters, the relationships, the environment, and more. As you store this information, your brain creates and strengthens synapses used for memory storage. The more you read, the better you will be at remembering things.
Can’t find your phone again? Read a book!
13. Motivation
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman
When you read about a character who overcomes a challenge, it can be motivating. Book characters can help us be positive, work hard, and never give up.
14. Empathize
“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” – Joyce Carol Oates
Books let us look through the eyes of someone unlike ourselves. As we see the world as they see it, we gain an understanding of different points of view. In our world today, isn’t that an amazing benefit?
15. Inclusivity
“Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.” – Jean Rhys
Along with empathy, books help us be more inclusive. They help readers become more open-minded and tolerant. It’s hard to look at someone negatively if you’ve been able to relate to their story. We don’t discriminate against those we understand.
This little exercise has made my job of marketing my books so much easier. Books have value to readers. And, as an author, I have value as well.
About the Author:
Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M Brown came into this world with an imagination full of stories to tell. She now calls the North Carolina coast home, and the peaceful nature of the sea has been a great source of inspiration for her creativity.
Not letting 2020 get the best of her, Teri chose to go on an adventure that changed her outlook on life. She and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. She learned she is stronger than she realized and capable of anything she sets her mind to.
Teri is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author who loves word games, reading, bumming on the beach, taking photos, singing in the shower, hunting for bargains, ballroom dancing, playing bridge, and mentoring others.
Teri recently published her debut novel, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, a historical fiction set in Ukraine that follows three generations of women. You can read the first chapter for free by joining her email list at https://deft-pioneer-4478.ck.page/c6edd375dd
Follow Teri on her website www.terimbrown.com
Or via the following social media:
Facebook.com/TeriMBrownAuthor
Twitter.com/TeriMBrown1
Instagram.com/TeriMBrown
LinkedIn.com/in/TeriMBrown
Goodreads.com/terimbrown
Pinterest.com/terimbrownauthor
Amazon Author: https://www.amazon.com/author/terimbrown
Ashley O'Melia, Author 