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Resolve The Mismatch Between Readers and Writers

A game with no losers

If I ask you whether the world has more readers or writers, what would be your answer?

Readers, obviously.

Then it also follows that the act of reading will outmatch the act of writing.

Such a world will be the utopia of writers who will always have a large audience for their writing.

Sadly, that is not true. In fact, it is far from the truth, perhaps even the opposite.

There is a mismatch between the amount of writing produced and the amount of writing read. While readers do outweigh writers, their reading concentrates only on some writings. Most writers often never see their works of art read with much alacrity. To use an outdated philosophic metaphor, the tree is falling but there is no one to hear the sound. Did it make a sound?

There are only two major reasons for this mismatch. We either have a poor reading culture or we have a poor writing culture. I argue that we have both but more of the former. This former refers to our disinclination towards reading.

There Are Two Ways to Read - One Is Useless

Zack Rana here writes about the right way to read, how to approach reading, and why not to immediately discard stories that seem “false”. He says that the real value of reading is not in differentiating right from wrong. Instead, it is about creating a perspective.

What is the point of reading if it only confirms what we already know and discards what we know to be false. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his famed book ‘The Black Swan’, calls this the “confirmation bias”, which means to interpret new knowledge or information to confirm previously held beliefs and theories.

Rana’s main point is to read with an open mind, looking to widen the viewpoint and lenses through which we see the world. He says:

“Reading isn’t about jumping at details. It’s about incorporating a perspective.”

Avoid the echo chamber of writing

Imagine a small community of a wine seller, a fruit seller, and a bread maker. Each person is too busy creating their own products without consuming those of others.

The bread maker will create his own bread, the winemaker their own wine, and the fruit seller their own fruit, with no exchange taking place among them. For them to live mutually beneficial lives, it is necessary that all three interact by trading with each other.

The bread maker needs to buy wine to eat with his bread, the winemaker needs fruit and bread, and the fruit seller wants bread or wine. With each person selling and buying from the other two, there is a balancing relationship in this small community.

Everyone is happy because all their needs are fulfilled. That is how an economy thrives when demand meets the supply.

In the world of reading and writing, there is a mutual benefit of interaction among members. By reading other writers’ works, suggesting and getting suggestions of works to read, people benefit. It is not too far fetched to assume that one person reading can even create a butterfly effect and encourage millions of others to read as well.

It is imperative that we not only write for others to read but to support other writers by reading their works. We give fledgling writers a chance by giving them a piece of our bread and taking their wine in return.

Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash

Reading may seem simple enough but the people who read consistently stick to a plan. Additionally, to plan for more reading also requires that you have enough reasons to read.

Here are six tips/reasons to encourage reading:

1. Make a daily reading habit. Give yourself a target number of stories/articles/pages to read. Then actually read those pages instead of skimming (although there’s a thin line between the two sometimes). Digest the stories. When you count pages read, be honest with yourself. Don’t count just to fulfill your daily quota of reading.
2. Share how much you read. This isn’t boasting. This is encouraging for others. Share the good stories you read. When people who follow you on social media and in real life see you reading in abundance every day, they will be motivated to read more themselves. Reading is impressive. When more and more readers are encouraged others to read as well, the culture of reading will bolster.
3. Reading is easier than writing. Read even when you don’t write.
4. When you find a really interesting story but are unable to read it immediately, save it and come back to it later. Then make a habit of reading the bookmarked stories.
5. If you have a subscription to read paid content, It makes no sense to read! Just as you would want other paying members to read your professional writing, they expect you to read theirs in return. So if you are paying, you should be reading as well. Make an effort to get your money’s worth by reading as much as you can.
6. If you want others to support your work, you must do the same.

Having established that, let me end by mentioning the most important thing: the writing itself. Adrian Drew gives the only worthwhile reason people don’t read your content. He builds a precise case to attract people to your art, and that is to produce great work. Period!

This is Why Nobody is Reading Your Content

In our desire to market our work and attract more readers, we forget to improve our writing itself. Ask yourself this question. If you have a million people read your work once in your lifetime, would you show them your best work or your average work? This is the thing about marketing.

Sub-Par produce will not attract the buyers for the second time. There will always be those who expect better and more from your writing. To turn these people into your readers, put in the effort to improve your writing so that they feel fulfilled by reading your work.

Lastly, it is true the writing should itself shine. Any great piece of writing that resonates with readers will automatically get popular. However, an active reminder or remembrance to read does no harm. It is equivalent to stating the obvious, and obvious that often becomes a tacit acceptance and soon becomes less obvious.