(Music. LOGO)
Hellooo, everybody! I've got big news! I am super excited to announce that this
Saturday I will be participating in the Self-Publishing Advice Conference.
The Self-Publishing Advice Conference is an annual conference held right after the London Book Fair.
It is a huge deal with some huge names in indie publishing, and I am incredibly honored to be
involved. I was invited by Sasha Black, a fellow indie author, as well as the conference manager
for the Alliance of Independent Authors. Sasha interviewed me all about how to successfully
implement YouTube into your author platform. We had a blast, she is a delight. If you wanna check
out my interview as well as all of the other amazing content. The Self-Publishing Advice
Conference is on Saturday, March 16th. I've got the information links below, check it out. One
lucky participant is going to be walking away with a signed copy of The Savior's Champion. So hey,
show up, learn some stuff, have a good time, and you might be walking away with a book. Moving on,
today I am tackling a topic that has literally been requested for years, but I've been dragging
my feet on it because people are gonna get really mad. But the time has come. I am putting on my big
girl panties, and today we are talking about the worst types of readers that writers gotta deal
with, oftentimes on a daily basis. This list is based on the experience of writers I know,
blogs that I've read, and overall the most common complaints that I see within the writing
community. Before we get started, I gotta give my love to Skillshare who has kindly sponsored
today's rant. Skillshare and I go way back. They are my favorite online learning community because
they're specifically geared towards creators. They've got over 25,000 classes available in
every topic you can think of like creative writing, business, web design paintings—the
list goes on and on and on. I've got two marketing classes available on Skillshare right now. One is
all about how to create an author platform. The other is all about how to successfully launch a
novel. I definitely recommend you check ‘em out. One of the things I love about Skillshare is that
it's so inexpensive. An annual subscription is less than ten bucks a month. However,
right now you can get two months of Skillshare premium for free by clicking the link below. Only
the first 500 people who click the link are going to cash in on this offer. So you gotta get on it,
don't wait. But first, why don't we talk about shitty readers, shall we? I'm listing the ten
worst readers you'll meet throughout your writing journey. Quick disclaimer: I am not going to talk
about bullies or trolls. Lots of authors receive rants, hate mail, death threats, and harassment,
it's a good time. We already know those readers are clearly the worst. However,
this list is supposed to be light hearted and fun. So we'll save the more troubling shit for another
video. Number One (1): The lit snob. “Oh hello, I didn't see you there. I was busy filling my mind
with knowledge and wonder, something you can't relate to, I'm sure. When you're done wasting
your time with whatever dribble you're currently reading, might I interest you in some quality
literature.” Look, reading is subjective. It's all about personal tastes. That means your preferences
are exactly that, your preferences. They are not inherently superior to everyone else's. It's fine
if you have genres you like or dislike, but no one is required to share your opinions, and those who
disagree with you aren't lesser. They're just different. Number Two (2): Paperback purists.
If you prefer paperback novels, fantastic. If you prefer hardback, good for you. But if ebooks or
audiobooks throw you into a fiery rage, you really need to find a new hill to die on. First of all,
why is this even a point of contention? Ebooks and audiobooks have been around for years,
and people are still shitting their pants over ‘em? “But Jennaaa! Ebooks and audiobooks
aren't real books. They don't count.” Did you know that some people can literally
only read ebooks or listen to audiobooks due to arthritis, chronic pain, and visual impairment,
or a host of other disabilities. And some people can only afford ebooks, for many, paperbacks and
hardbacks are a luxury. Are you saying that these people don't count as readers because they don't
have pretty pictures of bookshelves on Instagram? Cuz if that's the case, you're an asshole. Number
Three (3): Gluttons for punishment. You know when readers pick up a book from a genre they
absolutely hate and then complain when the book met the criteria for that genre. Why the fuck
do they do that? “This book is filled with short stories, I hate short stories.” It literally says
a collection of short stories on the cover! “There was way too much romance in this book. Ugh” But
it's a historical romance, that's the genre! “Just because a book is labeled as historical romance,
doesn't mean it should be filled with romance.” That's exactly what it means. I will be the first
to encourage you to read outside of your preferred genre, expand your horizons. But you can't get mad
about content when it's advertised all over the damn book. That's on you, dummy. Number
Four (4): What's a series? Everyone loves a good resolution to a story. But when you're reading
a series, that resolution isn't coming until the very last book, because the story isn't over until
the very last book. This isn't a new concept. You see this in movies, comics, and TV shows.
But still, there's a minority of readers who can't quite wrap their heads around the concept. “I am
so pissed. I just finished book one and there were so many things left unresolved.” What if I told
you that's what the sequel’s for. “But all these unanswered questions. I mean, just look at these
plot holes!” Those aren't plot holes, they're just a setup for the sequel. If you wanna read one book
and have it over and done with, standalones exist. You're welcome. Number Five (5): The white-washer.
Some authors write very vague physical descriptions, or don't write any at all. But
many write very thorough physical descriptions for their characters that are really hard to screw up.
Joke's on them, because the white washer is gonna see the book, read all of their very thorough,
detailed, and diverse physical descriptions and then decide: I'm just gonna pretend all the
characters are white. Got an elderly Korean man in your book? The white-washer is going to make
Sean Connery his face claim. Got a character with curly black hair and deep brown skin? They must
be Italian. “But Jennaaa, this doesn't really happen does it?” Do I need to remind you of the
Rue incident from The Hunger Games? As a reader it's your prerogative to imagine the characters
however you want. But if you're purposely erasing characters of color and turning them into Wonder
Bread, we're judging you. Number Six (6): The mentor. If you're a writer and a woman, then you
know exactly who I'm talking about. Publish a book or ten, and somewhere down the line, a middle aged
man with little to no writing experience is going to offer to be your mentor. Don't get me wrong,
he's gonna be nice about it…sort of. “You know, your book was decent for a little girl. I think it
might have some potential. Allow me to give you my expert advice.” Oh my god, stop it. You're making
me blush. You can be a multi-published New York Times Best Selling, award-winning author and some
old man who manages the grocery store is still gonna offer to make you a star. But to be fair,
he has written a couple of Brony fanfics. So clearly, he's a master. Number Seven (7): Women
against women. Male readers aren't the only ones who suck, we ladies are awful too. Some
women read female characters with a hypercritical eye, because self-loathing is a real bitch. If a
female character makes any mistake, no matter how minor, this reader is going to be thrown
into a rage. “I hate her! She doesn't deserve the air she breathes.” What makes this worse is,
this exact same reader is gonna forgive all the male characters for every mistake they make,
no matter how catastrophic…provided they're hot. “Oh, he didn't mean it. He had a rough childhood.
He's got a lot of anger to work through.” He slaughtered an entire village. You read that,
right? This chick’s reading experience consists of her ping-ponging between violent fury and horny
delusions. Lady character hurt someone's feelings, kill the bitch! Male characters sexually assault
someone, oh, don't be so hard on the guy he can't help it. Number Eight (8): Art should be free,
damn it. God forbid writers pay their bills, am I right? There are lots of consumers who demand
large quantities of media, but refuse to pay for it. If you're an author you've probably seen this
person in one of two ways. “All right, I guess I'll read your book, but only if it's free.”
Wow. Thank you so much for this kindness, however, will I repay you for mooching off of all my hard
work? “I'm a big fan, but I've never actually read your work. But I want to! So send me a
free copy.” How are you a fan if you've never read my work? What are you a fan of? The cover? Look,
we're all in different places financially. It's fine if you can't afford someone's book,
but you wouldn’t show up to an Olive Garden demanding free food, or an Old Navy demanding free
clothes. This is our job. So pay for the product. Number Nine (9): The villain hurt my feelings. I
honestly didn't know this was a thing until I befriended a multitude of writers. Apparently
sometimes readers get mad when the villain is mean. Say what now? “I wasn't enjoying this
book until the villain said something classist and misogynistic.” Well, they're the villain,
so yeah, that's kind of the point. I would suggest different reading material if this sort of thing
nips at your delicate sensibilities, but I can't think of a single book where the villain is a ray
of sunshine, because then they wouldn't be a villain. And Number Ten (10): Cannon creators.
Imagine you sew a shirt and then someone comes up to you and says “Hmm, actually, it's a lamp.” No,
it's a shirt. “Hmm, definitely a lamp.” I sewed it. It's my creation. It's a shirt. “I mean, not
to brag, but I know a lot about lamps, and this is definitely—” I made it with my fucking hands!
Welcome to the life of an author. I'm not hating on headcanons, or readers that have theories or
predictions. As a writer, I live for that shit. And it's fine if you interpret the material
differently than it was intended, that is your prerogative as a reader. But every single author
I know has had a reader try to explain their own work to them at some point in time. “No, no, no,
no, that's not how it went. This is how it went.” I guarantee you, the author knows how
it went. They wrote it. They probably have it memorized. So That's all I got for you today.
If you're mad about this video, remember that you requested it. I did it for you, damn it. Again,
thank you so much to Skillshare for partnering with me. They always make it so much easier for
me to release regular content for you guys. Plus, they bring awesome goodies. Remember, if you want
to get two months of Skillshare premium for $0, click the link below. This offer is only
available to the first 500 people who click the link, so do it now. Don't forget to subscribe
to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload,
ring that bell. The Savior's Champion is available in ebook paperback, hardback, and signed hardback.
All of the links are listed below. The audio book is coming very soon, so be on the lookout
for details. And be sure to follow me on social media. I'm on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and
of course you can tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!
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