What do readers owe authors?

[Fluribus]

If the book sucks, then I owe the author a sock in the mouth for stealing my life and smothering my dreams.

[cfrizz]

I paid them for their books, thus ends any obligation.

[wodin]

Having skimmed this entire thread, I noticed that no one said anything about having purchased a book, I have contributed one vote to however many sales are needed to achieve “best seller” status. Not only has the author gotten my money, he/she has also gotten my vote.

I’ve bought a few for which I wished I could retract my vote.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

What does the author owe me (and the rest of potential readers): the content should match the description. That's honest too.

I think the *publishers* owe us books that are properly labeled, so that those of us who purchase genre books can buy with confidence. I don't blame the author for those bad labels. However, if an author's work is consistently mislabeled, and the book's true genre is one I don't care to read, the author still loses. I'll stop buying the author (and I have refused to continue to purchase from authors who've pulled bait-and-switch tactics mid-series).

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I would also disagree with the author owing me, or you, anything as well. These are arm length transactions. Once the transaction is made, everyone's obligation is met.

I get your point, I really do. But I have a strong objection to authors who create series and then don't continue them or take forever to finish them. No, the author is *not* my b1tch, but I feel in some way that there's an additional agreement in place when an author writes a series.

The author is asking us to take the chance that on the series, knowing that the storyline may not be well resolved in one book. So I'm asking them to actually resolve that storyline - and in a reasonable amount of time - eventually!

I know that authors don't have any control over the publisher pulling the plug on a series. But it's still frustrating.

It's gotten to the point that I pass on new series because I'm not willing to take a chance on an open-ended series ever getting around to finishing up. Or I'll wait until the last book is out until I buy any of the books.

Sure, I also get frustrated if the series goes places I don't like - but that's the luck of the draw. The author doesn't owe me the story I actually want to read. Not to say I haven't quit reading those too, but I know that's the chance you take when diving into someone else's universe.

[Breid]

I buy an author's book, I may or may not like it. If I enjoy it I will probably recommend it to friends. But once I have bought an author's book I don't owe him/her anything.

[cromag]

There's "owe" and there's "owe."

If I have a sandwich at a local diner I only "owe" the amount on the bill. I'm not legally obligated to leave a tip. But unless the service was truly miserable (and the waiter/waitress' fault) I leave a reasonable tip.

By the same token, unless the book was truly miserable, I leave a review. Sometimes only a sentence or two, but I leave feedback to the author and some thoughts for a potential customer. If the story was miserable, then I don't -- I don't leave one-star reviews, and rarely leave two-star reviews -- but, since I probably read the reviews that were already there, that rarely happens.

[ATDrake]

Whenever I see stuff about what readers "owe" authors, I always think of Daniel Pennac's "Les 10 droits du lecteur" from Comme un roman (The 10 Rights of the Reader), which you can find in handy illustrated form here (pdf poster promo for the English translation) and here (original French in blogpost with commentary).

In short, between "the right not to read", "the right to skip", "the right not to finish a book", "the right to read anything", and "the right to be quiet", readers don't owe authors anything, not even in terms of actually reading the work presented, any more than the authors themselves owe the readers anything, in terms of actually presenting decently written work.

Sure, it's nice if the book has a great story/well-researched recounting of facts and is properly edited and all, and it's nice if someone who enjoyed it talks it up to their friends and family and the world wide web at large so that they in turn may discover it for themselves, and the author gets some kind of ensuing financial support from the extra publicity hopefully leading to additional sales.

But that's an extra to the reader/author relationship, not the core foundation of it.

Nothing is ever owed on either side, not even a full read, not even direct payment for the read (so long as the book is obtained in a legal fashion if available to be distributed as such, allowing for out-of-printedness, geo-restrictions, second-hand sales, etc.).

I myself have in the past and will in the future post about books I've read that I liked and recommend others to try, and/or point out discount titles from authors/publishers that have given away freebies, but I do it on my own time for my own reasons, not because of any obligation to boost the author/publisher in return for their having put their work out there, even on what I'd consider generous terms.

As a reader, I have the right to read or not to read as I see fit, and to be as loud or as quiet about what I've read as I want, and not have any of that dictated at the author's behest for their benefit if I don't feel like it. And really, the more someone goes on about how I should, the less I'm inclined to feel like I want to.

TL;DR: I agree with the article linked in the OP. Dear Author, if my time isn't enough for you, then too bad. You're probably not getting any more of it.

[Pulpmeister]

As a published author (commercially, not indy or self, and of non-fiction) I never felt for a second that my readers owed me anything at all other than the purchase price.

As a reader...

When I buy a book, I expect it to entertain me to my money's worth, that is all.

That doesn't mean I'm not entertained by really bad books--they can be entertaining for their sheer badness at times, like bad movies. Who can resist movie turkeys like Plan 9 from Outer Space, or Santa Claus Meets the Martians? These days Michael Arlen's The Green Hat, from the 1920s, is all but unreadable, but approached from the right angle (hoots of disbelief, outright laughter at the prose) I figured it was worth my money.

[Apache]

If an author thinks his public owes him more than the purchase price of the book then he is in the wrong business.
Apache

[usuallee]

"Owe" is obviously a strong word, especially if the book is bought & paid for, but I do tend to go out of my way to leave reviews, gift a book to someone, or otherwise promote authors (or musicians) I like a lot, where my perception is that they may be under appreciated in terms of sales and/or critical respect, etc. Off the top of my head, personal favorite authors like Michael Marshall (new book this fall, yay!) and Robert Charles Wilson that are wonderful and critically acclaimed, yet are a bit under the radar in terms of mainstream success. Want to do my bit to keep those guys writing. I don't worry about people like Stephen King or Lee Child, though of course if I enjoy one of their books I may be compelled to write a review or mention it to someone.

[DiapDealer]

I agree with the majority of commentors that the reader "owes" nothing to the author. But when it comes to reviewing and/or promoting books, it could be argued that the reader owes it to themselves to do so (particularly in the case of indie authors they've enjoyed). Afterall... it may be the only way to ensure the chance to be able to read anything else by that author ever again.

So while we certainly don't "owe" authors a review, we--by the same freedom of choice--might only have ourselves to "blame" if we never get to read any more books by those authors who made an impression on us.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

I've been seeing a number of articles lately talking about what readers owe authors. I've seen this graphic (more at the link too) in FB, about what I as a reader owe my favorite (particularly indy) authors.

I do like to support favorite authors, but I dont tend to write reviews or publicize what I'm reading (unless, like "Mr. Penumbra", I'm totally enthralled by a book, but that's rare.).

Do I as a reader owe my favorite indy authors reviews? or FB comments (I don't tweet)? I can see the point, but I really hate writing reviews.

Nope, you don't owe us a thing and it doesn't matter if the book is traditionally published, free, or indie published. If an author chooses to give books away, that means it is FREE (unless they are entering an actual exchange where the reader promises a review upfront, etc.)

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I agree with the majority of commentors that the reader "owes" nothing to the author. But when it comes to reviewing and/or promoting books, it could be argued that the reader owes it to themselves to do so (particularly in the case of indie authors they've enjoyed). Afterall... it may be the only way to ensure the chance to be able to read anything else by that author ever again.

So while we certainly don't "owe" authors a review, we--by the same freedom of choice--might only have ourselves to "blame" if we never get to read any more books by those authors who made an impression on us.

This is also very true and while I would have liked to have said it, I don't feel I *can* say it as an author--because the bottom line is that it is not fair for me to ask for this kind of support for someone paying for a product. But the truth of the matter is that many authors do stop writing because they have to pay the bills. It's a fact of life in the industry.

[John Carroll]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I think "owe" is the wrong choice of words. It would be better if it said "How can you help your favourite writer?"

Agreed.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I get your point, I really do. But I have a strong objection to authors who create series and then don't continue them or take forever to finish them. No, the author is *not* my b1tch, but I feel in some way that there's an additional agreement in place when an author writes a series.

The author is asking us to take the chance that on the series, knowing that the storyline may not be well resolved in one book. So I'm asking them to actually resolve that storyline - and in a reasonable amount of time - eventually!

A great example of the type of author you are complaining about is Patrick Rothfuss. His first book, The Name of the Wind, got fantastic reviews. I looked to see if the second book in the series, Wise Man's Fear, was scheduled for publication, saw it was, and bought the first book in hardcover.

The book was good enough that I preordered the second in hardcover, only to have the preorder canceled a couple of months later because the publication date was no longer valid. I waited, and waited and waited -- finally Wise Man's Fear showed up and I bought it.

There is supposed to be a third book, and the second leaves you hanging, but 3 years after publishing Wise Man's Fear, there is still no sign of the third book.

If it finally does appear, I'll think long and hard before I give Rothfuss any more of my money.