Dear Author…
Why authors love getting letters and why you should write one.
by Hunter Liguore
For one year, once a week, I made the commitment to buy and read a book from at least one new author. The caveat was to also write the author a letter.
In my own writing practice, community is very important. On a regular basis, I keep connected with different writing friends through making goals and exchanging discussions on the craft of writing. I host several writing groups and classes, and even several book groups, all to participate in the vast, expansive world of writing, reading, and books. The piece that was always missing though was the author—the person that all those discussions derived.
Why was it that I was prone to discuss books with other readers, but I never reached out to the author to say a few words about the book? I have to admit, being a writer, I just assumed, they, like me, might be busy writing, and wouldn’t like the imposition or intrusion. Or perhaps, it was that I believed, on some level, that once the book goes out, it takes a life of its own, detached and far away from the author.
But here’s the thing, writers want to hear from their readers. It’s actually why we write in the first place.
As the first few weeks of reading and writing author letters began, I was surprised how quickly I heard back. It didn’t matter if the author was a newcomer or widely recognized: they responded. I found myself a bit starstruck, no matter who it was that wrote me back! It was, to me, connecting with a superstar! A superhero! A living author, the most vital people in society, right? The letters were always personalized, nothing too long or involved. Just the right amount to say, in so many words, thank you for reading my work. Humble, through and through.
Kristi Petersen Schoonover, author of The Shadows Behind, and editor of the literary journal, 34 Orchard, shares that, for her, the point of writing is bridging gaps.
“Helping people feel better about where they are in their lives and showing them they’re not alone in how they feel is really why I do this. My dad always used to say that ‘if you reach one person, you’ve done your job—you just probably won’t ever hear about it.’ So if people take moments to share their reactions to my work or how it affected them even in a small way, they’re moments I cherish—ones I go back to when I feel discouraged or want to give up. Those moments remind me that writing is about something bigger.”
Something bigger, can mean a variety of things to an author. We do spend a considerable amount of hours that can lead to years before seeing a book from start to book store. Hearing from a reader allows us to feel that those steps were worth it. It is what gives our work greater meaning. It becomes more than simply an act we did for ourselves and something we did in service to others.
Take a moment today and email an author—it doesn’t matter if they are well-known or published their first piece. Read and send a note. It need not be long. Just a few lines to say how their work resonated.
Over the course of a year, I connected with quite a few authors, many who are now in my ‘circle’ of support and continue to connect. At its most basic, everyone likes to hear, ‘thank you,’ or ‘you made a difference in my life,’ or ‘oh-my-gosh-I-didn’t-see-that-coming!’ It’s thrilling actually!
Do it now.
Write to an author and make a practice of it—you just might make their day, the way they made yours!
Meet this week’s Author: Hunter Liguore
is an avid-reader, writer, and book collector. She’s written widely on the importance of reading to grow our understanding of the world. Her work has appeared in Porridge Literary, The Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction, and more. Her novel, ‘L’ultimo Polare, is now available from Virgi Books.
& Instagram @happylondonpress
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