Episode 4 - Are We Writing the Book We Want to Read, or the Book We Think Will Sell?

Are we writing the book we genuinely want to read, or quietly making decisions based on what we think will sell? In episode four of No One Cares You Wrote a Book, C.J. Kael and Chris Wards talk about the uneasy relationship between creativity and the market. Most writers begin with a story they feel compelled to tell, but once readers, agents, editors and sales enter the picture, it becomes much harder to ignore what other people want. We discuss how feedback can improve a book without changing what it is, why friends and family often make terrible beta readers, and the danger of rewriting your story to chase a trend that may disappear before you have finished the manuscript. The conversation also takes us into BookTok, romantasy, social media algorithms and the growing pressure on writers to fit their work into increasingly specific genres. Is there still an audience for the sprawling fantasy stories many of us grew up reading? Do readers really want something original, or something familiar that feels new? And when writers say they do not care about sales, do they mean it, or does caring simply make failure more painful? Ultimately, we return to the reason many people begin writing in the first place: because there is a story in their head that they want to see sitting on a shelf. CHECK OUT SHADOWS BEFORE THE DAWN C.J. Kael’s epic fantasy novel, Shadows Before the Dawn, is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1066635315 FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM No One Cares You Wrote a Book: Instagram: noonecaresyouwroteabook C.J. Kael: Instagram: authorcjk Chris Wards: Instagram: chris.wards IN THIS EPISODE 00:00 Why friends and family are not always your readers 00:38 Are we writing for ourselves or the market? 03:04 Does thinking commercially betray the story? 03:35 What influenced the books we wanted to write? 07:08 When do writers begin thinking about readers? 09:37 Why every character needs a reason to matter 11:11 The problem with choosing the wrong beta readers 13:15 Changing your book to meet reader expectations 16:39 How social media creates publishing trends 18:50 Why you should not rewrite a book to chase the market 20:29 Could writing ever become a full-time career? 21:39 Writing to market and publishing at speed 25:13 How the internet divided readers into smaller subgenres 28:00 The changing generations of fantasy 33:05 Do writers really care about sales? 36:16 Do readers want originality or familiarity? 38:37 Why C.J. ultimately wrote the book he wanted to read 39:29 The stories and ideas Chris wants to explore If you are writing a book, trying to publish one, or wondering whether anybody will ever care about it, subscribe for honest conversations about writing, publishing, marketing and everything that happens in between. Are you a writer who would like to join us as a guest? Send us a message on Instagram and tell us a little about your work. #WritingPodcast #FantasyWriting #SciFiWriting #IndieAuthor #BookPublishing #WritingCommunity