Hello,
I hope you are having a safe and pleasant day.
The biggest problem facing readers and writers in these days of abundance is how to discover books you would like to read. There is an ocean of books available via our screens. There are so many that it can become a burden to search for something to read. The result is often just a tsunami of titles and information, offers, and images. Instead of being one of life’s pleasures, browsing for the next read become a burden.
Back in the dark ages of the Pre-Internet, it was a lot simpler (not better!). I would go to a bookshop, find the Science Fiction & Fantasy section, and look at every title. This was easy, as there were usually three bookshelves. I could pass an hour or two by simply picking up books, reading the blurb and maybe the first page. Then I would buy a book or not.
The problem was all the books that were not in the bookshop that I would have been interested in if I could have found them. The Internet solved that problem by creating another. I still buy and read far fewer books that I look at. When the selection to look at is too big to manage comfortably in an hour or two, I lose the will to search at all.
Now I am back to missing books I would like to read.
Spotify solves the problem with playlists. Most of my listening to Spotify is to playlists. I get to browse the music that I am likely to be interested in. Mixed in these playlists is music that I have never heard before, some I have no interest in, and some that drives me to find more.
This is exactly the discovery process that I wish to deliver to you for books, specifically science fiction books. One trend I have discovered about writers is that they fear/hate/are embarrassed by/ are terrified of marketing. I do sort of understand. Marketing seems to call for a brazen self-promotion that most writers cannot summon and feel to be a crude imposition on readers.
Writers want readers, it is why we do the work. I write stories to please myself and I utterly want and desire others to read them. I am proud of my stories and am delighted to introduce them to readers. Far more people will not read them than will. That is not a problem. I do not take it as a criticism of my work, nothing is for everyone. There are readers who will be engaged by and enjoy my stories. I want to give them every opportunity to find them.
Writers who are confident enough to create a work that they want other people to read curl up at the thought of giving other people the opportunity to read it. Reading lists like the one at the link below solve the problem for writers and readers. Writers have a place on a virtual bookshelf and readers have a selection that can be browsed in comfort.
https://books.bookfunnel.com/sci-fi-free-books-jan/cy3rizwqo5
Give yourself the pleasure of looking over stories that could be your next read. If you were feeling expansive, please share the opportunity with others. They will be glad you did.
Thank You