Hi all,
There was a thread on Twitter about significant others reading your writing a few weeks ago. The responses were mixed, but it's still bothering me so I wanted to offer my opinion on the situation. Some are saying that your partner absolutely must read all of your work, while others say it isn't necessary.
No, my boyfriend has not read my books.
Does it bother me?
It used to, as I thought that he had to read my work to support my writing career. After all, how could he support me if he had no idea what my writing was like? But now, I don't care.
I'm more into fiction books, whereas my boyfriend doesn't really read them. He prefers news articles and politics, which isn't really my thing. He has attempted to read my book, but hits a block a few chapters in. He says it's good, but he just can't get into it as it's not his genre, which is fine.
A lot of people were saying that your partner should read all of your work. I don't agree with this however, if it's not their thing you can't force them to read through it all. They won't enjoy the experience and will try to avoid reading it. Some people were going to the extreme by saying you should dump partners that don't read your work.
This shouldn't need saying, but don't do this.
There are other ways to support your writing apart from reading it. My boyfriend encourages me to keep writing and celebrates with me whenever I get a good review or feedback. He's also there when people didn't like it, assuring me that their opinion is subjective.
Support doesn't equal reading.
Everyone is different and they will show their support in different ways. Don't shame them for not reading your work. Also, just because you do something for them, doesn't mean they owe you reading a whole book in return.
Especially don't take relationship advice from people on Twitter who have no idea what your relationship is like. Seriously.
There are other ways to support you instead of reading your writing:
Reviewing your books.
Sharing your book related posts.
Attending writing events with you.
Giving opinions on your cover.
Helping you pick your author photo. (Or taking it, in my case)
Holding your hand while you hit 'send' on a query or 'publish book' on Amazon.
Recommending your book to people.
Buying books for you.
Pushing you to keep going despite setbacks or rejection.
However, if your partner is critiquing unfairly, belittling or humiliating you, that is a different matter. That is not a healthy kind of support.
That's it for this week, see you next week!
