Mark Crilley -- The Readers: Know Them, or Die!

Okay, the title's a bit extreme. But I really do believe that I'm in trouble as an author if I don't make serious efforts to get to know my readers. Especially now that I'm trying to reach manga readers, a group that until a few years ago was slightly mysterious to me.

I do narrated "how to draw" videos on Youtube. The other day I got a comment on one of my videos from an Australian reader named Dimitri who had read Miki Falls. The comment was: "You're drawing the chins too big." Well, some of the other Youtube watchers gave that comment so many thumbs down it ended up becoming hidden, but to me it was like gold. "Note to self: Reduce size of chins!"

And yes, I messaged Dimitri, saying how grateful I was for the honest feedback.

So now, thanks to Myspace and Deviantart and, yes, Youtube, I really am getting to know my readers and what they want. Does that mean I make characters jump off bridges if they tell me to? Definitely not. But I do take note of everything they say and keep all of it in mind as I shape my next project. No author is an island, and if I stay in my ivory tower saying, "My job is to write, your job is to read"… well, I probably won't have any readers before very long.

So how about you? Do you show your writing to others and ask for their thoughts? Have you made use of their feedback, even the negative stuff? Please reply and let me know. I'd really love--as you've probably figured out by now--to hear from you.

Until next time, keep writing—or blogging!

Mark Crilley
Author of Miki Falls: Winter, Miki Falls:Autumn, Miki Falls: Summer, and Miki Falls: Spring

www.youtube.com/markcrilley
www.markcrilley.deviantart.com 
www.myspace.com/markcrilley
www.markcrilley.com