With the limited amount of time I have now to read, it really pisses me off when I have to DNF a book. What a waste. Even if I've only spent 15 minutes on that book I didn't finish, it was 15 minutes I could've been reading something I might finish.
Now, back when I was still in the Kindle Unlimited program, I could 'see' people reading my books, because the page count would go up at a steady pace. I can safely say that the majority of people read my books all the way through. (About the only perk to selling so few books, by the way.) Every once in a while, I'd see where someone only read a page or two. For the most part, the page number they stopped on was the last page of the book.
That, at least, could give me some measure of satisfaction. Few people were picking up my books, but those few were enjoying them enough to read all the way through. And often, they'd finish one book and go on to read the next book.
My biggest problem has always been getting people to pick up a first book. :shrug:
Anyway, the point here is I wasn't disappointing readers. I would hate to do that. Maybe I'm doing that now by not writing and publishing new books. There's nothing to be done for that right now. I needed a job. I got a job. And by the time I get home from a full day of work, I don't have the mental energy to put words on a page, let alone to edit, format, etc. and publish a book. Gah, I wouldn't even want to think about the energy that goes into making a cover. So, I'll say it again... I am deeply sorry to be not providing you with more books right now.
The only good thing I can say about all the DNFs this past year or so is that I rarely spent money acquiring them. The books I download are almost always free. And the books I do spend money on I almost always finish. I think last year I has one DNF that I'd paid for. I shrugged and got on with my life. Sometimes you slaps your money down and you loses.
It does make me wonder, though, about whether the authors who get a lot of DNFs with their books consider the whys and the wherefores. If they attempt to change anything. If they lay in bed at night wondering how to make the hemorrhage stop. Or if they just shrug and continue on as usual.
Personally, I think most writers are conscientious and they are paying attention. Of course, without KU, how would they know unless they're seeing a lot of returns. I dunno.
What do you think?
