3 words an author dreams of hearing from a reader

Bestseller lists are great. Reviews are awesome. But as authors, we’re really looking for one thing.

We want to connect with readers. We want the readers to understand where we’re coming from and we hope that we meet them in the middle of the place between the story we’re shooting for and the story the reader wants to hear. We want to connect, help, inspire, and entertain.

From a reader in Arizona, a woman who I do not know (love those!), she wrote the following which makes it all worth it:

“I feel like you wrote it just for me.”

I know that feeling when I’m reading and it’s almost magical, almost spiritual. “How did they know what’s in my head?” But to have that as an author means that I’ve reached a level where I can say that my writing has connected.

As if I wrote the words “just for her” is what she felt. As if it were a conversation between the two of us. But really, that’s what an author and reader are doing, right?