Why Jack Reacher Author Lee Child Should Understand Readers Are Gamblers Of The Mind

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've only ever read one Lee Child novel featuring his bestselling character Jack Reacher. The first in the series in fact. It was alright. Though I didn't see anything special. Still I've other books of his to read so who knows what I'd feel after that.

However I discovered on Twitter that he complained about readers moaning about the standard price of books where they would be prepared to pay roughly the same amount on two large cups of coffee.

It got me thinking. I knew Mr Child was wrong. But I couldn't put my mind to it. Then it came to me.

When a reader buys a book he/she are gamblers of the mind.

If you buy a cup of coffee unless you try one of the coffee houses "experimental" drinks (coconut coffee anyone? Not for me) you know what you're buying. You know what you're expecting. There are no surprises/shocks because what you're seeking is the taste you already know.

When you the reader buy a book however, especially with a writer you've never read before. Then you've acted as if you've put some literary chips on red number 15  in a casino. You don't know until the book is finished whether you have liked it, hated it, or in this case of the Lee Child novel I read, neutral about it.

And so that's why price matters to a reader. He/she has a limited budget so wants to spend the money wisely on a book that gives him/her the best chance that when finished will be a good experience. So no reader wants to buy an expensive book that he/she is unsure whether will be liked at the end of it.

So Mr Child books are a gamble for the budget. Coffee is not because you know what you're getting. And I'll remember that next time one of your novels comes up on the pile of the great unread.

Until the next time.