Fiction versus non-fiction?

I'm wondering today if readers read one or the other or both.

Me personally, I adore fiction. For me, reading is entertainment and I want to be swept away. I want to go somewhere I've never been, experience something new, relive the feeling of falling in love, laugh, giggle, even cry. I want excitement, adventure, romance, comedy, drama...all in one book if possible. :)

I read non-fiction books on occasion, but honestly, its gotta be a topic I am completely passionate about or something I am interested in and need to learn about. I've tried reading biographies and such...and even when it was someone I really admired, it was tough. I ended up skimming. I really can't put my finger on what turns me away.

So, what do you read? Do you read both? Likes? Dislikes? What do you love about fiction? What do you love about non-fiction?

Why is it wrong to escape into a book?

I know some people think it is a waste of time to read fiction. There's nothing to learn. The brain isn't stimulated.

Well, I completely disagree.

No, the purpose of fiction is not to learn facts, but I sure as hell learn a lot when I read it. If I'm reading a book about a rancher, I learn a little bit about what it's like to work that job. If I read a book about a fashion student, I learn a little bit about design and clothing. If I read a book about a football player, yeah, I learn a little more about something I knew nothing about before reading the book.

And yes, all of these scenarios are books I have recently read.

My point is that fiction does not have the main goal of informing it's readers, but the readers sure do learn something.

I read fiction for entertainment and escape. I like to forget my daily life and lose myself in another world. When I read Lone Star Trouble, it was real fun to "travel" to Texas and "meet" some people who raised cattle, got dirty, and worked hard. I never knew so much about vintage clothing until I "met" Lizzie Nichols in Queen of Babble and it was really interesting. Made me wanna peruse some yard sales for fabric treasures. And as a girly girl, it was super interesting to immerse myself in the world of a female high school quarterback in Catching Jordan.

I read for pleasure and entertainment....and if I learn something too, great. I don't think it makes me a less of a person because the books I choose to read are filled with imaginary people. As an author I know how difficult it is to create and imaginary world and do the research necessary to also make it realistic and believable.

Gonna try some freelancing! Ever do it??

As we all know, these days it's extremely tough to make a living on just book royalties. I knew this fact going in and obviously I still wanted to pursue a writing career.

I haven't worked for someone else in almost eight years. I gave up my 9-5 when my daughter was born so I could be home with her. That had always been the plan and I started my home-based business at that time. But after a while, that gig wasn't all I really wanted and writing kinda took over my life.

Luckily, my husband's salary does pay the bills, but we're not using dollar bills as napkins around this place, if you know what I mean. So I'd love to bring in some money again, even if it's just a little.

I recently signed up with Constant Content after reading that my friend and fellow author Nicole Zoltack was giving it a try.

Click here and you can give it a try too!

Now, I've tried this kind of thing before with Helium.com. Not really a great experience. I'd earned only pennies a week and I never actually collected a dime from them. They won't pay you until you reach $25. And at only pennies a week, that can take a looooooong time. But maybe I didn't give it enough energy. I don't know...but I wasn't very enthusiastic about it. And then I found that someone had stolen a few of my articles from there and was using them on their own page somewhere else. Left a real bad impression with me.

But Constant Content seems really good. You can write about anything you want, but there are guidelines and restrictions. Non-fiction only. All articles are reviewed before they go up for sale. And they will reject it for grammar. Of the first three I submitted, one was rejected for a few errors. I fixed them and resubmitted...hopefully it is okay now. Because three rejections and you are out. You set the prices for your articles and the site keeps 35%.

So I guess we'll see how this goes!! Wish me luck!!! If you're interested, please click the link and give it a try too!! I get credit for referrals! ;)

Fiction only or some non-fiction too??

When I was a teen, I wrote newspaper articles for a club I was a member of, the FFA. I was the reporter and it was my job to tell the world (or at least our little part of it) about club happenings. My articles were published in small papers designated for individual neighborhoods in our city (Bee Papers, The Metro, and for my neighborhood- The Riverside Review) and one even made it into the big newspaper in our city (The Buffalo News). My writing was included in a county-wide agricultural paper too. That year at the FFA NY State convention, I was awarded the State Reporter's award. A huge deal for me! I applied to two different colleges: one for journalism, one for Floriculture Merchandising.

I went to college for floriculture, got married, started my wedding flower business and started a family. I started writing again but this time I was drawn to fiction. It started as something I just did cause an idea popped into my head. But quickly this new found passion grew and in record time I finished an epic novel. It was only the beginning for me and once again I craved publication.

I tried to write non-fiction again and found it to be incredibly difficult. The only pieces I wrote that satisfied me at all were about topics I knew A LOT about...things that were dear to my heart. All the research in the world didn't help either...I just did not have the gusto that is needed to make an article great.

Do you excel in fiction or non-fiction or can you do both well??