I've purchased and downloaded all my self-penned novels (because I don't think Amazon lets the author download them for free -- if I'm wrong, please let me know!)
But I've never read them.
To clarify, yes, I've read them -- in Word doc form -- many times (too many times). I obviously read them as I was writing them and again in the editing process, but I've never thought of them as actual books, and perhaps if I snapped my Kindle on and fired up one of them, they'd seem "real".
I truly think I only purchased them to prove to myself that I am an actual author. If they nestle on my Kindle next to books by "real" authors, I can puff myself up in my own mind.
Still, I'm kind of afraid to read the downloaded form, because I know I'll flog myself for stupid word choices or worse, I'll find the entire concept silly or non-believable. I wonder if other authors avoid reading their own works. I used to never listen to my own recordings, because I'd inevitably focus on the mistakes (that nobody else even noticed), and the experience would be ruined. I listen to them sometimes now, because enough time has passed and I'm no longer so invested in them. Maybe that'll happen one day with these novels. I kind of hope so, because how bad could they be, really?
I just uploaded my latest novella, which I would plug, but it's still in the processing stage; and I really like it -- but I've said that about most of my works at that triumphant moment of fini. Perhaps I'm just giddy that it's finally complete.
Authors, do you read your own works in published form?
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