Oh, what a naive little reader I used to be!

I used to devour books at warp speed, left and right, reading sometimes 7-10 novels in a week! If I like the book, I'll look at the authors page and order more. It was fairly mindless, strictly entertainment value reading. Then, my writing days started. Needless to say, I've never read a book in quite the same manner! Now, when I get to the last page I'm coming up with my own query letter, critiquing plot content, tension etc. I know I'm not alone in having my virgin reading eyes opened. All writers/editors know what I'm talking about. Once you learn how much hard work, editing, tears, chocolate eating that goes into getting a book published, you want to call up every author you read and congratulate them, because at some point they were once just like you. Writing when they had some down time, working, being a parent, revising, trying to fit in a conference or two, agent hunting etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm still thoroughly entertained by my reading, but in process of writing to be published I've changed. Have I told you, I think change is good...