I actually think e-books have helped get people to read more, though I prefer real books. It has also helped preserve and spread works of great literature from the past.
I am not a novelist but virtually every short story I have written has events and people from my life in them. The Debra Castle character, the Woman In Black, in "In A Million Years" is based on someone I used to work with.
I read my reviews and I like them all as long as they are about the work itself. Say someone criticized m novella, "In A Million Years" because they think the timeline is not possible then proceed to explain why. Someone reading this criticism might disagree and decide they think the timeline would work so they buy the book to check it out for themselves.
I never experienced this because I write everything, all genres of fiction, non-fiction, really bad poetry, and even one 1-act play. If you get stuck on one thing you are working on, set it aside and try something new even if it turns out bad--like my poetry.
It has to be real. It can be about anything and it can appeal to only a limited audience but no matter, keep it real. That doesn't mean you can't have wild flights of fantasy like in my book, "In A Million" years, but the story is based in reality even though it is a sci-fi/romance novella.
I started writing when I was 15 because I discovered that "chicks dig writers", that was 50 years ago and it is still true although that is no longer my motivation to write.
