Having read my friend Angie Lofthouse's blog post "What Makes a Great Book Great?", I couldn't help but be inspired to write a companion piece, thus my post today.
Having
read several great books, I've also read a lot of stinkers. Not to get
into a self-published versus small press versus major publisher debate,
but many of these have come from the two former categories. And as I
foresee the trend to be for more and more authors to begin venturing
into those realms, it's going to be important to have your book stand
above the pack.
So, what drives a book to be so terrible that it never gets off the ground with readers?
1.
Poor editing: Yes, this is a bit of a generality, but it deserves to be
said. Books absolutely HAVE to be edited, there is no getting around
it. And like it or not, there are a lot of authors out there who don't
want to spend the money to get their books edited. Which is perfectly
fine, if you have a significant background in editing, and have plenty
of honest beta readers, and can look your own work over with a highly
critical eye.
That's a lot of ifs, by the way. So, make certain you're not just taking the cheap way out by eliminating an external editor.
And
if you do get with a small press, make certain your editor is doing you
justice. If they give you back your manuscript with a few spelling and
error corrections throughout, then perhaps it's time to start looking
for a new publishing home.
2. Major errors with points
of view: Nothing is going to drive a reader more crazy than a book that
goes back and forth between first and third person, not sticking with
the character's point of view you've chosen (head-hopping), or lacing
everything with a load of author intrusion. Not to say that it can't be
done, because it can, but you definitely need to know what you're doing.
The
best advice I had was reading a book on POV, in which they likened it
to watching a film. First person is all seen from your main character's
point of view, and you can only see what they do from the camera, with
that character narrating as they go. Same goes for third person, but the
camera isn't being held by any particular character. Thinking of this
analogy reminds you that you're not going to be able to tell things to
the reader which they can't see from the camera's vantage point (author
intrusion).
3. Playing a game of red-light/green-light
with the reader: People like fairly consistent flow through their
reading. No one likes to be going along and then all of the sudden, the
author tells them to "STOP!" This could happen in any number of ways,
including making large jumps in the timeline of the story that make the
reader stop to figure out where they've just been taken to, and what
happened in between then and now. If you find yourself trying to fit a
huge timeline into a single novel, perhaps it's time to ask yourself
whether it can be condensed into a smaller timeline, and whether more
continuity could be had.
There's also the problem of
being in the middle of a scene while you're trying to get your bearings,
and then the author decides now is the best time to go into a bunch of
infodumps, which bring the reader's enjoyment of a story to a screeching
halt. Avoid these at all costs. Readers like to find things out about
the characters and the worlds you've built, but just like when we take
cold and flu medicine, we don't like large doses at once. Sprinkle it
around a little, spread the joy, and you'll find people still get the
same amount of information, but love every minute of it.
I
could go further (and maybe I might for a later post), but for now,
I'll let everyone digest this information for now...and as always, I do
love comments, criticisms, and other interactions, so feel free!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
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4 comments:
Good blog, TM. Definately important points for any writer to make sure they include in their writing if they want readers!
The time jump you mention is especially annoying. A change of scene is one thing, but 50 years; twice? I couldn't go on. I was running out of time.
Thanks for stopping by, both of you! :-)
I'm working on a rewrite of a novel recently returned to me. It has a massive time jump after the first chapter. I think this warrants a little 'get to know me' chapter.
Speaking of covers, a friend showed me a bunch of very unfortunate album covers from the Seventies. Most were NOT safe for work.
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