What Makes a Book Marketable? #2

A few years ago I read a novel by a favorite well-known author whose stories had always drawn me in. This particular book, however, proved to be such a disappointment that I have never bought or read another piece by this writer. Was the story memorable? Apparently not because I don’t recall what it was about—and I do remember several of the same author’s earlier books. So what was the problem?

Poor editing turned me off. I couldn’t read the book for pleasure because my mind kept trying to fix the awkward prose and ineffective dialogue. What happened to the quality I’d learned to expect from this writer? I have no clue. But she—and her publisher—lost a reader who bought books.

Does a lesson for us wend its way out of this experience? Absolutely! No matter how “big” we get—no matter how well-known we are—we need the fine hand of a competent editor who works in our genre and who is a great “fit” for our personalities and our writing styles. The day we think we know more or better than that editor is the day we may join the author referred to above. It is often said that we never get a second chance to make a first impression. This holds true in our writing. We may be witty, charming, and absolutely delightful company, but our readers don’t know that. They judge us by what we share with them—our written words. Have they been professionally polished to perfection?

Interestingly, the writer above published through a major house, and the book came out some years before the current “recession.” We might conclude, then, that the economic downturn had nothing to do with its poor quality. However, the publishing industry, like so many others, is in flux. Large houses no longer edit and market as they once did. But none of this excuses the publishing of any book that fails to qualify as a “great read.”

In tough economic times, we all have to cut corners. Writers—especially those who self- or independently publish—must economize like everyone else. Regardless of this or any other excuse, the editing corner is not the one to cut. The goal of almost every author is sales, sales, sales. Bottom line: A marketable book means dollars in the bank. And a marketable book is a well-edited book. What else is it? “What Makes a Book Marketable? #3” has the answer.

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Linda Lane and her editing team offer streamline edits to fit almost every writer's needs. She has authored two novels and is planning a sequel to the second one, Treacherous Tango.