Are you sure your novel is ready?

A couple of books I’ve read lately inspired this blog.

And what’s interesting about their flaws is it made me reflect on advice I received when my first novel was published. This was way before self publishing was a thing. Back then the first thing I was told was to have my manuscript assessed.

My assessor worked with me over three consecutive drafts. I expanded the plot, got rid of two characters who often didn’t contribute much to scenes, and improved my word choice when she circled a word and made a notation that I could do better. She also got me to rethink the title.

Then my first editor got me to restructure the plot while teaching me about show don’t tell. She also insisted the ending of each chapter should have a cliffhanger.

Currently there are three rounds of edits on my works.

This is quite normal. My editor looks over the whole thing taking note of structure, spelling etc. A line editor makes sure each sentence is clear and concise. Then the proof reader goes through it before my editor takes one last look. And finally, I give it one last read.

So for me it’s quite easy to spot when no one edits a novel. I had this experience recently with a self published work where random question marks appeared, some sentences sounded like Yoda said them, and the general layout rules like a new line for each character’s dialogue were non-existent.

But this writer had talent. It was just raw.

So there was a sameness to each scene even when something dramatic happened. The main character had an accident and had to go to hospital, yet there was no mention of the pain she would have felt given the circumstance. The scene played out like every other scene. We were told what happened and then moved on.

If this person attended a good writing group or hired an assessor, the story and the characters would have found depth over time. Two other novels I’ve read had inciting incidents which featured a death. These deaths were mentioned in the blurbs, but after they happened in the novels, life went on as normal. The plot consisted of many ‘and then this happened’, rather than ‘therefore this happened’.

Another novel I read kept the plot moving for the first half, then filled the second half with sex, or had scenes where characters reminded us something important was going to happen. The plot didn’t continue until the last chapters which led to the climax. After I read it, I thought how interesting it could have been if that ending happened midway in order to catapult the story to an even greater climax.

I’m saying this because a lot of books get released each week.

Among them are some writers who dreamed of being authors, so they self publish. But their focus is on releasing the book, not thinking how their readers will experience what they wrote.

Now, a lot of self published authors know the steps, but in the last few years I’ve met several who do it for vanity. They think all they need is to write it and put it out there.

Most of my early works took eight drafts before they were handed to a publisher. I made sure the plot developed. Or the feel for each scene was right. That the words flowed so the reader didn’t trip up and notice the writing rather than staying lost in the story. And I made sure each character had nuance.

The last points I want to make are title and cover.

My assessor made me change Staging Life to Drama Queens with Love Scenes. Someone I was pitching to got me to change Tayler to Social Media Central. Often when I’m stuck on a title, I ask for help on social media. Someone always has a good suggestion. So trust me when I say make sure your title is intriguing. It has to stand out from the crowded market.

And make sure your cover is memorable. I know an author who designs their own. On one of their covers a letter of the title covers someone’s face. Again, you need to stand out for the right reasons.

I’m only saying this out of care.

I know what happens when you point these things out to an author. Us writers don’t take criticism well. But these are things I would love to say directly because I know these people have the talent to do better.

They are just in a rush to release their books.