What Readers Want: The Eclectic Reader

What writer doesn't entertain an insane fantasy of making an actual living off their words? Because this is becoming infinitely harder to do, and because I've been watching lots of Shark Tank, I decided to conduct a market survey. I interviewed some of the readers in my life about what they've read this year in hopes of figuring it out just what it is readers want (and how we can give it to them.) Since I asked people to do this in the midst of all the holiday craziness, I'll be publishing these as they come in.

Our first interview comes from Gail, who describes herself as "a 40-something married IT Project Manager who has two cats and many roles in local community theater."

Happy Holidays!

Sorry for all the silent nights. The holidays swallowed me, but I'm back this week with a series of posts that aim to answer that eternal question: what do readers want?

 I asked some of them, and I'm eager to share the results with you. Not so eager that I'm going to write a long post on a Monday, but I'm dimly looking forward to it.

Hope all is Merry and Bright!

The First Sentence: 5 Ways To Start Your Story

Before we delve into first sentences, I'm obligated to clarify that titles are important, too. Titles are, in fact, more important than first sentences because titles, if they're done right, cause your reader to actually buy your book. I wish I could title my blog posts more creatively, Unfortunately, the blogging gurus tell me that if you actually want anyone to find and read your writing blog, you have to write boring, shitty, women's magazine listicle (an ugly portmanteau if I ever saw one) titles like the one above. Otherwise, the little robots that find the writing blogs and suggest them on Google will miss it or something. This is why we should be hiring real human beings to do such tasks, not robots! (Google Robots: I love to read and I'm not averse to a career change. Let's talk further.) 

Crafting that first sentence is always tough, so here are five things to think about when staring down the blank page. (Actually, I'm only giving you four. The blogging gurus just said it should be five, for the benefits of the robots, but I refuse to take part in that whole system.)

How to Fix Problem Passages

Is there anything more beautiful than a clean white screen, emphasized by the zen metronome of the cursor? It's foreboding and perfect, and if you're like me, you can spend hours, if not days, staring at it, contemplating your unworthy humanity in the face of its innate vastness and wholeness.

Somehow (and I don't know how) we find the courage to tarnish this landscape with the yellowed sweat of our very human words We walk in the snow with our keyboards, and, much to our surprise and delight, create a promising first paragraph. Everything is precise and sparkling for a couple of pages. "This time will be different," we tell ourselves. "My writing really has a new clarity."

Wisdom From Adelle Waldman

When you're writing a novel, you're not exactly filling a niche. The number of non-book readers has almost tripled since the 1970's. Half of American adults read fewer than five books this year. On top of all that, there's been a recent slump in fiction - readers are going for memoirs and (cringe) self-help books instead.

The novel is dead, and here we all are, insisting on birthing zombies.

3 Anytime Alternatives to NaNoWriMo

I have a compulsive but very human need to attribute all of my failures to some sort of systemic flaw instead of my own own shortcomings. This is normal, but as a twisted subliminal penance, I've become obsessed with finding some alternatives to National Novel Writing Month.

Here are my top 3 choices for year-round literary productivity.

If You Didn't Win NaNoWriMo, Come Sit By Me

I have failed. I didn't win National Novel Writing Month. I have not borne 50000 words over the past 30 days. I, in fact, have not even come all that close. Why?