Novel What will make your book stand out from the crowd?

Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by GingerCoffee, Apr 17, 2015.

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  1. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    How is this a pun?
     
  2. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    I think it's safe to say a "good book" means something different for everyone. Some people think a good book is plot driven. Others think it's character driven.

    Me? I like settings. Specifically, a fantasy setting. Aprilynn Pike's YA novel Wings really started me on my reading journey. It's about a young girl who figures out she's a faerie. And the book is full of green forests, magic trees, other faerie creatures, and mystical cities. I loved her description and wording. I could picture myself in these magical places, and it made me feel warm, for lack of a better word.

    Same with Marked by the Casts. It's about a newly "marked" vampire who goes to a vampire school. It takes place mostly at night and her descriptions were also beautiful and magical. I could put myself in her setting and really experience it with the character. Plus, it was heavily based on Wicca, so she included many rituals that connect with nature and the elements. The Casts have since lost the ability to woo me with their magical descriptions so I no longer read them.

    But as much as I enjoy other books, like Maze Runner and the Hunger Games, they just didn't capture my imagination as much as the two I described.

    But what captures me may not capture someone else. You just have to write what you write and hope it calls to someone on a deeper level.
     
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  3. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    You mean hope it calls to an agent on a deeper level, who can then worry about the rest.
     
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  4. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    No, I said what I mean. Because self publishing is always an option too.
     
  5. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Ah, I picked you up wrongly, You're talking about your book being memorable after it's been read, not about it getting picked up in the first place?
     
  6. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    I haven't a clue whether you're a bad egg mrmg...but one of the best ways to allay your fears is to get other people to read your stuff. If enough beta readers give you specific feedback, telling you what they liked about what they read (hopefully) or, better yet, start discussing your characters and what happened to them as if they are real people, then you know you've touched a few readers and made a difference to them. And also be aware that even the 'greatest' authors of all time have people who can't stand reading them and don't rate them. So it's a matter of reaching some people, and making them feel that reading your stuff was worthwhile. If your ambition is to reach all people ...well, good luck!
     
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  7. Lance Schukies

    Lance Schukies Active Member

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    What I based my opinion on was books that I finished reading, their was no hook or stand out that grabbed me. I make a page by page decision, and I am doing the same critique to my own book.
     
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  8. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    For me, the thing that will make a book stand out the most is if the author has a unique voice. That doesn't happen very often, though, and most popular fiction seems to me to be fairly generic in this regard, so I don't often find books that stand out in this manner. That means when it does happen it is that much more intriguing.

    Beyond that, good, fluid writing that pulls me into the story and a cast of characters I really want to read about. Those things set a book apart from one where the writing is merely serviceable, or where the characters are OK but I don't find myself invested in them.
     
  9. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    It's hard to find a voice that stands out, when most new authors need to impress upon an agent that their book is just like the last book the agent represented. Let's face it. The industry does NOT reward uniqueness, or encourage it either. They say they want uniqueness, but what they really want are massive sales. The lowest common denominator is what sells best, unfortunately. At least most of the time.
     
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  10. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    Good question. I'm not sure. I'm not particularly genre so I might have to take my queries to smaller presses. I don't mind being rejected if my writing still needs work but who the hell wants to be rejected because their book is good just not saleable?! That's like creating white chocolate and not being able to sell it because there's no immediate fanbase for it.
    I'm counting on my voice, and my query being in the right hands at the right time.
    I want to be able to mention some element in the story that will resonate with the publisher. That they won't get caught up in the fact that my story isn't meeting expectations one level but perhaps meeting them on another level.
     
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  11. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    From my perspective as a reader:

    The novels that stand out are the ones that stand the test of time and are about concepts and themes that interest me. When I choose to read a novel, it is because I expect it to change how I think about life and art, or at least because I figure I can learn a bit about how to write a novel that will stand the test of time.

    There is really no trick for getting me to read your novel. You just need to write a timeless novel and you need me to be interested in its concepts and themes.
     
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  12. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    Yes. Getting it read is step one. Getting people to tell others about it is step two. I've been looking at a lot of the Kindle previews of books in the Goodreads YA monthly news letter and there are lots of good books there. I know there is no magic formula for having a great book instead of a good book, and I'm not trying to be stupid about it. Right now I'm confident I have a good book.

    Now my goals are shifting. Before I wanted to write a decent book. Looking at the gazillion crummy books out there (traditional and self published), I was confident, my book was way better than that stuff. But now as I add the finishing chapters and editing, I'm starting to see all the good books that are out there and just being a good book isn't enough.

    I'm not talking about expecting a best seller. That's about as likely as winning the lottery. But still, there are certain things that draw people in and I want to be sure those elements are there in my book.
     
  13. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    You have that unique voice. I wish I could see my work from the outside looking in to know if I'm even the least bit close, (as opposed to good writing, but...).
     
  14. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I agree with this 100%. The author's voice is critical. Look at Hemingway: doomed, romantic, macho, keenly aware of his own mortality but striving anyway. His attitude towards the world comes through very strongly and separates him from other writers of his day. Or Mark Twain: wise, witty, acerbic, a little impatient with people who can't keep up with him. Steinbeck: a deep love for his land and compassion for its people, especially those the most downtrodden. Nabokov: brilliant, haughty, almost supercilious, treating his novels and their characters almost like games he plays for his own amusement. And on and on.

    Writers with strong voices - strong world views - create fiction that's different from everyone else's. Their overarching visions give their work its power and uniqueness. Writers without a crystal-clear, flame-bright world view tend to disappear into the morass of mediocre literature. Their novels don't stand out because they don't stand out - they're just like everyone else, so their work is like everyone else's.
     
  15. sprirj

    sprirj Senior Member

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    As a reader this is my judgement of a good book:

    When shopping:
    1. The Cover/Spine/Title - It has got to grab my attention to pick it up
    2. The blurb - Has to make me want to open my wallet
    3. The first paragraph/The last line of the last page - I take a sneaky peak, I judge it on the hook.

    The research:
    1. Reviews from the book shop staff opinions - I ask at the till
    2. Reviews in press
    3. Adverts/general buzz/hype

    The writing:
    1. It makes me want to turn the page
    2. It makes me look at something differently
    3. Influences me
    4. Makes me laugh (or feel an emotion)
    5. I side with the MC
    6. There is a page/paragraph/line which really grabs me and makes me wish I wrote it
    7. I keep reading
    8. The ending is original/well thought out

    Post reading:
    1. It stays on my bookshelf
    2. I recommend it to others
    3. I want to read it again
    4. It inspires me to write
     
  16. archerfenris

    archerfenris Active Member

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    What sets you apart is your ability to reach a more diverse crowd than the next guy. Marketing is big, but in my opinion, word of mouth is truly what generates large clumps of consumers buying your books (I found out about Game of Thrones by word of mouth, for example). You generate this excitement through a damn good story with great writing. However, this is difficult. Everyone says write what you'd want to read, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad theory, but think of this for a second:

    I'm a white male in my late twenties who is married. I grew up in the suburbs of Ohio outside a major city. I rock out to hard rock and heavy metal in the mornings on my way to work. I'm catholic (technically). I'm straight. I'm a veteran. My favorite class in high school was history. I have a degree in International Studies. My parents are still married. I'm an independent voter.

    Everyone one of you on here is different from me. Different religions, different politics, different genders and sexualities. Some of you grew up in cities or in the country, have a different skin color than me or speak different languages, hell...some of you may even like Rush Limbaugh. If I'm trying to get you all to buy my book, it has to be one damn good story with fantastic characters. Imagine trying to get a million people to like the same book. It's a hard business.
     
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  17. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I don't think this is a useful approach. It's impossible to write a book that everyone is going to like. I'd say it's more important to write a book that an identifiable group of people are going to like.

    (The 'identifiable group' idea is to make things easier for marketing. eg. SciFi fans are an identifiable group, so SciFi novels can be marketed to that group.)
     
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  18. peachalulu

    peachalulu Member Reviewer Contributor

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    And I would narrow it down even further. Write a book you would read with you're own unique view. Fulfill the need of that one picky audience - :) - and you're good to go.
     
  19. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I do hope so.
     
  20. Hwaigon

    Hwaigon Senior Member

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    It's one of those questions that are useless in principle (should I state the naked truth as it comes to my mouth).
    It's as useless as constant innovation, since there can not be constant innovation. What makes your book stand above
    other books is that it gets published. In the 21st century, originality is an obsolete concept. The more I think about it the more
    I realize making sb's work "original" in actuality means tailoring it in a fashion unknown to all - but, hey, why do that?
    I once spent an extended period of my life being lost in a universe of my own which was a combination of rip-off concepts
    from other books and movies. So what. I loved it. It's about how you sell it. As long as you are firm at beating around the bush and
    regurgitating, again and again, yes, my story is damn amazing! others will believe.
    I may be wrong. I'm still young, inexperienced but that's what my mind chews on when a concept like yours crosses it's mental path.
     
  21. Hwaigon

    Hwaigon Senior Member

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    @peachalulu I indeed do love your philosophy.
     
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  22. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I've been perusing a couple books that were on the GoodReads YA list for the month. Wings one was by a debut author and was picked up by Harper Collins Children's Books.

    First couple pages are blah, no conflict except she's the new kid at school. The story has a couple unique elements but it's pretty much: girl finds out she's a fairy, trolls try to take her father's land and she plays a key role in the fairies winning in the end after the usual fight with near death incidents. She's torn between her fairy boyfriend and her human boyfriend and it ends with her still loving both but going home to the human while hoping to see the fairy boyfriend again.

    The only unique thing is she grows flower petals on her body which the human boyfriend doesn't mind and she mostly keeps them under her clothes. But the plant petals growing on her body stretch credulity because she takes them just a tad closer to nonchalantly than to freaking out.

    What struck me was the first sentence: "Laurel's shoes flipped a cheerful rhythm that defied her dark mood." The reason it struck me was because the next couple pages were competent but pretty unremarkable writing. Yet it was a debut author and was published by a big pub. house.

    I remembered something one the members of the publisher panel on BookTV last weekend said: There are some first sentences that she'll always remember.

    Point of this post: Could be that first sentence makes or breaks your publishing contract. It might be a conclusion that turns out to be wrong. But it got me going back to working on that first sentence. I think my one paragraph prologue has that quality, but not the first sentence.

    And I was torn between two quotations I was going to begin with. One is very abstract with a not readily clear meaning, while the other (by the same author in the same piece) is straight forward and represents the theme of the book.

    And
    Now I'm thinking the mysterious quote may be more attention getting.
     
  23. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    Competent but unremarkable writing is enough to be successful. I'd say both Twilight and Hunger Games fall into that category, if we're talking about YA/Teen.

    Sometimes, I wonder whether the editor accepted a book of the sort you're talking about, and the opening sentence was reworked afterward. There are all kinds of reasons an editor may accept or reject a story, though. Marion Zimmer Bradley, who was a long-time editor as well as author, had the following to say on why a story is accepted or rejected:

    http://www.mzbworks.com/why.htm

    Starts with this:


    "EDITORS DO NOT BUY STORIES BECAUSE THEY ARE WELL WRITTEN.
    Accept it. Memorize it. Put it up over your typewriter. Yes, it's unfair. And editors have no objection to "well written" stories. Between two salable stories, one well written and one badly written, most editors would rather buy the one that is better written. But if an editor has a well written story that does not meet her requirements, and a BADLY written story that DOES meet her requirements, she will buy the badly written story that does meet her requirements."
     
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  24. tonguetied

    tonguetied Contributor Contributor

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    I don't use an e-reader but I am curious if the same thoughts would apply for them versus a hard back? Are there things about an electronically published book that might make it stand out compared to others in that format?
     
  25. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    A lot of MZB's comments may be idiosyncratic, though I've heard some of them repeated in similar form by other editors. Here's one observation I certainly think is partly true, though:

    "Whether or not you sell your story has NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW WELL YOU WRITE, OR HOW BEAUTIFUL YOUR PROSE. People who have no 'writing ability' are making a good living at writing, and people who write very well indeed have nothing but a collection of rejection slips and some compliments on their writing style. (Of course, if you write well, you can LEARN the rest.)"

    I wouldn't say it has "nothing to do" with it, but I think it has a lot less to do with it than many aspiring authors like to think.
     

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