Ahh writing. A sacred art. The power of the written word. Many have, at one time or another, made a grab at that elusive title of “Author”. Yet few, very few, have succeeded.

Why is that? What is it about particular a book that makes it more successful than the others? Who gets a say in what succeeds anyways?

Any person who has aspired to be a writer has heard this story before:

(Spoken in a crochety old person’s voice) “You need to get used to rejection. You’ll have to send your work to dozens of publishers, no doubt. You’ll need to build up some thick skin. I received ___ (ridiculous number) of rejection letters back in the day, and look at me now!”

I’m not saying that this story isn’t true. Classic underdog stories abound. However, I want to point out something. It may seem a little obvious, but seeing as no one has said it before…

Who exactly is working in these publishing companies?

I mean, if their only job is to spot talent and siphon out the “unchosen” it doesn’t sound like they are doing this very well.

So let’s throw away the official definitions of good writing. Find your textbooks and your “How to Get Published for Dummies” book and chuck them to the back of your closet. Lets talk about what works, and what doesn’t work, for real people.

Everyone has read a book before; most of us do so frequently. We have all had that moment when we just stop reading, look at the book in our hand with raised eyebrows, and simply put it down, never to finish it. There are specific things that we, the readers, like to see in a book. So let’s talk about them.

One more note for you. Because I myself read mostly fiction, and I am writing a fiction book, you should expect me talk mostly about writing as it relates to fiction. However, if you consider yourself a nonfiction expert, or if you don’t know anything but you have an opinion (most people fall under this category), please feel free to chime in and add some dimension to our discussion.