Choosing a story

I want to say a few things about the author's choice of book topic (meaning the story or the plot). There aren't many things I can say about this, because obviously, different genres and content will appeal to different audiences. That's why authors are told to write with their “audience in mind”.

Well, actually I'm going to follow that tangent first. I've never really cared for the idea of gearing a book towards a particular audience. Obviously, when dealing with children's literature or with professional audiences, the author does need to monitor what they write in relation to who is going to read it. But I feel that if a reader finds something good and approachable, that's outside of their normal preferences, then the author has succeeded. The author should feel the freedom to write what they want. As long as it's being read and enjoyed, it's working.

One of the author's major goals should be to write something well. But another important thing is to write something that people are going to read.

A topic should not:

• be so complicated that it's unapproachable (many science fiction books fit in here)
• be so broad that it's covered shallowly. We would rather read a sequel and have both be well-written.
• be about teens with the emotional range of a teaspoon
• be an obvious copy of another book. Eragon is said to be awfully similar to LOTR for example. It can be hard not to copy, because some ideas are intrinsic to every story. And some topics, such as vampires, are “trendy” topics that readers want to see more of. Let's just say that it can't be an obvious and blatant copy.

Some readers don't like the idea of “trendy” topics altogether. Books shouldn't be made just to make “fans” happy, but should be written for their own sake as literature.

A topic should:

• be unique in some way. If you're covering something common (Plain Jane enters high school, deals with all the typical high school stuff, “finds herself” by the end) then you need to do something that will help the reader identify this book as different than, therefore better than, the masses of similar stories. (Give Jane super powers. Have her high school blow up. Form a romance between her and a student with disabilities.)
• be understandable. Unique enough that the reader isn't bored, yes, but with enough common ground that the reader isn't totally lost throughout the whole thing.
• be tantalizing. Try to induce that desperate, page-turning, mustreadthisnow feel from the moment the reader picks up the book. Don't have “a must read” on the back, prove it.