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Hooking Your Reader—Fiction

No matter what you’re writing (fiction or nonfiction), your opening page might be the most critical part of your book. It’s where you hook the reader and convince them that this is the book for them.

How do you convince a reader to keep reading?

One of the best ways to start a novel is to introduce the protagonist.

  1. Establish who they are. Give us the protagonist name, maybe a reference to their gender, age, occupation, etc.
  2. Indicate what their role is. What are their goals? What are their fears? What are their weaknesses/strengths?
  3. Create sympathy. Show why the reader should care. Help them identify with your character (they don’t have to like your character, but they do have to sympathize and understand why he does what he does).
  4. Possibly show them in relationship. This trick gives you the opportunity to show how the character feels about themselves, how they talk, and where they’re sensitive.

Be aware of the temptations.

  1. Avoid lists, information dumps, and flashbacks . . . unless of course, your character is a list-making fiend. In which case, make sure the reader knows this detail-checking is part of your character’s personality.
  2. Avoid random scenes that aren’t important to the plot. The opening lines of a book should be critical to the plot line. This is also known as starting in media res (in the middle of the action). It’s tempting to
  3. Be careful to orient the reader before diving in too much. Your first line can be a little jarring, but then take a step back and make sure we understand the situation and care about your character before putting them in too much danger (either physical or emotional).

Give yourself grace

Openings are SO HARD. I know. I’ve rewritten my opening lines approximately 2.4 million times . . . for each book.

So take a deep breath. And if you need to, set aside the opening chapter and write the rest. You might find writing the opening is easier after you’ve lived in the story world a little longer.

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How long should my book be?

As an editor, I often find that manuscripts I review miss the mark on ideal word count for their genre.

Why is word count so important?

First, reader expectation dictates word count, to some extent. If I’m reading a book to my 3 year old and she runs out of attention before the book runs out of words, a wrong word count is a likely culprit. In addition, if I’m purchasing a book about parenting a child with special needs, I’m going to expect a certain level of diving into the material. Not so deep that I feel like I’m reading a doctorate level textbook (unless it’s a doctorate level textbook), but not so shallow that there’s nothing there I haven’t read online in magazine articles.

The second reason word count is important is that it dictates price and break even in the traditional publishing industry. Every book, regardless of word count, needs to be reviewed, developed, copy edited, laid out with interior design, a cover designed, proofed, printed, marketed, inventoried, and shipped out. Every step costs the publishing house money, and they need to recoup their investment while pricing the book to sell. If a book runs too long, the price point may need to be so high that few buyers would purchase it. Who wants a 60 page board book that costs $45? Not too many people. And who wants to spend $15.99 on a 100-page novel? Not me.

So, what word counts should authors be aiming for?

I want to note up front that ideal word count varies from one traditional publisher to the next. And if you’re self-publishing, there’s really no one to tell you no. Just keep in mind that norms exist for a reason.

But I offer here the most common word count ranges for many different genres, both fiction and non-fiction.

Children

  • Picture books (up to age 8)—no more than 1,000, though many are far shorter, depending on the age of your reader
  • Easy readers (ages 5–9)—50 to 2,500 words, dependent on the reader and the vocabulary
  • Chapter books (ages 7–10)—10,000 to 12,000 words

Tween

  • Middle grade (ages 8–12)—20,000 to 25,000 words

Young Adult

  • YA novels (ages 12–18)—35,000 to 45,000 words / 50,000 to 70,000 words

Adult Fiction Novel

  • Romance—70,000 to 90,000 words
  • Women’s fiction—75,000 to 100,000 words
  • Crime and Thriller—75,000 to 120,000 words
  • Historical fiction—75,000 to 100,000 words

Note: The most universally accepted ranges for romance, women’s fiction, crime & thriller, and historical is 80,000 to 90,000 words.

  • Literary—up to 110,000 words
  • Novella—20,000 to 40,000 words

Adult Non-Fiction

  • Christian living—50,000 to 70,000 words

Note: Most non-fiction manuscripts should come in between 50,000 to 75,000 words.

The target number of words for your particular manuscript can vary from the numbers presented here for many reasons. You might be writing in a super niche genre that has its own word count parameters. You might sign with a publisher that has found sell-through success with a particular count range. You may self-pub and find that your readers simply eat up 9 short reads as opposed to 3 longer reads.

The numbers offered above are simply guidelines and, as we all know, guidelines often flex for good reasons. As with all things writing related, if you do go outside the guidelines, make sure it is for very good reasons.

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Strategies to Keep Writing

Let’s be honest. The world isn’t exactly normal right now, and sometimes having normal yanked out from under you steals your creativity too. But deadlines (whether externally or internally created) are looming. What’s a writer to do? Here’s some ideas for you:

  1. Word Sprints. Set the timer for 10, 15, 20 minutes and write. No editing allowed. This is free form, stream of conscious, get it out on paper kind of writing. No editing, no processing, just writing. The best part is inviting writing friends to join you. Tweet #WordSprints and tag your friends or set something up in advance. Then you have accountability to keep going and someone else invested in your work. Don’t have someone who’d like to do one? Tweet at me (@JanyreTromp) or post a call on the Editing Insiders Facebook page and I bet we can hook you up.
  2. Write-Ins via Zoom. Call up your buddies, invite them to join you live on Facebook. Then write. It’s amazing how much you get done when someone else is working diligently on the other side of the screen. To avoid conflict, you’ll want to schedule chats in between working. Agree ahead of time what your time frames are so you don’t end up annoying each other with unnecessary disruptions. You might even try word sprints!
  3. Physical Reminders. Sometimes I need accountability without the danger of socialization. That’s when I give myself some kind of reminder. Light a candle that says, “If I’m lit, you should be writing…not doing dishes or answering the phone.” Or write until the end of a song. Or maybe it’s just closing the door, even if you’re the only person around.
  4. Change of Space. This is a tried and true creative tactic. If you’re feeling drained, try moving to a different location. Kitchen table have you distracted? Try the basement. Office mind numbing? Try the deck, drag a camp chair into the backyard or the local park (just stay six feet away from your closest neighbor). Maybe look up some of the art museums and take joy in fine art.
  5. Creative Relaxation. Did you know science shows that some of the most creative moments are those when your brain is disengaged? That means driving the car, just waking up (or falling asleep), taking a shower, or ah-hem doing other business in the bathroom. Take advantage of those times. Use the voice to text on your phone, keep a notebook by your bed, use Aqua Notes in the shower. If you’re stuck, take a short nap or an extra shower. Some of the greatest minds in history have done the same.
  6. Mini Rewards. If you make your goal 3 days in a row (or 3 days in the week or whatever), give yourself a reward. Buy yourself syrups or special coffee creamer rather than the regular brew. Sit in the sun for 20 minutes, buy that salted caramel dark chocolate bar you’ve been eyeing or a new pen or notebook, or purchase a well-written novel or craft book.
  7. Redefine Work. Maybe you need to just need a new definition of what it looks like to work on your book. Sometimes reading a really good book is just what you need to spark your creativity. Remember the aforementioned nap? Sometimes that might be what you need to fill your tank. Or maybe instead of writing, you search for weasel words (get a list here) and work on trimming those. Or maybe you work on your platform. Get the picture? Being a writer means so many things. Don’t get stuck on one aspect.

Above all else, give yourself some grace. Even if you don’t quite make your goal I bet you have more words written or edited than you did before. And for that, you deserve a fresh cup of Joe…or at least a nap.