I was doing a
search on Amazon for copies of an older book whose copyright has recently
reverted when I was surprised to find a used copy of Assassin’s Kiss, with
“slight highlighting and underlining marks” available from a bookseller.
I have to admit
that I was curious and ended up buying the copy. What was marked and why?
My former editor
(Pamela Campbell) was underlined, once in the publication notification and once
on the dedication page where I acknowledged all of her hard work. Okay, I’ve
checked out publishers and editors before. That’s not too alarming.
The next thing I
noticed was that all of the erotic scenes were bracketed (I assume this was
what the seller was referring to as highlighting). At this point I’m a little worried
that this person was studying just the erotic bits. I do not want to find my
love scenes in another person’s work, who would? Yes, I jumped to that
conclusion.
Then I
remembered my early days in RWA, when I was trying to figure out pacing and
just where to put what, when plotting my book. I studied the genre I was
interested in, which at the time was the very popular, category romance. I took
those books apart, but I took the entire book apart, not just the love scenes. I
looked for the “magic formula” because I was convinced that there was one. At
the time, the heroes and heroines were for the most part, all perfect and the
hero rescued the damsel in distress in the nick of time and everyone lived
happily ever after.
Sounds simple
but there’s much more to creating a good story whether it’s a sweet or
scorching romance, category or single title. It took years to figure out what
worked and what didn’t, find my voice, create a story that I was proud of.
Along the way, I studied books that I liked and ones that I didn’t.
Even bad books
can teach you something and as authors I think we are always studying, whether
we realize it or not. In the end, I can’t know what was in the person’s mind
that studied Assassin’s Kiss. Maybe, they were searching for an editor and
trying to determine what that editor might like. I hope they found studying my
book worthwhile.
It feels odd
that someone “studied” a book that I created but in a way, I’m a little
flattered and hope they learned what they needed to know, whether it was
something they liked or disliked. I wish them well.
Whatever is on
your agenda as we pass the half-way mark for the year, I wish you all well.
Until next
month, happy reading!
Paris Brandon
Entice Me/I’ll Be Seeing You http://www.amazon.com/Entice-Me-Luscious-Love-Stories-ebook/dp/B015YEHP9U/
No Holds Barred
Kobo: https://goo.gl/XiBjFw
Barnes & Noble: http://goo.gl/7Oyq4j
10 comments:
Great post, Paris, and so true. Bad books show you what not to do. With each new novel, I learn something new. It never stops.
You should be flattered that a reader broke down your book. I did that with innumerable bestsellers when I started writing so I could figure out how they worked. :)
That's flattering. Kindle [used to?--I haven't checked in years] have a section where they showed the most underlined or highlighted parts of a book on their devices. As an author, I remember puzzling over why the section or phrase appealed to someone. That's kind of cool that you have tangible evidence that someone really connected to your writing.
Thanks Tina. Glad that you enjoyed the post!
Thanks Michele. It is kind of cool that someone bothered to break down my book and like you I do wonder why they chose the sections they did.
What a fun find! I bought a few used copies of a book that was out of print. It was great to get my hands on the books, especially since I forgot to keep one for myself!
Very cool that someone studied your book, Paris.
Melissa,
I've actually lost track of a couple of copies and was happy to get my hands on this one. I'm glad I bought it!
Cara,
Initially, I did panic but then thought about how I studied books in the early days, trying to figure things out and calmed down. It's cool :)
Interesting....Should make a good topic for a speech....
Thanks, Jean! I didn't think about a speech :)
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