How to write a book readers will love and reread
A question writers have constantly asked themselves. A question that demands an answer.
In order to answer it, I took a different stance. As someone who loves reading, why do I read? Why do I reread?
Let’s first tackle the first half: why do I read. The crux of this question is exploring what I pick up and invest my time in to read.
If I’m being completely honest, almost all of the books I read are recommended. Seldom do I wander through the aisles of a book store and think, Wow! This book! It looks so interesting! I’ve never heard of it before, or its author. Let’s pay $20 right now and try it out! Sorry, but I don’t. Whenever I wander through the aisles, I always stop in front of a book that has appeared in my mind before. I think, Turtles All the Way Down. My friend did a performance of that book. I know the author too. Hmm, let’s check it out.
If I’m not in a bookstore and just borrowing from a library, I either get recommendations from lists of 100 books you must read before you die or from my friends. That’s mostly it. Everything works mainly on a “recommendation” basis. I mean, I’m here to enjoy myself ok? Just want to find something that won’t disappoint.
The main point is, having people read your book is a sort of prerequisite to having people love your book. And having you and your book known is a sort of prerequisite to having people read your book.
Self-promotion, advertising, and connections definitely help. But it really comes down to two things: quality and patience. Now these two go hand-in-hand. It takes patience to produce something of quality. On the other hand, people typically need to be satisfied with the quality of their art to have the patience to proceed. If your writing is truly of magnificent quality, you will almost certainly get discovered. It might not be your first book. It might not be your second book. Hey, so many famous writers didn’t get discovered until their 20th book or something. Please, take it easy on yourself. But if you keep grinding, I guarantee you, the results will show.
Now, let’s explore the second part of the question: why I reread.
The answer to this is simple: the characters. I come for the excitement and plot and life lessons and I return for the characters. A book could incite the deepest feelings within me and totally change my view of things. But for me, if I am to return, it’s because of the characters.
I do not necessarily have to love the characters (though that definitely helps). I just need some connection, some sort of bond between me and them. I have to feel them, or watch them grow. If you want to write a book people will reread, there needs to be that sort of connection. Something needs to come to real life.