Thursday 31 January 2019

What makes a novel marketable?


This is a question agents and publishers and all those who have worked out algorithms should be able to answer - but they can't. At best, it's only a guess. Or is it?

Let's start at the other end.

Why do I buy a book?
1. Author I know.
2. Title
3. Content - so blurb is influential

If it's a new author, there's only title and content left. 

TITLE
Preferably attractive. Most important that it's not off-putting. It mustn't suggest something I don't want to read.

Girl in the Lion's Den - not ideal.
good - suggests girl in danger who survives
bad - suggests religious content but there isn't any

CONTENT
storyline - small girl put in danger by family conflicts
hmmm.... how many readers would relate to that in present form?
might be better to restate as - mother's need for self fulfilment in conflict with needs of child - or something that has a wider appeal? 

Q - How important is the need for readers to relate their own probs and desires to the story? 
A - not sure. If it's a thriller, maybe not much. But this isn't a thriller! Still not sure.

setting
Time - preferably (for me) contemporary
Girl in the Lion's Den is set in '60s. - is this a minus?

Place - familiar or not - what matters is authenticity... I think...
England - South Derbyshire (not often used), Leeds
Germany - Hamburg

characters - have to be believable - readers need to relate whether to like or dislike
Esme 18 yrs (mother), Andreas 23 yrs (father), Frances (grandmother), Daniela - birth to 2 yrs

structure
Told in present tense from alternating points of view of main characters (Dani is 1st pers, all the rest are 3rd person)

For me - what matters is that the story is clear and easy to follow. 

Any comments? Don't think I've got any closer to answering the question - What's marketable?








Tuesday 29 January 2019

Present Simple


[Present Simple - Aja Gap]
I was looking for a picture to suit my mood and found this. I'm trying to keep the Aja Gap (painting and drawing) blog separate from this one which is supposed to be mainly for writing, but it's not possible to separate things out like that. So I'll give up and make my life easier. 
This picture started off as an exercise in how to use magenta - such a beautiful colour but it fights with almost every other one. It was never an attempt to seize a moment. Don't think they're seizable.
I'm drinking coffee - nearly cold now. 
Should be getting on with stuff instead of looking at pictures from my past. But then again why not.
I can feel my spirits rising.
Are yours?
Are you there?