(This will be a short post to leave room for an important message at the end of it.)
Earmarks of a well-edited and prayerfully written manuscript include more than just good grammar and correct spelling. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, the writing should grab the attention of the reader in the first sentence. And since the reader has opened the book in the first place, that proves another earmark was present: The title and/or back jacket blurb had an effective hook.
Now that the reader bit the bait, the next milestone is when the reader sets aside her plans to watch a favorite program and flops on the sofa and flips through pages instead. This is because another earmark was achieved: The author kept the unspoken promise to continue with the same quality of writing she produced in the first five pages. And she made sure to continue creating questions in the reader’s mind. Each chapter should answer the hook placed at the end of the previous chapter. And each chapter should end with a new hook to encourage the reader to keep reading.
It's also an important earmark to tie up all loose ends. All the questions should be answered in a satisfying way by the end of the book. There are exceptions—such as in a series. But the ending must satisfy, or the reader won’t read another book by that author.
The happy thing about the book world is there are too many good books and not enough time to read them all. This is also why writers need to meet as many earmarks of a well-edited manuscript as they can.
I’m going to end my E post here because I want to mention something about the contributors to this blog: I appreciate you. The posts you’ve all been sharing here are wonderful. It’s a delight to read them. Thank you so much for showing up and showing us your stuff. You’re rocking it.
As always, I look forward to seeing what you come up with this month. Enjoy E.
Blessings,
Wendy Mac
P.S. Sandi Somers will be helping with the blog administration for a few days while I’m out of town later this week and next.
What wonderful ideas, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteThank you & blessings, dear Sandi. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing this insightful post, Wendy. You got us off to a great "E" topic. I appreciate all the work you do in organizing and starting us off each month. I found it so helpful to consider the necessity of prayer and the end results that will engage readers and bring them back to read more of our works.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Sandi, for your faithfulness here on the blog. Your thoughtful comments encourage each of us more than you know.
DeleteBlessings.
This was a creative way to use the letter E in our series! As Sandi said, thank you for all you do and for your consistently encouraging words!
ReplyDeleteThank you & blessings, dear Tracy, for your faithful encouragement to all of us in InScribe.
DeleteThanks for encouraging us to always do our best, ‘as unto the Lord’, not just at the beginning but even when the going gets tough. Many thanks, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteThank you & blessings, dear Sharon. We're blessed to have the best Helper in the universe.
DeleteThank you for your message, Wendy. You and our other family of writers always teach me how to writer better. I thank you also for caring for the rest of us here on the blog. Maybe you can add a bit more to the "earmarks," in a future post.
ReplyDeleteThank you & blessings, Alan. I also learn from everyone here on the blog and from in the comments. What a kind and helpful community we have.
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