As readers move from traditional hardbound books to digital
books for the various e-readers available now and in the future, one thing hasn’t
changed over the years, the reader’s expectations. They expect a level of
quality when they spend their money to purchase a hard copy, or time
downloading a digital book.
What readers expect:
- Readability
- Believability
- Characters they can empathize with
- Believable Dialogue
- Descriptive
- Good editing
- Deep POV
- Tight writing
- Consistency
- Good word choice
- Proper use of nouns, verbs, and adjectives
- Proper grammar
- Proper punctuation
- Proper spelling
- Words that don’t send the reader to the dictionary
- A book that doesn’t bore the reader
This is only a short list, but you get the idea. Readers are
author’s best friend or their worst enemy, the author makes the difference by
the words in their story, how well the edited the manuscript is, and the author
proofreads it before it reaches the reader.
Some may think this is a lot to ask, but consider the fact, the
author’s reputation is on the line with every piece of writing they prepare for
consumption by readers. This could be a blog about the book, a viral book tour,
an author’s web site, a press release about their book or any piece of copy.
Authors need to take readers seriously. Word of mouth advertising
is still the best form of advertising. How will the reader talk about your
books, authors? Will they give it thumbs up or thumbs down because there are errors?
It’s your choice authors.
Robert Medak
Freelance Writer, Blogger, Editor, Reviewer
