What Is The Goal for Your Book?
The Goal for Your Book
What is your goal for your book? What do you want readers to take with them?
I would like readers to take with them a slightly different way of looking at the world, perhaps seeing it in a better light or maybe just a more truthful slant. And if not that, I’d like them to feel good about having spent time with my characters. The best compliment I ever received was from someone who said he didn’t want the book to end.
Here are some goals other authors have for their books. The comments are taken from interviews posted at Pat Bertram Introduces . . .
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From an interview with Jerold Last, Author of “The Ambivalent Corpse”
I try to write books that are fast-moving and entertain the reader while introducing the readers to a region where I’ve lived and worked that is a long way from home for most English speakers.
Montevideo, Salta, Machu Picchu, and Iguazu Falls are characters in these books, and the novels will have succeeded for me if some of you say that you’d like to visit these places because they seem so vivid and real.
From an interview with Polly Iyer, Author of “Hooked”
My goal is a good read. I always have issues with my books; otherwise, they wouldn’t interest me. I like to dig deep into my characters’ pasts in order to explain why they’re the way they are. Sometimes, in doing that, I get into some heavy subjects, but that’s okay.
From an interview with Qwantu Amaru, Author of “One Blood”
This is a great question. At its heart, One Blood is a book about the danger of belief. We believe things so blindly that sometimes we find ourselves in situations where that belief is challenged and we react badly.
I would like readers to question more and follow less. Find their own paths and if they must believe in anything, believe in themselves.
From an interview with Benjamin Cheah, author of “Eventual Revolutions”
For this book, I want people to recognise that they have free will, that they can choose to make their lives better. It’s not easy, it requires a lot of work, but it’s possible.
From an interview with Alan Nayes, Author of “Smilodon”
My goal—and it’s the same with all my books—is to write the most entertaining story I know-how. If the reader finishes one of my novels and can say he/she was entertained, then I did my job and I’m happy.
In SMILODON, I did add a brief statement about the big cats of the world, but that was only to remind readers we are reaching a point when some of these magnificent animals may vanish forever unless some action is taken to protect them and their environment.
So, what is your goal for your book, ie: what do you want people to take with them after they finish reading the story?
(If you’d like me to interview you, please check out my author questionnaire and follow the instruction.)
