Entertainment Sells Books!
NYPD RED 2
James Patterson’s books are a prime
example that the entertainment factor sells books. Say what you will about his
methods—they work. Patterson’s books entertain the reader. How?
Patterson
leaves out the fat. His books use a bare minimum of things like character and
setting description, narrative, and back-story. At the same time, they always have an action-packed plot!
Readers can’t get
enough; Patterson has a new book on the top ten NYT list at least once a month.
NYPD
RED 2 begins when police in NY find the body of a woman (dressed in a hazmat
suit!) on the carousel in Central Park.
Turns out, she’s the fourth in a series of similar crimes. Detectives
Zack Jordan and Kylie MacDonald search for the killer amid things like public
pressure, and political and personal secrets. The story is a great suspense
read.
Is
NYPD RED 2 a literary masterpiece? Of course not. But it’s definitely five-star
entertainment.
What writers can learn from
Patterson’s style.
1.
Scarcity
of description, both of characters and scenes, make for an easy read.
Many readers (myself included, I’m afraid) will skim right over any that are
more than a few sentences.
2.
Short
chapters, while they don’t guarantee a successful book, make it easy
for a reader to set the book aside when necessary. Few readers have the
luxury of reading a book nonstop for a long period of time. Personally, I find
short chapters addictive. Often breaking off in the middle of the action, I have to see
what happens next.
3.
Series
books Readers love series
books, and Patterson has at least nine different series, each one with a new
story at least once a year.
4. Multi-genre offerings Writing in
more than one genre opens your writing up to a greater number of readers.
5. An occasional flop Patterson
does, now and then, publish a book that disappoints his fans. Granted, taking a
risk isn’t nearly as chancy when you’re cranking out as many books as he is,
but the lesson to be learned is: we can’t be afraid to publish an occasional
book that might not be everything our readers want. We need to learn from it
and move on.
Dear Readers,
I know I’ve written about Patterson
before, but there is so much to be learned from his writing. Patterson is in
the business of writing, and his goal
is book sales, a goal many of us share. His work is worth checking out for
those of us struggling to get readers’ attention. Sure, there are some authors out there whose goal is
literary perfection rather than sales. But in my last post I talked about the need
for books to be entertaining and no other author exemplifies that point better
than James Patterson.
Hope you’re all writing
productively and also finding time to enjoy the beautiful weather we’re having.
Love that bit about the occasional flop. Of my 8 books on Amazon, I know the two worst sellers, and they were the two slightly outside my usual genre. Also, I can see how adore some but not so keen on others - just how I feel about my favourite writers, too! I've been worried about my current WIP as it's off-genre, too, but this has give me confidence about publishing it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHI Terry,
ReplyDeleteI love Patterson, but he sure does a bad one every now and then! I'm feeling like you about my WIP (it's a tad different, I use FP for one character only). So far, no one hates it (editor, critique group, betas), but no rave reviews either. Hard to be sure until you put it out there and fixed everyone's concerns. Scary!
Have a super holiday weekend,
Marla
When writing my books I adhere to points
ReplyDelete1, 2, and 5.
I believe in entertainment with a bit of
philosophy thrown.
Writer Dave
Hi Dave,
DeleteSounds like you're doing it right! Are you working on a third?
Stick with it,
Marla
I agree, but can’t do #3 because of a short attention span. Maybe someday I’ll push myself.
DeleteWhat an interesting post, Marla. I struggle with perfection and unfortunately never find it. My goal is to learn how to let go and shove a manuscript out the door rather than twiddle around for years with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
DeleteIt's hard to say which is the right way. I'm just the opposite, I write first, polish later. It does result in more work during the edit and revision process, but, for me, it gets the job done!
Maybe try doing a page and a half a day? Find some way to keep yourself moving forward. And, yes, the editing could go on forever. Might help to pay a pro to edit, then you might be more comfortable with your finished product. A critique group can also give you more confidence in your writing.
Thanks for stopping by,
Marla
Patterson is a reader's writer, not a writer's writer. He is first of all a marketer and makes a ton of money, but gets no respect from the writing community. Currently, he doesn't even write his own books, but this has become a trend. Maybe you need to determine whether to be read widely or respected. Of course many writers can do both. It's almost always a mistake to "chase" the market or write strictly to sell.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that depends on the writer's intent. I don't think seeking sales and writing a good book are mutually exclusive. All writers want their work to be seen and be recognized. My point here is there is a lot we can learn from reading authors who sell books.
DeleteHi Marla. You tweeted me. I dropped by and liked your take on NYPD Red 2. I'm also a Zombies fan. I look forward to checking you out from time to time. Have a pleasant Sunday.
ReplyDeleteHI, JD
DeleteNice to meet you! RU a Patterson fan? I am but don't read everything he writes, mostly his suspense/crime things. Do you write?
Have a nice Sunday,
Marla
Hi,
DeleteI am not really a fan of Patterson, but I am a fan of writing that works. I do write. I have a book that will be released August 1. I wish it were as good as the work of this man people are so fond of criticizing. Nice blog you have.
Hi JD,
DeleteI'm with you. I like to read stories without too much description or background added.Also agree that Patterson's books are engaging and entertaining. Just can't take that away from him!
Good luck with the book, hope you have many sales and devoted readers,
Marla
The information and the aspect were just wonderful. I think that your viewpoint is deep, it’s just well thought out and truly incredible to see someone who knows how to put these thoughts so well. Good job! disneyland vacation packages 2014 costco
ReplyDeleteThank you for your generous commenary,
DeleteMarla
Marla, thank you so much for sharing this info. You're constantly posting useful information for new and experienced authors. I for one appreciate how you believe in paying-it-forward.
ReplyDeleteQuestion; regarding point #2 - do you know Patterson's rule of thumb/formula for a chapter's length, specifically in terms of word count?
Hi again,
DeleteNice article you found! In an interview a couple years ago, Patterson said his outlines are 50 pages long!
Not surprised that the traditional "thrillers" have longer chapters.I believe as a reader, I tend to like both kinds. Not fussy as long as it's a good story, although many people appreciate short chapters.
So it kind of depends on genre, more or less. I like short chapters myself and all my books have them, mostly because I use more than one Character POV.
Have a nice weekend,
Marla
Hi Will,
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping me get this right! I often leave my tweets on for blogs that were popular and now I know how to keep the connections up to date.
No idea if Patterson has a rule of thumb, but looking at the book I have on hand here (You've Been Warned) it seems that the chapters range from 1 1/2 to three pages, an occasional one a tad shorter or longer. To give you an idea, the book is 386 pages with 111 chapters. My guess would be 600 - 1200 words, roughly.
Thanks for letting me know you like my blogs. The next one will showcase my new trailer for Trespass and have a guest, the gal that did the trailer. She'll be sharing the importance of trailers for authors and discuss all about them. Should be out in about a week.
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving,
Marla
*Smiles* I wonder how we ever survived before Google. I Googled the question about the average length of a James Patterson novel and I found this marvelous blog post focused specifically on that topic - http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/04/chapter-length-and-genre.html?m=1
DeleteYour guess is correct, the blogger did some research and she determined the average length of a Patterson chapter is between 600 - 700 words. I find that to be amazing. She also did some research on the chapter length of different genres and apparently the average chapter length of most thrillers is 600 - 800 words.
I'm fascinated by this insight and now I have plenty of food for thought. Thank You so very much for sharing what you've learned.
I found this really reassuring as I often worry that I don't put enough detail in my novels but now I'm thinking 'If it's good enough for James Patterson......' Thanks for a great article! Nicci Rae
ReplyDeleteHi Nicci,
DeleteThere are two types of authors. The first wants to write the great American novel and the second seeks mainly to entertain. The two are not mutually exclusive necessarily, but in reality, seldom overlap as far as achieving a lot of sales.
A lot depends on the genre, of course. I think that mystery and suspense readers prefer a minimum of description and more dialogue than narrative. People are busy, therefore the popularity of Patterson's no-nonsense writing.
I'm an avid suspense reader. While I don't mind more description if the story is great, e.g. Tana French's books, I'd have to confess to breezing over any that are more than a few sentences long.
People who describe themselves as avid readers have learned how to read selectively!
Glad you found the post interesting. I believe that us independent authors have a lot to learn from out favorite writers. Keep reading.
Have a nice weekend,
Marla
Enid Blyton for grown ups!
ReplyDeleteYes! Always up to the author to decide what his style is, but if looking to have books that are popular with readers, it doesn't hurt to emulate the successful authors in one's genre.
DeleteHave a good week, Liz,
Marla
thanks for posting this :) only read a couple of his books but am excited to read more
ReplyDelete