Connecting With Readers

When authors gather it seems there is always someone, often new to writing, who questions why a well-written novel (like his or her own 😁) fails to make significant sales, while a novel written in an unorthodox style or rudimentary pros can be a best-seller. Of course, many factors can influence a novel’s success; like if your book was featured in Oprah's book club, but I think for a novel to be successful, it needs to connect emotionally with an audience.

When I read the first Harry Potter novel, “Sorcerer’s Stone”, I was taken aback at J.K. Rowlings’ writing style, thinking it was below my grade level. I read the story long ago and remember little of the plotline. However, I do remember that Harry had to sleep in a tiny room built under the stairs, and live with foster parents that treated him poorly. I remember a young orphan, trying to piece together his life, while malevolent forces were gathering around him. Rowlings masterfully seeded the story with brief glimpses of his parents and and the mystery surrounding them. Like millions of readers of all ages, I was entranced in the story.

Another book comes to mind, “News of the World”, by Paulette Jiles. In this story Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is a professional newspaper reader who, shortly after the civil war, goes from town to town in Texas reading the News of the World,  newpaper aloud on street corners, collecting dimes from his listeners. After a reading in Wichita Falls, he is asked to take a young girl, who had been captured and raised by Kiowa Indians back to her only relatives in San Antonio. The young girl speaks no English and identifies completely with her Kiowa upbringing. The trip to San Antonio takes several weeks and they encounter many adventures that serve to break the barriers between the hardened ex-army officer and savage girl. When he finally drops the girl off with her uncle, the Captain realizes that they would be an abusive family and in a crowning moment he steals the child back and fosters her himself.

At first, I found the writing to be strange. The syntax and style echoed rural Texas. Much of the punctuation was omitted, including quotation marks. Those thoughts were short lived. Paulette Jiles welds together a touching and exciting relationship between the unlikely travelers that had me eagerly turning the pages. 

Writing fiction is a creative exercise and there are infinite ways for authors to put words to paper. It is just— that sometimes the words reach out touch the reader. For this, I can only offer that you must feel the emotion as you write it. I read somewhere: “If you don’t feel it, no one else will.” I took that to mean: if you don’t get a tear in the eye or lump in your throat as you write, neither will the reader. And this isn’t just for sad stories. Your comedy better make you laugh and your action better get your heart racing. Feeling the words deeply yourself is your chance of reaching out to a reader. I used to joke when I was writing commercial brochures that I was really writing poetry. It just wasn’t in verses and didn’t rhyme. Okay, it also wasn’t very emotional either, but I was trying to connect with a inreader. Now that I have learned this valuable secret; do I have a best-seller? No. But I believe these words and I am feeling the dream when I write and enjoying it.

William H Russeth 

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