Common Book Writing Mistakes Even Successful Authors Overlook
Have you read a bestseller and spotted an absolute typo? Unfortunately, many bookworms experience this. This is the overall quality that readers can expect from a bestseller and the quality drops when the author makes a number of clerical errors. This can ultimately lead to low ratings and poor reviews, negatively impacting your book sales.
Finished manuscripts may also contain errors that authors may have overlooked. However, accuracy is always a worthy goal for authors when it comes to identifying the most common writing errors in order to navigate the editorial process more clearly. It also saves you from falling into common pitfalls.
So what are the most common book writing mistakes overlooked, even by top-selling authors? Read on for answers to all major typos, from common mistakes to particular punctuation and grammar issues.
SHOW, Don’t Just Tell.
This is probably the most common clerical error noted by editors. Authors tend to say rather than show. This means that the writer sums up or tells what happened rather than letting the reader understand the story through thoughts, actions, conversations, and impressions. They usually do this by getting the character’s emotions correctly rather than showing how the character’s emotions are expressed.
It’s amazing how easily authors can fall for storytelling tricks instead of letting characters speak for themselves in words and actions. So don’t think your readers can’t guess what they want from interesting dialogue, but instead, let the characters in your book tell the story. Let the reader experience the story instead of summarizing or telling what happened.
Start With A Low Opening
Have you ever put a book down after reading just two or three pages? That’s what happens when the story starts in the wrong place. It’s easy to make a mistake here. The writer knew something amazing was about to happen, but the reader didn’t. If you don’t get hooked right away, you probably won’t read long enough to discover something great.
The fundamental problem is that many authors tend to present too many parts of the story at the beginning. It’s important to capture the reader’s interest right away, and for that, you need compelling characters and action right from the start. The action doesn’t necessarily involve explosions, but it does involve tension, movement, and conflicting thoughts.
Even if well-written, long explanations can end before the story begins. Avoid starting a book with a lot of stories. We already know what elements make a story interesting, but if potential readers don’t immediately find it interesting, they may not complete it.
Over-Describe The Story
When a writer exaggerates a character’s actions, they give away unnecessary information. This interrupts the natural flow of the scene, reducing tension and slowing the pacing. Many writers try to make the reader guess the action, especially the action from the scene.
For example, it is not uncommon to see characters walking around a room, opening doors, entering, and then closing them. Readers may find the information distracting and slow to read. The characters only enter the room through the door. The rest is clear to the reader. Therefore, avoid giving extra information about your character’s behavior. This interrupts the natural flow of the scene, reducing tension and slowing the pacing.
Dubious Conflicts
Conflicts have shaped the history of many genres of fiction. It is important to ensure competition, whether internal or external. But when a new writer draws an issue based on a misunderstanding, readers are not satisfied if that misunderstanding can be resolved simply by having the characters interact.
Each story includes challenges the characters must overcome and the ups and downs of the journey they go through. These external pressures are necessary to advance the plot but do not make the reader want to continue reading. The most likable stories also include protagonists struggling with emotional issues within themselves. These conflicts are their own, and their interests are thwarted. The files they work on become personal, and their paths are difficult.
The most exciting and compelling stories have an inherent conflict that emotionally engages the reader, encourages the hero, and ultimately wins the reader over. Being truly immersed in a character is the best way to create inner turmoil. Consider what drove them, what inspired them, where they came from, and what experiences shaped them into who they are nowadays. For example, think about how a person feels in a conflict situation and put it down on paper.
Let The Reader Imagine
Book sketches are very common among authors. Readers often forget to recognize information displayed on a page only after several changes. This is the biggest mistake any writer can make. Authors obtain a wealth of information about their books through first-hand knowledge, rigorous research, and observation. Countless information and illustrations about their plots, characters, and scenes flooded their minds. Writing in this context ruins the story and makes the reader think too much.
To avoid this, create a people report if you want to point out places in a novel or book where you want to provide important information. Follow each character through the story and write down what you learn about each character – what you tell the reader, not what you already know. Assuming that the information holes will be revealed, you can fill them well.
Inconsistent Names And Spellings
Detecting these discrepancies is usually the editor’s job, but authors should also be aware of errors when proofreading their manuscripts. There are about 20 different viewpoints on the story in the author’s head. One detail that doesn’t come up often throughout the story is an error that could be considered a clerical error. Readers may be confused when new names appear that did not exist before. However, while the find and replace command can help you, it is not always accurate. For this reason, it is important to check all character names and spellings before publishing the book.
I recommend using Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace tool to check old names and their spellings to ensure nothing is missed during proofreading.
Final Thoughts
These are some of the most common book-writing mistakes even top-selling authors make. However, the best way to correct these common mistakes is to work with a ghostwriting services provider to prepare the perfect manuscript.