The Making of a Good Book

Like our little friend in the poster, I am always happy when I have a good book to read. What I sometimes forget is to be grateful for the people who write books. As readers, we owe them a big vote of thanks. 

Consider what they give us--hours of pleasure, knowledge, food for our brains and more. Do we, as readers, give thought to what goes into the making of a good book? Those of us who are writers probably have more awareness than the person who is strictly a reader, a recipient of all that is good within a book.

Time is a big part of writing a book. An author has an idea which may linger in his/her mind for months before he/she begins writing. A book author makes outlines, storyboards, character sketches and more before writing those all-important opening lines. The writing may take months, even years. Then comes the revising and editing. Add more time for finding a publisher. The well-known novelist already has an editor and/or agent. The newbie has to search for agent/editor. More time. Once the book is under contract, additional revising and editing, then the physical printing and all that goes with it. Once the book is published, the marketing begins, the search for reviewers and more. All this happens before you and I open to the first page to begin reading.

And yes, happiness is a good book, but what constitutes a 'good' book for me may not work out the same for you. We all have different tastes in reading. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of books in our world to satisfy the varying interests we all have. I would never choose a sci-fi book, but many people read nothing but sci-fi. Horror themes leave me turning away. Historical fiction and family sagas are at the top of my list, but I'm certain many of you would gag at the thought. 

Aren't we lucky to have so many people willing to put heart and soul into the writing of a book? We're blessed with having so many genres to choose from and libraries/bookstores where we can browse until we find a book that will make us happy. 

Next time you find something new to read, give some thought to what went into the writing and producing of that book. We laugh when we say the author uses 'blood, sweat, and tears.' Might be more fact than fiction!