As a writer, a common refrain you’ll hear quite a bit is “Writers need to read”, but why is that? What about reading makes your own writing better? And is it really true that to write you must read? Here are seven reasons this popular bit of writing advice rings true.
1. It teaches you what to expect when you write fiction
Reading books when you start writing a manuscript gives you a better feel for what is expected of your genre. Depending on which genre you're writing for, aspects of your book will be perceived as good or bad. The rising action, how character development is done, where the story takes place, the main character and more may be judged differently purely based on if it's a romance or a fantasy adventure or something else entirely. Here's what reading up on your genre before you start writing fiction can tell you:
What sort of characters do readers like yourself really connect to and why?
What common tropes are tried and true, and which are overdone?
How is the book written to fit the audience?
What perspective do audiences enjoy?
Each genre and age demographic has a “secret sauce” so to speak for what readers of those genres and demographics crave and expect in the books they decide to read and buy. Good fiction writing takes into account the market the book is for and what best suits the reader who will most likely pick up the book.
Yes, before you ask, what makes a great book doesn’t really change from genre to genre, but what does change is how those components are executed. The tension that makes a compelling romance book is way different than the tension that drives a mystery or even the tension that creates a great fighting scene in an adventure. Reading the genre (or genres!) you plan to write for is the best way to get a feel for what makes that genre work and how it draws in an audience. It’s also the best way to find out what doesn’t work.
2. It gives you an inside look on creative writing trends
Just like pretty much any other capitalist industry, publishing also has trends. Sometimes a genre is really catching the eye of readers, like how YA dystopian fiction had a chokehold on the lates 2000’s and 2010’s, like Maze Runner or The Hunger Games. Or a trope becomes extremely successful and the market really picks up for books with that framing, like how romantasy books that are retellings of classic fairytales have kind of been having their moment in the past few years (never forget, A Court of Thorns and Roses and the wildly popular series it spun out was originally a retelling of Beauty and the Beast!). Knowing this information can help you get published or even have more success self-publishing. And you find out this information by... you guessed it: reading.
3. You can find some great comp titles for your book
You may be thinking, "what are comp titles and why do I need them?". Well help is on the way! Competitive titles, or comp titles, are similar books to your novel idea that are already doing well in the market and capture the same audience your book is also aiming for. It's good to know what yours are, because having good comps makes your manuscript look more marketable to agents and publishers, which you'll need if you’re looking to publish traditionally.
If you want to learn more about traditional publishing and why you need an agent for it, check out How To Get A Book Published. But comp titles are also good for self publishing as well. When writing a good summary for your book so that people will buy it on an online retailer, knowing what book or books are similar to the feel or concept of your book may help draw in more readers. It can also help with covers.
4. You can learn how to market your self-published book
Trends in publishing go beyond what tropes are popular now or what genres are keeping readers interested, it’s also in the look of the books you buy. When a book becomes a bestseller and sets off a demand for similar books, publishers will take any manuscripts they’re publishing and try to match the aesthetic of the cover of said book that created the demand. It’s in the hopes that a reader who loved the “original” so to speak will create an association between the “original” and the new book and decide to buy it.
And this has been seen to work, or else publishing would have stopped doing it already! So, you can apply this trick to your own self-published works. Fitting in the with the genre and designing a cover that invokes another popular book with a similar plot or feel to yours can help you catch the eye of your target audience, and therefore get you more readers. Once again, reading saves the day!
5. It can act as inspiration
Reading books that you personally enjoy (or picking up a book you end up DNF’ing) allows you to get inspired by the characters, a narrative point, and overall themes. Maybe you read a book where you wished the ending was completely different. Why not write a similar book with the ending you would have preferred? What if you read a fantasy or sci-fi that had real life parallels that could be interesting to explore. Why not boil those metaphors and allegories down into realistic fiction and play with the meaning and implications of them in the real world? (That’s how I’ve gotten at least three of my book ideas!) How about a character that you just loathed or, alternatively, loved that you wish had more “screen time” for lack of better words. Why not base one of your characters on them and create a story that revolves around them? Or in the case of hating them, start creating characters that are the opposite of said awful character for your first book? The opportunities for inspiration are endless.
Now, to clarify, there’s a difference between getting inspired and straight up plagiarism. You don’t want to copy any passages, dialogue, quotes, or plot points word for word. Or take a book or short story in its entirety, copy it, and then change the names or the ending. Inspiration should be more transformative. Like how the Twilight saga inspired 50 Shades of Grey, or how the Percy Jackson series sprang off a bunch of similar myth-based middle grade fantasy books about demigod children that Rick Riordan helps promote with his branding of “Rick Riordan Presents:”. Inspiration lies in things being similar but not the same. Use that beautiful big brain of yours and create something new out of the wonderful things you’ve read!
6. It can make your fiction writing better
Have you ever read something in a book that really took you out of the narrative, made you loathe reading a certain character, or a kind of prose that you flat out didn’t like? What about a part of the book that really entranced you or had you think “I want to write like that”? Examining those passages and what makes them so great (or not so great!) can help you elevate your fictional writing.
Maybe you’ll identify something in one of those books that you really don’t like that you might not have known you were also doing in your own work! Or you may possibly find a writing technique or style that really speaks to you and learn how to implement it in your own work. Just like in the last point, creation is all about inspiration. Pretty much all famous or popular fiction writers has a muse that influenced their work and pushed them to get better in their craft. How can you have a muse if you don’t even know who’s out there?
7. It can help you find an agent/editor
To get your book out there you really need to find the right agent AND editor, people who get the kind of story you want to put out into the world. So if you find a book you really love and think might be similar enough to your manuscript, flipping to the back may give you some help in finding those right people. Pretty much every author shouts out their agent and editor in their author’s note, which makes it easier for you to find a candidate to help make your manuscript a reality.
After you find out who had a hand in creating the book you so adored, be sure to check out the rest of their list and see if it’s compatible with where you want to go as an author. But if you’ve been reading my articles, you may have already known that! If you want more tips on how to find the best agent for you, check out our article on just that! See How To Find A Literary Agent. You can also find our super handy agent checklist here, so the process of finding an agent becomes less daunting!
All in all, reading as a writer is essential. It not only helps you understand the anatomy of fictional writing, but what works for your style, and how you can get your own novel out into the world. Not to mention, why are you a writer when you wouldn’t even consume the type of content you’re putting out? That doesn’t bode well for your future success. So, as a bonus:
The big reason why a reading writer gets ahead
There are so many great authors out there who have put out absolutely amazing books that barely anyone knows about or has read. Whether we like it or not as avid readers and lovers of storytelling, publishing is somewhat of a dying industry. It’s tough to get into and stay in no matter what side of it you’re on: publisher or author. Supporting other authors by reading their books and spreading the word on how many amazing narratives there are in publishing keeps publishing alive, and by extension, keeps your dreams of being published and read alive as well. One day, maybe soon, you’ll be a published author trying to make it too — and wouldn’t you want people supporting your dreams?
If you want a place to start with finding good writing to inspire you or new novels to read, check our our book reviews and recs! We have new book reviews coming monthly and our newsletter gives extra context on why certain books are becoming popular or getting published! We also post book recommendations from time to time to show you what we're currently reading.
So read to your heart’s content writers! There’s so much to learn, and so much to love. Happy writing!
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