What Makes a Book “Good”?
And how do you know the book you’re working on is, in fact, “good”?
If someone tells you they’re reading a book, your first question is likely to be along the lines of “Is it any good?” This is one of the most common questions I get at the bookstore, and it might be one of the hardest to answer. And it can be just as tricky when you’re considering whether the project you’re working on is any good—and whether it’s good enough to pitch to agents or to self-publish.
All measures of ‘good’ aren’t created equal. When someone is asking me this question at the bookstore, I have to consider the reader’s taste: one reader wants a plot-forward, fast-paced book with a clear delineation between good and evil where good must triumph in the end. Another might want gore. Another a leisurely paced, artful book where nothing much happens on the surface but where there is a deep, internal earthquake.
So when I’m wearing my metaphorical bookseller hat and someone asks me if a book is good, I usually ask them what they like to read before answering—because that will give me a hint at whether they might like the book they’re asking me about.
The question of whether a book is good in the above case isn’t so much about what the Great Literary Critic in the Sky says about the book, or even what I think of the book; it’s whether they, the reader, will like it. And it’s a tricky question to answer, especially if I don’t know the reader that well. We booksellers forge ahead, answering the best we can.
But that’s on the sales floor—after the book has been published. What about that manuscript you’re tinkering with? How will you know if it’s good? I.e., how do you know your book is ready to go out into the world?
Beyond subjective preferences, here are some key signifiers of a “good” book:
The main character has a defined goal and obstacles to that goal—there are stakes
There’s a clear trajectory of cause and effect
The POV is effective
The writing is competent and doesn’t get in the way of the story
The reader wants to keep reading
This is just a starting list of what makes a book “good” but it’s a start that you can hold up against your own work. “How do I know if my writing is competent or if the reader wants to keep reading?” I hear you ask. This is where getting beta readers can be so helpful! A trusted fellow writer or reader can be an amazing resource. There are also editors and coaches who offer this service (I’m one of them!). Getting an outside look on your manuscript is an invaluable part of getting your work ready to revise or pitch to agents.
“But I’m writing literary fiction,” you say. “Does all this still apply to my novel? Do I really have to have stakes?”
This is an excellent question—one that I’m going to explore more deeply these next few weeks here on the blog and in my newsletter. What propels a reader through a work of literary fiction? Do literary works have cause and effect and those dreaded stakes?
A note on genre: genre designations are largely marketing terms and books that are shuffled into the “literary fiction” category often defy any other specific genre. Frequently literary fiction carries elements of other genres but has an overriding true-to-life/artful form. That said plenty of magical realism and other mystical elements exist in the genre. It’s really hard to pin down!
