There is a great debate regarding the artistic process of writing and the business end. You don’t want to think about the business side when you are creating your art, but you can bet that the minute the time comes to start promoting your work, you are going to be sifting through your manuscript looking for angles and hooks that will get readers to pounce.
Jodi Picoult is a great example of a writer who pays attention to what readers want and tries to incorporate that into the stories she wants to tell. It seems to be working for her, as her books only continue to gain attention as they tackle issues that are prominent in our society. She also just received a starred review in Publishers Weekly for her upcoming release, HANDLE WITH CARE.
Handle with Care Jodi Picoult. Atria, $27.95 (480p) ISBN 978-0-7432-9641-0
Perennial bestseller Picoult (Change of Heart) delivers another engrossing family drama, spiced with her trademark blend of medicine, law and love. Charlotte and Sean O’Keefe’s daughter, Willow, was born with brittle bone disease, a condition that requires Charlotte to act as full-time caregiver and has strained their emotional and financial limits. Willow’s teenaged half-sister, Amelia, suffers as well, overshadowed by Willow’s needs and lost in her own adolescent turmoil. When Charlotte decides to sue for wrongful birth in order to obtain a settlement to ensure Willow’s future, the already strained family begins to implode. Not only is the defendant Charlotte’s longtime friend, but the case requires Charlotte and Sean to claim that had they known of Willow’s condition, they would have terminated the pregnancy, a statement that strikes at the core of their faith and family. Picoult individualizes the alternating voices of the narrators more believably than she has previously, and weaves in subplots to underscore the themes of hope, regret, identity and family, leading up to her signature closing twists.
But you don’t have to write about huge social issues (death sentence, church scandals, etc.) for your book to be newsworthy. If you write about issues that people face on a daily basis (relationships, careers, health, happiness, depression) then you are tapping into an area that you can explore in the media when your book is released. Become an expert in whatever you write about and your readers will appreciate it. They want to know they are in reliable hands when they pick up a book. Bring awareness to your readers and they will keep coming back for more!
