Ideally, your reader community is a group of people who absolutely adore your work–readers who will buy every book you write, leave glowing reviews, interact with you and other fans online and, perhaps most importantly, tell the world about how awesome your books are. A snazzy website, social media presence, and an author newsletter can do wonders. They attract a community of loyal readers, but you also have to make sure you’re putting in the work to develop and maintain those relationships with a nurtured reader community. 

Read on for some tips on attracting (and keeping!) fans and nurturing a community of loyal readers. 

1. Write Good Books

This is probably a no-brainer, but it is so, so important. Although what constitutes a good book can be somewhat subjective (for example, I’m not a fan of every book that graces the New York Times Best Seller list), I think we can all generally agree that, as readers, it’s much easier to fangirl over a well-written book than a mediocre one. 

So how do you write a good book? I won’t speak to specific genres in this article, as that’s up to you to research and practice on your own, however, I will say that a well-written book generally has the following qualities: 

• It’s edited and proofread. No one wants to read a typo-riddled book. It’s confusing and frustrating and, ultimately, just no fun to read. Before hitting “publish” or sending your manuscript off to agents, it’s important that you’ve carefully edited and proofread it (or hired a professional to do so for you). 

• It meets reader expectations. This one’s a bit more complicated, as reader expectations vary by genre. Make sure you’re reading extensively in whatever genre you’ve chosen to write in and keep an eye out for what works and what doesn’t. It can also be helpful to take a peek at what reviewers are saying about books within your genre–what does your reader community love about a book? What don’t they love? 

2. Remember: It’s Not Always About You

Yes, it can be tempting to constantly advertise your book all over social media and your website. After all, you worked hard on your book and it deserves every chance in the world to succeed–you just need to get it into as many reader hands as possible. You might be fighting the urge to send out yet another email blast about your latest release. You might even feel the need to constantly message your fans and maybe even complete strangers about buying your latest book or signing up for your newsletter. Resist those urges! 

As a general rule of thumb, too-frequent and too-aggressive advertising is the quickest way to drive readers away from you rather than toward you, and that’s definitely not something you want. Instead of subscribing to the scammy sales technique of attracting more readers, try providing something of value (besides your book). For example, what might readers take away from following you on social media, or signing up for your newsletter? Here are some ideas:

• Share book-themed recipes. If you love cooking, share a recipe that relates to your book in some way. Does your main character love a specific kind of martini? Share that recipe? Does your book partially take place in a bakery? Share a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Okay, now I’m just making myself hungry…

• Share book recommendations. Can you think of any books that your readers might love to read after they’ve finished reading yours? Make a list! For example, if you write cozy mysteries, you might want to make a “Top 10” list of your all-time favorite cozy mysteries. Not only does this provide value to your readers, but it’s also a great way to support other authors like yourself. 

• Share writing tips. I personally love reading about other authors’ writing routines and advice. If you have any tips for budding writers in your genres, share them in a blog post or in your next newsletter. If you feel comfortable with it, you can also do a “desk tour.” What do you keep at your writing desk? Or do you write somewhere else (your patio, kitchen table, etc.?). Share it with your readers! 

3. Interact With Your Fans

This can be a bit tricky, especially if you’re shy like me, but interacting with your fans is key to making sure you hold on to them as you grow and write more books. 

When I say “interact with your fans,” I’m not saying that you need to be BFFs with every single one of your readers. As a matter of fact, I’m a huge advocate for setting boundaries. After all, you’re a human being with a life outside your creative work. That being said, you never want to make your readers feel unappreciated, or like you’re just using them to get more sales or publicity. 

Here are some ways you can interact with your readers (while also maintaining healthy boundaries): 

• Share reader-made fanart. If you’re fortunate to have a few artistically inclined readers who love drawing fanart of your main characters, setting, etc., then consider sharing some of those on social media or in your newsletter. 

• Conduct polls. If you have the means to do so, it can be a lot of fun to have readers vote on cover art for your next book. If that isn’t up your alley, you can also have readers vote on character names, settings, and more. Not only can this help you make some executive decisions regarding your work, it also gives your readers a voice, and ensures that they feel like a part of a community. 

• Create an ARC team. If you’re looking to build an ARC team, consider inviting some of your readers to join. It’s a great way for you to get feedback and glowing reviews on your latest release, and it benefits your readers, as they get free copies of your books. It’s a win-win! 

4. Never Take Your Community For Granted 

Last but not least, it’s important that you never take your reader community for granted. Treat your fans with the kindness and respect that you expect from them, and you’ll have loyal fans for life. 

Here are some brief tips for ensuring that your community (whether that be on social media, in your newsletter, or on your website)  is a positive and safe place for both you and your fans: 

• Avoid drama and negativity. Never, ever badmouth a fellow author or a reader. It’s a terrible look and one of the quickest ways to turn readers away from your brand. Typically, you’ll want to remain positive and upbeat, however, some authors are comfortable sharing their trials and tribulations with their readers (which is fine!). Whatever you decide to do, make sure you’re consistent and, again, make sure you set boundaries. 

• Express gratitude. Make sure your readers know that you’re grateful for them! You can do this by posting a quick thank you note on your social media or, if you’re feeling extra grateful, maybe giving away some freebies to your newsletter subscribers (a deleted chapter, perhaps, or the first chapter of your newest book). 

Manuela Williams lives and writes in Nevada. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks and one paranormal fiction novella. When she’s not writing, Manuela loves reading romance novels, drinking *all* the coffee, and playing video games.

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Writing a good sentence certainly isn’t a matter of imitating one particular style. Who would want to put a spare Joan Didion sentence against a more opulent one from Donna Tartt? There’s room for a myriad of artistic fashions when it comes to styling sentences.

But not paying attention to the specific functions and effects of our words will result in weak writing. I’m going to jump right over the usual suggestions to scrutinize your adjectives, cut your adverbs, vary your sentence lengths, and offer some advice that will take your sentences beyond Writing 101. 

1-Choose better words

Seems obvious, right? Well, it may be, but it’s certainly not easy. Sometimes the first word that comes to mind doesn’t end up being the best word. Ask yourself if your language is fresh, vivid, and precise. And rather than going for a fancy or unexpected word, see if you can use an expected word in an unexpected way. 

Most of us are less likely to choose an incorrect word than we are to choose an inexact word. For instance, what’s the difference between poured, gushed, surged, and cascaded? It’s the small variations between words that present a challenge, and the distinctions matter. I recommend revising with a good writer’s thesaurus close by (I own a well-used copy of the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus).

“Use the right word, not its second cousin,” said Mark Twain. Now that’s a quote to pin above your desk.

2-Prune Your Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases are useful, but they’re also overused. I’m so sensitive to this one that when I come across words like of, with, since, after, and to, my editorial radar flips on. Which doesn’t mean that I’m going to cut something. But every prepositional phrase needs to be questioned. 

When you’re deciding what to cut and what to keep, ask yourself if you’d lose any clarity or meaning if the phrase was gone. If it’s needed, see if you can fold in the information more efficiently. A business owner from a small town could become a small-town business owner.

What if William Goldman had written, My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die [on this rocky cliff]. The prepositional phrase would not only be unnecessary (the setting should already have notified us of the cliff), it drains away some of the emphasis that should fall on the word “die”. Be aware that unnecessary prepositional phrases love to sneak in at the end of sentences. Which brings me to…

3-Finish strong

Words in a sentence should be arranged in a logical progression, in a natural order that moves from broad to specific, from less vivid to more vivid, from less important to most important. The first and last words of a sentence carry the most weight, and of those two spots, the last words are the most significant.

Writing teacher Stephen Wilbers calls this last spot in the sentence the “V.I.P Parking” spot—only the most important words can park there. Consider this simple sentence: My foot has a blister the size of Oklahoma, I’m hot, and I’m tired.

Can you see how the parts are in the wrong order? A blister the size of Oklahoma is the most specific element, the most impactful, and should go last. Reordered it reads, I’m hot, I’m tired, and my foot has a blister the size of Oklahoma.

4- Go for sequence over simultaneity

This problem comes up so often in my writing classes that I have to include it here. Writers often fall into the trap of starting a sentence with a present participle phrase. Let me give you an example and explain why this is problematic. Consider the following sentence: Slamming her drink down on the table, Erica left the restaurant.

That sentence implies that Erica slamming her drink down and her leaving the restaurant happened at the same time. It implies simultaneity when in fact those two actions are sequential—one thing happened and then the other. Better to write: Erica slammed her drink down on the table and left the restaurant. 

Readers process one idea at a time, and any sentence that presents actions happening simultaneously, when those actions are actually happening in sequence, can confuse your reader. Even if they know what you mean, it will come off as sloppy writing. Search your manuscript for any “ing” words that come at the beginning of your sentences and make sure you’re using them properly.

5-Tighten the voice

When a reader begins a piece, the first thing they wonder (whether they realize it or not) is Who is speaking and why? They are quickly assessing style and tone and content. The “voice” you employ is what is going to give your reader not just information, but an experience. Once you press down on the voice gas pedal, you cannot let up.

Tightening the voice in your sentences involves applying every technique I’ve mentioned so far and then some. Whether the narrator is you (as in memoir) or whether you’re writing third-person fiction, you must have a clear conception of your story world and your narrator’s attitude toward it. 

You must know whether your tone should be formal or informal. You must understand why a character would use one word rather than another. You will be able to inhabit the world of your story when you understand the deep truth of what you’re trying to convey. And then your language can reveal it, sentence by sentence.

Precision, clarity, and artful effects don’t happen by accident and they often don’t happen in the first draft. Many of your newest sentences are going to have things wrong with them. It’s good to know this so you don’t slow yourself down by trying to sculpt your sentences when you should be dumping onto the table that lump of first-draft clay.

Once you’ve got your draft, then go back and underline any words that don’t seem spot on. Bracket the parts of your sentences that might be serving as clutter rather than providing clarity. Scrutinize the ends of your sentences, knowing that the ending carries the most weight.

Upleveling your sentences is hard work and there’s no way around that. But it’s worth it. In the words of William Zinsser, in his classic book On Writing Well,—“Both you and the reader know it when your finicky labor is rewarded by a sentence coming out right.”

KIM LOZANO is an editor and creative writing coach from St. Louis. Although she loves to travel, her heart and writing are always calling her home to the Great Plains. Her own work has been published in Alaska Quarterly Review, Third Coast, The Iowa Review, North American Review, and many other publications. You can find out more about her coaching at kimlozano.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways to Uplevel Your Sentences appeared first on DIY MFA.