There is nothing more disappointing than a book that can’t get started. Ruth and I listen to audiobooks when we drive. Our last book was done, and I spent forty-five minutes trying to find our next book. We were in Auburn, and Ruth was visiting a friend, so I had time.
I went to Good Reads and found a book with five stars, recommended by a trusted reader. I got the book, and on the way home, we started listening.
As we drove, I could sense that Ruth was becoming antsy. It was a thirty-minute drive, and as we got closer to home, I found myself willing the author to “get started.” For the last five minutes, I wondered if I should ask for my money back. The book was published by one of the Big 5, and I thought, come on! How did this get by an agent, an editor, or the purchase committee?
All I can say is that after thirty minutes had passed, we had been subjected to endless backstory—and it wasn’t even a good backstory. It was one of those bird-walking rambles that drifted further and further from what sounded like a story. I fear the author was doing a bit of soapboxing, getting some of her “important” points about life across.
We expect this sort of op-ed treatment in an editorial, but I bought a novel. The blurb promised an interesting character with an intriguing problem. Instead, this main character was giving me a “speech.” It wasn’t even a prolog. I sort of like it when authors start with a Prolog because then I know to skip it and go to the first chapter.
I rant about backstory all the time, but if you feel the need to write a huge backstory, perhaps the book is beginning at the wrong point in time. Read a Sample on Amazon is killing sales for books that wait for pages for anything to happen.
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