How good does your writing have to be to be publishable?

Kindness · Mar 23, 2010

(Man, I need to stop hovering around these forums reading stuff and go to bed. But I just can't switch my brain off. I feel like I could be doing more.
I'll ask the question that's been bugging me and force myself to go to sleep.)

Is correct spelling, correct grammar and a decent storyline all that's necessary to get published? Or is it more than that - does your skill with words have to stand out in some way?

Sometimes my writing feels plain. I know everyone has their own style so I stick to my own - I'd like to think I'm clear and precise. But as I go back over it, it all sounds so... average. And then I read something by Philip Pullman and I scream.

What's your view on this? Do you think it's necessary to have an AMAZING story to compensate for regular writing?

samripley · Mar 23, 2010

I think it depends. Anything that will sell is publishable and publishable doesn't necessarily mean good.

Wayne K · Mar 23, 2010

Story trumps everything, but everything is important too

James D. Macdonald · Mar 23, 2010

Your writing just needs to be workmanlike-or-better.

What your story really has to be is interesting.

backslashbaby · Mar 23, 2010

I do, but that's just me

An amazing story is the goal anyway, though

milly · Mar 23, 2010

I think the story is what gets a book published...now, the writing has to be there, but story trumps writing...I agree

E. S. Lark · Mar 23, 2010

Oh, this is good to know. I have been having doubts about my writing level as well. I've been tightening and revising like crazy, but I still worry.

Gillhoughly · Mar 23, 2010

:editor's hat on:

Is correct spelling, correct grammar and a decent storyline all that's necessary to get published?

No, but if you skip any of those it will get you a quick rejection.

Or is it more than that - does your skill with words have to stand out in some way?

I want words that will make me forget my own deadlines, distract me from all the fires I have to put out, words that keep me up all night because I have to know what happens next and how it will end.

The next day I will sincerely curse you for my lost sleep while writing your acceptance check.

No pressure.

Jamesaritchie · Mar 23, 2010

It has to be better than whatever else is in competition with it. Sometimes this means it has to be spectacular, and at other times it just has to be fairly good.

Story and characters are the most important part, but how you tell the story is important, as well.

blacbird · Mar 23, 2010

How good does your writing have to be to be publishable?

Good enough to get accepted for publication. Which suggests that you should simply write as well as you can. And brings up the corollary question:

How do you know it's good enough?

When it gets published. If it doesn't, that's proof it's not good enough.

caw

leahzero · Mar 23, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
Your writing just needs to be workmanlike-or-better.

What your story really has to be is interesting.

This.

No, it doesn't have to be better than the competition, or various other things said in this thread. There are endless mediocre, midlist authors churning out mediocre, midlist writing.

leahzero · Mar 23, 2010

blacbird said:
How do you know it's good enough?

When it gets published. If it doesn't, that's proof it's not good enough.

This is one of those answers that sounds axiomatic and wise, but really isn't true.

You can get a manuscript through the gatekeepers of literature if someone believes they can sell it. It may even need tons of editing and revising. All that matters is that someone sees it and, for whatever reason, believes they can sell it.

kposa · Mar 23, 2010

James D. Macdonald said:
Your writing just needs to be workmanlike-or-better.

What your story really has to be is interesting.

Uncle Jim, what does 'workmanlike' mean, exactly?

scarletpeaches · Mar 23, 2010

Coherent.

maestrowork · Mar 23, 2010

Always aim high and strive to do your best.

Do you read? If so, pick out the books you REALLY enjoy, and aim to do BETTER than those authors.

Don't settle for less.

poetinahat · Mar 23, 2010

What would you spend money on? What would you spend your time reading?

JayG · Mar 23, 2010

What's your view on this? Do you think it's necessary to have an AMAZING story to compensate for regular writing?

To start out with: If I took your first few pages and mixed them with the first pages of books in your genre taken from the bookstore, a writer or agent must not be able to tell, just by reading, who the unpublished author is.

But that’s not enough. After all, they have plenty of “just as good” writers. They don’t need another. Why? Because a new writer has no fans looking for that name on the bookstands. That means you need great reviews, and you need the staff of the store hand-selling your book because they like it. You need readers telling their friends to look for your work. And that means that in that example I mentioned above you have to strive to be the one that editor would choose as the best one.

The moral of that? Don’t screw around with just as good. Write a best seller. It saves time.

kaitie · Mar 23, 2010

I'm with the folks who say that what matters most is having a killer story. I've read quite a few books that were published but the writing was relatively mediocre (of the published books). I'd be willing to say as long as it's coherent, correct, and paints a picture, then it's possible to be published. But the story has to be amazing. A bad story, even an amazingly well written bad story, won't be published.

Obviously, don't take mediocre as your goal. As Maestrowork said, aim high and make it the best you possibly can and always be trying to improve. Having great writing will certainly help your chances.

scarletpeaches · Mar 23, 2010

maestrowork said:
Always aim high and strive to do your best.

Do you read? If so, pick out the books you REALLY enjoy, and aim to do BETTER than those authors.

Don't settle for less.

Mr Wong: Not just a pretty face.

Stunted · Mar 23, 2010

Story definitely trumps style by a long shot, but your story has to be amazing for you to get published. If you read something and think, "I could do better than that," it's likely that doing what they did is harder than you think.

(btw, you and I have the same taste in everything!)

Birol · Mar 23, 2010

Kindness said:
Is correct spelling, correct grammar and a decent storyline all that's necessary to get published? Or is it more than that - does your skill with words have to stand out in some way?

Yes, but understand, how you tell your story is part of writing craft.

jennontheisland · Mar 23, 2010

If someone's willing to pay money for it, it's good enough to be published.

eurodan49 · Mar 23, 2010

In my genre (spy/thrillers), there are those who can smith a word and those who can knit a story. The second group is the one really successful (Ludlum, Clancy, Silva, to name a few). Their writing is/was acceptable but the story sold millions. Ludlum’s dead and Clancy’s selling his name… the new writers which publish under the umbrella are better with words but lack the plotting and tension building; their books sell only a fraction of what Ludlum and Clancy used to. So, I guess story’s paramount in this genre.

Cyia · Mar 23, 2010

Good enough to convince one agent to convince one editor to convince their board to pay cash.

third person · Mar 23, 2010

maestrowork said:
pick out the books you REALLY enjoy, and aim to do BETTER than those authors.

Or those whose work you don't enjoy but whose fanbase you're jealous of, like a certain Mr. Neil Gaiman. Oh, there will come a time when I'll have his fans. Oh, yes--there will come a time.

How good does your writing have to be to be publishable?

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