If fragmented is how we read now, then how should we write?

by Carla Douglas
@CarlaJDouglas

Image by Fire Monkey Fish  (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In my last post I talked about how the digital disruption has reached right into our reading process. We're offered an infinite buffet of choices, but they come just as the time and focus we need to enjoy them have become more and more scarce.    

What does this mean if you are a writer?

It means that when you publish your book, you are casting it out into the gale, to compete with every other book with a similar title and description. It means that your hard work might have only a chance in a million of getting caught in someone’s net unless you can find a way to make it stand out, give it both weight and stickiness that will improve its odds.

There are a few things you can do to improve your book’s odds. Keep in mind these tips are for nonfiction – especially in the informational and how-to categories. Narrative nonfiction and fiction are so much trickier, and will require their own post at some future date.  

Know your reader.  

First, you need to know that your reader isn’t reading. She’s skimming and scanning text to cherry-pick and harvest keywords and key ideas. Knowing this can be discouraging, especially if you take a lot of time and care with your writing. 

Jakob Nielsen and others have written extensively about how to write for the web. Here’s a recap of top tips:

• Use shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs.
• Use more white space on the page.
• Use bulleted lists to offset key information.
• Use headings and subheadings to help the reader navigate your content.
• Do everything you can to make your content visually appealing. Will it be a book, an ebook, or both? Consider your fonts and layout, and whether you can handle these yourself or if you would benefit from using nonfiction book templates such as those available at thebookdesigner.com.

And note also that ebooks are considered part of the web. The habits we’ve developed for reading online – all of the digital snacking we’re doing – apply to the printed page as well.  

Here’s a link to a video clip from PBS that queries how the average reader reads. Remember: this is your audience.

Keep your content sharp, focused, and short.

Finely hone your topic so that you can cover the key points in a short book. Recent reports suggest that shorter books appeal to readers – remember that short attention span? Kindle singles are doing well. So are Minibüks (print shorts). Oh, and at least one airline – Qantas – is publishing books that can be read during the course of a flight.

Research your topic to ensure there's a demand for it. One theme at last month’s Books in Browsers conference was well articulated by Adam Hyde at Booksprints. In his presentation, The Death of the Reader (19:50), sees the book buyer as not simply a consumer of a publisher’s output, but a person with knowledge needs. The reader’s knowledge need is the writer’s opportunity to provide it.

Work on perfecting your writing style. In an effort to prune your writing to appeal to the reader’s short attention span, you risk excising the very elements that give it its personality and voice. The line between not enough detail and too much isn't always clear. Take the time to read widely in the genre you're writing to see how established authors handle these questions.

Consider all the possible destinations for your content.  Maybe your book is just a book to begin with. How can your content be recast to appeal to a wider audience – an audience with the same knowledge needs but different abilities or learning preferences? Here are some options: ebook, print book, podcast, video book, video, blog with video clips, interactive web-based resource, online course. How we define a book has changed – the possibilities are many.

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