 For Authors: April 08, 2009 Issue [#2926] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the For Authors Newsletter. I am Shannon and I am your guest editor this week.
Get Real
I love to read. As soon as I finish one book I begin the next. I'll read on the couch while the rest of the family watches television; I'll read in bed until the wee hours of the morning. But there's one thing that makes me shelve a book faster than you can say this book stinks: disbelief.
When I sit down to read a book, I willingly suspend disbelief. Isn't that what we all do? Isn't that what we all love about books--to be able to lose ourselves in the lives and trials and adventures of someone else? When I realize I'm reading, when the author intrudes to remind me that what I'm reading is a lie, that's when I put the book back on the shelf and reach for another.
I just finished reading a book written by a very famous author. If I mentioned her name, each and every one of you, even those who don't read mystery novels, would recognize her name. Several of the main characters were doctors, and the plot revolved around these corrupt physicians and their patients.
I am a nurse, so I know bogus medical writing when I see it, and this book was filled with it. Medication names were misspelled and dosage calculations wrong, procedures improperly described, HIPPA laws violated, signs and symptoms made up, drug reactions completely exaggerated.... Not only was I disappointed, I was mad! I felt as if I'd been cheated--as if the author took the easy way out. She wasn't true to her story, and she wasn't true to her readers. She didn't do her homework, and we, the readers, paid the price for her laziness--literally.
Writer beware. Don't underestimate your readers; don't assume they're not smart enough to figure out you're lying. Your readers will know when you're bluffing, and once they're on to you, they'll know you're a fraud. They can be a fickle bunch, and oftentimes won't give you a second chance.
Do your homework. In the case of the book I just finished reading (yes, I did finish it, but with a sense of complete dissatisfaction), I'm sure there are many doctors and nurses out there who would have been more than happy to answer any questions she had. There are drug books and web sites she could have accessed; medical terminology manuals and HIPPA laws she could have perused. Sure, the research slows you down a little, but it makes for a more believable story, and one your readers will remember and recommend to their friends.
I started a new book today, this one by a different female author. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
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