The Top 10 Elements of a Book People Want to Read!

Tips to remember. Write On! 😉

Pen & Paper

Many Indie writers are just now finishing their summer novel writing and will publish soon!  I thought it would be a great time to repost this article about the elements of good writing for readability!

By Writer Digest contributor, Helga Schier, PhD, Editor, Guest Column | March 16, 2015

This guest blog is written by Helga Schier, PhD, former Big Five editor and founder of With Pen and Paper, an independent editorial services firm. With over 20 years of experience in the (self-)publishing industry. For more information, visit http://www.withpenandpaper.com

Aim for High Readability

People enjoy books with a high level of readability—books with a captivating story and memorable characters, books we can’t put down, books that stick with us long after we’ve read the last word.

As an independent editor, I’ve come across my fair share of readable books, and all of them are well crafted on three distinct but…

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“Mystic Wolves: Accidentally Wolf Book 1 and His Perfect Wolf Book 2” by Elle Boon

#FREE at the time of posting!


“Mystic Wolves: Accidentally Wolf Book 1 and His Perfect Wolf Book 2”

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: September 10, 2015

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Accidentally Wolf…Zayn finds Cora suffering from mating fever. As he fights the urge to claim her, his wolf wants her for his mate. From the moment Cora lays eyes on Zayn she wanted to climb him like a tree. Niall, the alpha and his brother, tells him to keep his dick and fangs to himself, but within hours he finds it impossible. Cora goes from being human to an Accidental Wolf more than happily, she just hopes she can survive when danger strikes.

His Perfect Wolf…Niall had given up on finding love, he’d watched his brother Zayn fall for his mate, and decided he needed a mother for his son, and a mate for his own. When he finds Alaina, his wolf stood up and took notice. Alaina woke up with no memory, but the one thing they both knew was they wanted each other. As they explore their attraction, danger follows her to Mystic. Niall will have to battle a pack of shifters bent on taking what was his, and kill the man who claims to be his mate’s father.

“Hers to Heal: A Black Eagle Ops Novel” by Vonnie Davis

99¢ at the time of posting!


“Hers to Heal: A Black Eagle Ops Novel”

Genre: Romance/Military

Release Date: November 11, 2016

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Navy SEAL Reece Browning sacrificed body and soul in the line of duty. He survived torture at the hands of America’s enemies, but lost his career and his voice in the process. Traumatized and desperate to get his PTSD under control, Reece escapes to Eagle Ridge Ranch. Under the big Texas sky, he finds peace, a renewed sense of purpose—and a woman who makes him feel like a man again. Her smile lights up his dark days, and her caress helps him forget the night terrors.

Ex-Marine Gina Wilson also bears painful scars: emotional wounds inflicted by men she once trusted with her life. She has fought hard to overcome her demons and build a good life for her daughter, and Reece is too intense, too damaged, too raw to let into her heart. Yet she’s drawn irresistibly to his steely gaze and heated embrace. No one else understands what it’s like to suffer in silence. And when Gina’s daughter is threatened, it’s Reece who risks everything to save the day.

“MacKenzie Family Bundle: 3 Stories by Liliana Hart” by Liliana Hart

99¢ at the time of posting!


“MacKenzie Family Bundle: 3 Stories by Liliana Hart”

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Anthology

Release Date: March 28, 2017

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Captured in Surrender

Bounty Hunter Naya Blade never thought she’d step foot in Surrender, Montana again. Especially since there was a warrant out for her arrest. But when her skip ends up in the normally peaceful town, she has no choice but to go after him to claim her reward. Even at the cost of running into the cop that makes her blood run hot and her sense of self-preservation run cold.

Deputy Lane Greyson wants to see Naya in handcuffs, but he’d much prefer them attached to his bed instead of in a cold jail cell. She drove him crazy once before and then drove right out of town, leaving havoc in her wake. He’s determined to help her hunt down the bad guy so he can claim his own bounty—her.

The Promise of Surrender

Mia Russo spent ten years working undercover, entrenched in the dregs of society before handing in her shield. Opening her own pawn shop is a piece of cake in comparison. All she needs is the bad attitude she developed on the streets and the shotgun under her counter to keep law and order. Until the day Zeke McBride walks into her shop.

Zeke knows Mia has every right not to trust him. He was the one who chose the next op instead of her. And all he can hope is that somewhere under the snarl and cynicism is a woman who can forgive. Because whether she trusts him or not, they’re going to have to work together to bring down the gang that’s decided Mia is their next target.

Sweet Surrender

It’s been twelve years since Liza Carmichael stepped foot in Surrender, but after her great aunt’s death she has no choice but to return and settle her estate. Which includes the corner bakery that’s been a staple in Surrender for more than fifty years.

After twenty-five years on the job, Lieutenant Grant Boone finds himself at loose ends now that he’s retired. He’s gotten a number of job offers—one from MacKenzie Security—but he’s burned out and jaded, and the last thing he wants to do is carry the burden of another badge and weapon. He almost turns down the invitation from his good friend Cooper MacKenzie to stay as their guest for a few weeks while he’s deciding what to do with the rest of his life. But he packs his bag and heads to Surrender anyway.

The only thing Boone knows is that his future plans don’t include Liza Carmichael. She’s bossy, temperamental, and the confections she bakes are sweet enough to tempt a saint. Thank God he’s never pretended to be one. But after he gets one taste of Liza and things start heating up in the kitchen, he realizes how delicious new beginnings can be.

“The Enchanted: A Novel (P.S. (Paperback))” by Rene Denfeld

$2.99 at the time of posting!


“The Enchanted: A Novel (P.S. (Paperback))”

Genre: Literary Fiction/Fantasy/Psychological

Release Date: March 4, 2014

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A wondrous and redemptive debut novel, set in a stark world where evil and magic coincide, The Enchantedcombines the empathy and lyricism of Alice Sebold with the dark, imaginative power of Stephen King.

“This is an enchanted place. Others don’t see it, but I do.” The enchanted place is an ancient stone prison, viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot. Though bars confine him every minute of every day, he marries visions of golden horses running beneath the prison, heat flowing like molten metal from their backs with the devastating violence of prison life.

Two outsiders venture here: a fallen priest and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners’ pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal, innocence and guilt, honesty and corruption—ultimately revealing shocking secrets of her own.

Beautiful and transcendent, The Enchanted reminds us of how our humanity connects us all, and how beauty and love exist even amidst the most nightmarish reality.

“The Kitchen God’s Wife” by Amy Tan

$1.99 at the time of posting!


“The Kitchen God’s Wife”

Genre: Women’s Fiction/Asian-American/Mothers & Daughters

Release Date: September 21, 2006

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With the same narrative skills and evocative powers that made her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, a national bestseller, Tan now tells the story of Winnie Louie, an aging Chinese woman unfolding a life’s worth of secrets to her suspicious, Americanized daughter.

“Deadly Satisfaction (A Dangerous Love Novel)” by Trice Hickman

$2.99 at the time of posting!


“Deadly Satisfaction (A Dangerous Love Novel)”

Genre: Women’s Fiction/African-American/Romance

Release Date: January 26, 2016

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And then there were three…

It’s been two years since Johnny Mayfield’s murder rocked Amber, Alabama. His death, along with the illicit personal scandals that preceded it, created more drama than the town had ever seen. But now life is back to normal, at least for his widow, Geneva. Or so it seems.

Happily remarried, Geneva has to admit her life is better than ever. Her upscale salon is thriving, and she finally has the baby she always wanted. But when she hires nanny Morgan Whitman, she discovers the deceptively matronly woman is stirring up drama, causing Geneva to question many things—including who really killed Johnny. Add local gossip columnist Shartell Brown and tell-it-like-it-is Donetta Pierce to the mix, and soon vicious rumors, terrifying threats, and long held secrets may add up to another shocking murder—one that will rival even Johnny Mayfield’s.

“Wastelands” by John Joseph Adams

$1.99 at the time of posting!


“Wastelands”

Genre: Speculative Fiction/Short Stories/Anthology

Release Date: January 1, 2008

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Famine, Death, War, and Pestilence: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the harbingers of Armageddon — these are our guides through the Wastelands… From the Book of Revelations to The Road Warrior; from A Canticle for Leibowitz to The Road, storytellers have long imagined the end of the world, weaving tales of catastrophe, chaos, and calamity. Gathering together the best post-apocalyptic literature of the last two decades from many of today’s most renowned authors of speculative fiction, including George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card, Carol Emshwiller, Jonathan Lethem, Octavia E. Butler, and Stephen King, Wastelands explores the scientific, psychological, and philosophical questions of what it means to remain human in the wake of Armageddon.

Curated Content for Writers August 25th

More exceptional links this week! Happy Friday! 😉

Story Empire

Happy Friday, SE Readers. It’s time for another round of writing tips we’ve found around the web. If you haven’t read Mae’s post, Understanding Tribes on Triberr, and Staci’s post, Classic TV as an Inspiration for Contemporary Fiction, be sure to check them out.

And now, for this week’s curated content.


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