Self-publishing isn't for the indecisive. As if agonising over whether it's better to use this word or that, or to cut or not to cut, isn't enough, when you self-publish you're faced with a seemingly endless stream of choices about how you want your manuscript to look.
I've been putting together the Iyessi song lyrics that I originally wrote as chapter headers for the Exiles of Ondd novels. I want to publish them on Kindle and Draft2Digital as well as an illustrated paperback. As the digital platforms each have their own formatting requirements, this means I have to format the songs three times. The paperback version offers an even more extensive selection of layouts, fonts, sizes etc. than the digital ones. It's been enough to give me a headache.
My usual form of escape, reading a book, didn't really help. The one I chose is one that a friend swapped with me. It's by a bestselling, globally renowned author, whose books have been turned into action-thriller movies that were box office hits. This isn't the genre I'd usually choose, but they're famed for being fast-paced, page-turners that are an easy escapist read. However, I found myself far more interested in the style and format than the story.
The first thing that struck me about the style, was that the opening sentences began with subordinate clauses–not something that is usually recommended, as it's less direct and, therefore, slower-paced. There are few descriptions, even of the appearance of the characters, so that I was initially confused as to the age of the one whose point of view opens the narrative. When short descriptions were given, they tended towards the clichéd, and used few metaphors or figurative phrases. This made them quicker to process, as did the formulaic, stereotypical features. The reader is already familiar with these and so doesn't need to waste time thinking about them. Most of the narrative is first person point of view, which allows for more tell than show, especially as the narrator is a police officer who tends towards reporting events without introspection. Again, this is direct and moves the action on more quickly.
The formatting added to the sense of pace. The font was plain, larger than the usual 12 point, and 1.5 line-spaced. Chapters began halfway down the page and, generally, were only a couple of sides long, often breaking in the middle of a scene. It all gives the illusion of the narrative being fast-paced and action-packed, although fifty pages in, all that had happened was that a nanny had gone for a country walk with her charges, and a police officer had chatted to an old friend and colleague about the planned arrest of a cartel boss.
This all made me think about how I could format the songs, and the features that might be useful for me to take on board. In future, I shall endeavour to break up my chapters more (although I find the ones in this novel excessively choppy), or at least I may vary the length more. It might also not be a bad idea to allow more space around the text. I haven't finished the novel yet, and there are undoubtedly more things I can learn from it.
Maybe next time I venture into new territory, I'll read a romance or a family saga. Every genre has different formulae and styles. What suits the readers of one won't necessarily suit those of another, but being aware of other ways of writing can only make my work better. You can tell that this action-thriller isn't my cup of tea, but this author's work entertains a huge number of people, and there's nothing wrong with that. It might not be the absorbing read I had hoped for, but it's done me good to dip into another genre. I recommend other writers to do it.