Don't Let Your Reader Down

I happened to watch the long-awaited wedding episode in the Castle TV series. I'd heard the wedding would take place in that episode, but for a long while into the show I couldn't tell how that would be possible. The plot seemed far from revolving around a wedding. Instead, it focused on alternative universe stuff. What did that have to do with Beckett and Castle getting married?

Well, finally, toward the very end of the show, Castle got back into the real universe, instead of the make believe. Then, glory of glories, he and Beckett decided to almost instantly get married.

Seemed like a rush job, hardly any buildup. Yes, there had been plenty of buildup before that episode, but I had hoped to savor the wondrous event at least for a while.

Yes, the wedding was lovely, including the scenery and her dress. Still, a huge disappointment to me, and I suspect, others who had waited so long for the big event.

Don't be like the writers of that show. When you write, Don't Let Your Reader Down.

Deliver what you promise, and in the best way possible.

• Let your cover reflect the genre and type of book it will be. Let the back cover copy hint at that also. 
• For a Romance - Don't pretend a book will be spicy when it isn't, and vice versa. Don't make the hero and heroine instantly fall in love for no reason. Instead, offer hints that readers can catch and understand. Don't make up silly reasons to keep them apart, when ones that make sense will work better.
• For Mystery - Don't throw in a bad guy out of nowhere. Throw in just enough clues to get the reader thinking, but not too many to make the bad guy too obvious. Don't make the good guy a complete saint, and don't make the villain a complete no-gooder. Make them real people, not cardboard characters.

Can you think of other examples of how not to let your readers down? Or, maybe another example of how you've been let down in a book, TV show, or movie?

Find all of Morgan Mandel's mysteries and romances 

on her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/author/morganmandel

Excerpts from all books at:

http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com

Twitter: @MorganMandel