Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 16

Cosmo partners with Sourcebooks on new imprint

They say they will be working with both “debut authors and those with established fandoms,” starting with romance.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

Links of Interest: May 21, 2025

The latest in culture & politics, trends, traditional publishing, audiobook distribution, subscription services, AI, and libraries.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

Username or E-mail Password * function mepr_base64_decode(encodedData) { var decodeUTF8string = function(str) { // Going backwards: from bytestream, to percent-encoding, to original string. return decodeURIComponent(str.split('').map(function(c) { return '%' + ('00' + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16)).slice(-2) }).join('')) } if (typeof window !== 'undefined') { if (typeof window.atob !== 'undefined') { return decodeUTF8string(window.atob(encodedData)) } } else { return new Buffer(encodedData, 'base64').toString('utf-8') } var b64 = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=' var o1 var o2 var o3 var h1 var h2 var h3 var h4 var bits var i = 0 var ac = 0 var dec = '' var tmpArr = [] if (!encodedData) { return encodedData } encodedData += '' do { // unpack four hexets into three octets using index points in b64 h1 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h2 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h3 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h4 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) bits = h1 << 18 | h2 << 12 | h3 << 6 | h4 o1 = bits >> 16 & 0xff o2 = bits >> 8 & 0xff o3 = bits & 0xff if (h3 === 64) { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1) } else if (h4 === 64) { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1, o2) } else { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1, o2, o3) } } while (i < encodedData.length) dec = tmpArr.join('') return decodeUTF8string(dec.replace(/\0+$/, '')) } jQuery(document).ready(function() { document.getElementById("meprmath_captcha-682ed09771bf9").innerHTML=mepr_base64_decode("MTEgKyAzIGVxdWFscz8="); }); Remember Me     Forgot Password

Sensitivity Reading in Speculative Fiction: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Photo by Joel Santos

Today’s post is by author, editor, book coach, and sensitivity reader Karen A. Parker.

As a sensitivity reader, writer, and book coach, I find sensitivity reading for speculative fiction to be a challenging and rewarding experience. Speculative fiction in general allows us to explore worlds that are completely different (or even just a little bit different) from our own. We are also given the opportunity to tackle things like racism, classism, sexism, bigotry, homophobia, etc. from a different lens or even from the same lens with which we view them and learn about them on Earth.

However, unless we achieve great technological or other advances in our species’ lifetime, we will always view and understand things from the perspective of bipedal humanoids from Earth no matter what imagined world is presented to us in books. No matter what story we read, we bring ourselves with it. That’s just how it works.

That is, unless we are told to or directed to think differently by the author or the story itself.

Sensitivity reading as world-building

I identify as Black, queer, nonbinary, and a whole host of other things because these are social constructs that were invented on Earth that define my sociopolitical and cultural identities. Sometimes, I wonder if I were abducted by aliens tomorrow and transported to another world, how would I be described by those aliens? Would they say that I’m Black because there is also a population of Black Americans that just so happened to rebel against their King George on their planet? Am I even a person of color in their world? Am I just an organism that happens to have skin while all the aliens happen to have scales?

When I was working on my thesis in graduate school, one of my professors questioned my use of the phrase quid pro quo in a character’s line of dialogue. Sure, I need to use English in my writing because I’m writing a novel for an English-speaking audience, but if I’m writing a novel that doesn’t take place on Earth, why would any of my characters know Latin? I know Latin because I’m from Earth and am a fairly well-educated person, but my characters probably wouldn’t know Latin unless they just so happened to travel to and from Earth or traveled to an Earth-like world that has folks who speak something akin to Latin.

For freelance copyeditors, this kind of work might feel familiar. It’s similar to fact-checking in that it requires a grounded frame of reference centered on what we know about Earth, its culture, its geography, its history, etc. However, with speculative fiction, the reference is self-making in the moment. Even when a speculative fiction novel explores a reality outside of our current one, it is the job of the writer and the sensitivity reader to work together, expanding and interrogating the world as much as they can and in every way possible. From the smallest phrases to the larger, world-building implications, sensitivity should be the forethought, not the afterthought.

Appropriation versus inspiration

While mythologies and cultural customs aren’t protected under copyright, implicit sensibilities exist around them that you should still consider. For example, the one-handed Vulcan salute as made famous by Leonard Nimoy as Spock from Star Trek is based on the priestly blessing performed by Jewish Kohanim with both hands instead of one. Nimoy—as the writer/creator of that gesture—got to be the god of the Star Trek universe for a little bit. He got to make that rule for the franchise, and Judaism does not appear to prohibit this gesture from being used outside of its usual context.

However, there are certain cultures with customs, practices, food, and clothing that are considered more “closed” or “restricted” and should be given their proper respect when depicted in literature. For instance, yes, you can theoretically write about an Indigenous person using white sage for a smudging ritual in your post-apocalyptic sci-fi reimagining of King Lear complete with unicorns, but what purpose does that scene in particular serve in the story as a whole? Does the Indigenous person show up for only that scene as the token mystic, shaman, or healer? Do they inappropriately and incorrectly perform the ritual because you, as the writer, don’t know enough about it and don’t want to be bothered to do the research?

Erasure, tokenism, appropriation—these happen more often in speculative fiction than we think, and it’s up to us to be mindful and present of those potential pitfalls even when it’s done under the premise of “making things up”.

Blind spots and how to find them

The other day, a beta reader commented that my use of the phrase “delicate feminine jaw” to describe the physical appearance of a somewhat-masculine-but-mostly-androgynous-looking male character was a moment of gender essentialism.

Yes. Even I—a Black, queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent sensitivity reader who has done sensitivity reads for major publishers—have blind spots and get things wrong on occasion while writing. There’s no shame in it, and there shouldn’t be.

But on the subject of gender, sexuality, and the like in speculative fiction, it’s particularly important to pay attention to language in addition to plot points. For example, even though the Mass Effect video game series depicts worlds, customs, and lifeforms that are definitively not from Earth, the game still views the world with a bipedal humanoid, Earth-centered lens. Apart from their blue skin, scalp-crests, and other notable physiological differences, the Asari in Mass Effect are a sentient species that strongly resembles humanoid females from Earth. However, they are supposedly a mono-gendered alien species, so why do they allow themselves to be constantly misgendered in casual conversation? Why are their three main life stages called “maiden,” “matron,” and “matriarch” when the gender-neutral “ward,” “patron,” and (maybe) “monarch” could have worked and got the point across?

Both sensitivity reading and speculative fiction reading should ask of its writers and readers to abandon that Earth-first approach in a true exercise of empathy and imagination. Otherwise, readers might not find it as fresh and powerful as the creators may have intended.

Writer first, reader first

Throughout this article, I ask a lot of questions rather than give a lot of definitive answers. Overt, harmful depictions are just as harmful as subtle, underwritten depictions of certain concepts and cultures. Anything that you’d find offensive in your day-to-day life is likely offensive in speculative fiction as well.

But I cannot exactly tell the writer what is right or wrong for their speculative fiction novel because it’s theirs. They are the god of their worlds and their stories, and all that I can do is flag things that might be offensive to other certain bipedal humanoid readers who live on Earth like myself. Then I let the writer make an informed decision and hope for the best.

Because even if the writers are the gods of their story, their bipedal humanoid readers have the final say once it’s printed and out of their hands.

POV Bright Spots and Blind Spots

Today’s post is by writer, editor, and book coach Erin Halden.

A big part of my job as a developmental editor and book coach is to help fiction writers think through their choices. And to ask them, How does this choice help you tell your story?, again and again as they develop, draft, and revise.

One of the most important storytelling choices you’ll make is point of view. The most common points of view in fiction are First Person POV, Third Person Limited POV, and Omniscient POV.

Some writers think very deeply about this choice. They try writing in different POVs, experimenting until they find one that captures their vision, or that resonates with them. Others gravitate instinctively to a particular point of view. However you come to it, it’s important to understand the choice that you’re making. It shapes everything from how characters show up on the page to how the plot unfurls, to the voice and tone of your story.

Every POV has something it does well. A Bright Spot. You’ll want to lean into that Bright Spot, taking advantage of the best it has to offer. And every POV has something it doesn’t do as well. A Blind Spot. You’ll want to make sure you are compensating for this Blind Spot.

First Person POV

This is the “I” POV. In this perspective, the narrator is a character in the story (usually the protagonist, though not always). They are telling the story, sharing their thoughts, feelings, and reactions directly with the reader. There is almost no distance between the character and the reader; the reader is, effectively, inside the character’s head.

Bright Spot: This POV’s Bright Spot is its ability to get the reader inside the character’s head. Because the character is telling the story directly to the reader, writing character interiority—a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions to what is happening in the story—comes naturally to the page here. And when readers are in on a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions, they will understand why what’s happening in the story matters. When they understand why what’s happening matters, they become invested in the story.

Blind Spot: This POV’s Blind Spot is external detail: setting, physical descriptions, and time and space cues. It’s very easy, as the writer, to get lost in your character’s head and forget to build, and refer to, the world in which they live. Without external details, it can feel like a character’s thoughts and feelings are all that exist in the story. Your characters become suspended in a blank void—no world around them, nothing to ground the reader in their reality. This can hobble your character building, because characters are shaped by the world they live in. Readers needs to see your characters in the context of their worlds in order to understand, and connect to, them.

When you’re writing in First Person POV, lean in to its strengths. Bring all that rich interiority to the page. But weave in the external detail and touch the physical world of the characters often.

Third Person Limited POV

This is the “He/She/They” POV. In this perspective, the narrator is external to the story, closely following the characters and relaying their story to the reader. Rather than being inside the head of the character, as in First Person POV, here the reader stands shoulder to shoulder with the characters, watching them from the outside.

Bright Spot: This POV’s Bright Spot is external detail. Setting, physical detail, and time and space cues come naturally to the page in this perspective. That little bit of space between the reader and the character means there’s more space for you to build the world of the characters, to layer in complexity, and show your characters in context. This helps ground your reader in the world of your story.

Blind Spot: This POV’s Blind Spot is character interiority. It’s very easy, as the writer, to let this POV operate like a camera, recording the details of the world and the action while forgetting to get your character’s interiority on the page. Without interiority, readers will know what’s going on, but they won’t know why any of it matters, or why your characters are making the choices they’re making.

When you’re writing in Third Person Limited POV, bring all that rich external detail and your characters’ interiority to the page. Characters should think, feel, and react to what happens to them.

Omniscient Third POV

In this perspective, there is an all-knowing narrator who has access to All The Information—each characters’ thoughts, feeling, reactions, and backstory. They are a character in the story, or at least a voice in it, and will, at times, directly address the reader, perhaps foreshadowing or dropping an important piece of backstory. The reader, in effect, hovers high above the story with the omniscient narrator, following their lead as they zoom in and out and around.

Bright Spot: This POV’s Bright Spot is the power it gives you to shape your reader’s experience. You can seamlessly transition between characters, build tension by what you choose to share and not share and when, and foreshadow the consequences of characters’ choices. You can create dramatic irony, where readers know more than the characters. You, the writer, get to use your all-knowing narrator to pull the story’s strings for the reader.

Blind Spot: This POV’s Blind Spot is that it can feel very removed from the characters. The zoom-out-and-around powers of this perspective can leave readers stranded high above the story, looking for a way in. And, like Third Person Limited POV, it can be very easy to forget character interiority. 

Another problem to look out for here: head-hopping. This is where you’re jumping from one character’s head to another’s, leaving the reader confused over who they’re supposed to be following in a given scene. Readers have low tolerance for this.

Use Omniscient Third POV to craft a unique journey for your readers while making rules about how you will move cleanly and clearly between characters, when and how your omniscient voice steps in to manage the reader’s experience, and how to keep that voice from overtaking the story.

How does your POV choice help you tell your story?

For stories where setting and world-building play an important role, Third Person Limited POV’s Bright Spot can give you more room to get that world fully on the page.

High-tension stories can benefit from First Person POV’s Bright Spot, where being deep inside a character’s head as they navigate uncertainty can help you level-up the pressure on the protagonist, keeping your readers on the edges of their seats.

If you want to write a story that’s got readers shouting, “Don’t go through that door!”, then Omniscient POV might be the way to go. Its Bright Spot allows you to let readers in on what the characters don’t know yet, including the monster on the other side of that door.

If you’re already deep into a story and haven’t considered why you made the POV choice you made, that’s okay. Take a moment now to think about why you made that choice, what you gain from it, and what you need to watch out for.

Audible opens the door wide to AI audiobooks

Audible will offer AI production technology to select publishers, first for narration and later for translated narration.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

New publisher: Putman Publishing

Doug Putman, owner of music retailer HMV UK, is launching a publishing company. The first imprint will publish music and pop culture books.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

New agent: Howland Literary

Ashlee MacCallum has joined as a junior agent at Howland Literary. Previously she was an intern at Triada US.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

Not dead yet! HarperVia launches small-format paperback imprint

Despite the decline of mass-market paperbacks, HarperVia is launching a line of pocket-sized paperbacks under the Nomad Editions imprint.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

Links of Interest: May 14, 2025

The latest in traditional publishing, audiobooks, AI, and newsletters.

This premium article is available to paid subscribers of Jane's newsletter. Here's what subscribers get:

Access to more than 3,000 premium articles on this site, all searchableIndustry news that includes Jane’s reporting and analysis, sent via email once a wekAccess to Jane’s private resource guides, continually updated

Login below, or learn more and subscribe.

Wondering why some content isn't free? Did something change? Here's an explanation.

Username or E-mail Password * function mepr_base64_decode(encodedData) { var decodeUTF8string = function(str) { // Going backwards: from bytestream, to percent-encoding, to original string. return decodeURIComponent(str.split('').map(function(c) { return '%' + ('00' + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16)).slice(-2) }).join('')) } if (typeof window !== 'undefined') { if (typeof window.atob !== 'undefined') { return decodeUTF8string(window.atob(encodedData)) } } else { return new Buffer(encodedData, 'base64').toString('utf-8') } var b64 = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=' var o1 var o2 var o3 var h1 var h2 var h3 var h4 var bits var i = 0 var ac = 0 var dec = '' var tmpArr = [] if (!encodedData) { return encodedData } encodedData += '' do { // unpack four hexets into three octets using index points in b64 h1 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h2 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h3 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) h4 = b64.indexOf(encodedData.charAt(i++)) bits = h1 << 18 | h2 << 12 | h3 << 6 | h4 o1 = bits >> 16 & 0xff o2 = bits >> 8 & 0xff o3 = bits & 0xff if (h3 === 64) { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1) } else if (h4 === 64) { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1, o2) } else { tmpArr[ac++] = String.fromCharCode(o1, o2, o3) } } while (i < encodedData.length) dec = tmpArr.join('') return decodeUTF8string(dec.replace(/\0+$/, '')) } jQuery(document).ready(function() { document.getElementById("meprmath_captcha-68259696726f9").innerHTML=mepr_base64_decode("MTEgKyAyIGVxdWFscz8="); }); Remember Me     Forgot Password

It’s a Book, Not a Slide Deck: Avoiding Fast-Content Habits in Nonfiction

Today’s post is by book coach and editor Dinah Laprairie.

I opened the manuscript and sighed—not at the message, which was well-stated and useful, but at the wall of bold, italic, underlined, ALL CAPS text that shouted for attention on every page. It read more like a web article or social post than a book.

Nonfiction writers—especially those working on prescriptive nonfiction—often turn to familiar writing formats from business, blogging, or social media when they prepare their book-length projects. I see writers using lists, headings, single-line paragraphs, and multiple type styles all at once. These features can be incredibly effective in business writing or online—and in books. In fact, I will recommend authors use these for specific purposes to create engaging nonfiction books. Each of these features can improve readability and assist the readers in digesting the author’s message. Yet a good reading experience is not always meant to be an easy, fast-scrolling reading experience, especially if a writer is delivering their message in book form.

The urge to make reading easy and quick for readers is strong among nonfiction writers, and I frequently come across nonfiction writing that relies too heavily on features of fast media, like blogs, newsletters, and social posts. In the last year, I’ve opened manuscripts that are nearly entirely built on lists like you find in internet how-to articles. In others, there is such a heavy use of boldface and italics that it becomes difficult to complete a paragraph. And don’t we all love the single-line paragraph in socials these days? (I do.) These are showing up in book-length manuscripts now. But the hardest on my eyes is all caps, especially when it is used ALL THE TIME.

None of these features are wrong, and you might want to use them in your book, but first you need to ask yourself if you are adding unnecessary complexity to the reading experience. In my feedback to writers, I ask them to choose between these features with restraint and care. The reason is this: Books aren’t fast media.

When we apply the visual tools of fast media to the slower pace of a book, we risk overwhelming or distracting our readers instead of guiding them. A book isn’t just a container for content—it’s a container for transformation. And formatting should support that, not replace it.

Books for deep exploration

Many nonfiction writers fall back on the writing styles they know best—slide decks, blog posts, business reports, and social media posts. Over the last decades, we’ve been trained to scroll through scads of text every day, and to absorb material quickly. Skim, scroll, move on. It’s tempting to assume readers want to engage with a book in the same way. But that’s not the case.

A book is slow, immersive media. A reader will typically spend hours with a book, not minutes. Unlike short-form content, a book provides room for broader or deeper exploration. Even in digital or audio formats, books invite readers to slow down and engage deeply with nuanced ideas. When we apply fast-media formatting to a book—lists on every page, bold text everywhere, constant headings—we risk flattening our message rather than strengthening it. Readers pick up books because they want more, not less.

I recently reviewed a manuscript that used boldface styling every time the author wanted to make a point. The writer also added ALL CAPS to every new term. Headings were in italics and phrases were underlined. Visually, the page was crowded, and it was difficult for me to focus on the message the writer wanted to convey.

Be confident in your readers

Readers of books understand the assignment: They are expected to actively read. If they choose your book, their interest in the subject or premise is great enough to have chosen a book over other forms of media. They want to get into the subject and dive deep. They want to be immersed in your subject. Formatting tools such as boldface, italics, and underlining can easily shift from helpful to distracting when overused.

If everything is emphasized, nothing stands out.

Your first job, before turning to formatting, is to consider how sentence structure and storytelling techniques can naturally draw attention to your key points. Traditional paragraphs and sentences are powerful tools. Paragraphs are well suited for developing ideas, building arguments, and engaging readers on a deeper level. They allow for narrative flow and storytelling, more detailed explanations, and a smoother, immersive reading experience.

Use paragraphs to build trust

Within paragraphs, you can share stories, and stories help your readers remember your lessons. You can explore scenarios that demonstrate your concepts, or dive into your own personal experience with the topic. You can use paragraphs to explore metaphors to help the reader understand a complex idea in a deeper, relatable way. You have the space: if it will engage the reader, use it to delight them with wordplay or humor. Or showcase your authoritative voice. Vary your sentence lengths to add cadence and rhythm. With practice, you’ll learn how to slow your sentences so your readers have time to absorb the information you’re delivering, how to add speed to build excitement or curiosity, and how to withhold a revelation until the exact moment a reader needs it. In short, you can use paragraphs and well-crafted language to show you care about your reader’s experience.

Craft your sentences before you add styling. Then, look for ways you can help the reader navigate through the material more easily. To speed their reading, you can add signposts like headings and call-out text, captions, or lists. Maybe it does make sense to add boldface or italics to certain features. Try it. See how it looks. Read it. See how it sounds. Did the formatting improve your reading or did it add a barrier? Too many features may create the opposite effect and slow down the absorption of your message rather than speed it up. Restraint is key.

Punctuation assigns meaning, too

It might feel old-fashioned to rely on unadorned sentences, but I want to remind you of the signposts already in place: the commas, dashes, colons, and periods you already used when you were crafting your message. Punctuation shapes meaning. It can deliver subtle nudges, or guide readers through complex ideas. Readers are already well-trained in it, and they barely notice it, so don’t discount its power.

By being intentional with your writing, through sentence structure, use of punctuation, and formatting, you show yourself to be a confident leader who can navigate deep waters. How do you know if you struck the right balance? If you spent time getting to know your readers and what they need, it’s much easier.

When style and formatting features make sense

There are all sorts of ways we can use formatting in a manuscript to bring attention to particular text. You can choose from various styles, like indented text, boldface text, italics, capital letters. In fact, the style guides we use as editors give us guidance on how to address styles in a manuscript. The overriding message of any style guide? Be consistent.

When your book is presented with consistent styles and formatting, the reader knows how to interpret your text and isn’t being distracted from your message. Style choices have a function. When used consistently, a reader will intuitively understand the rules you are using. Our brains look for patterns all the time. You likely saw the subheadings in this article and knew from their formatting that they were introducing a new section. You didn’t have to stop and think about it. That’s why we rely on styles and formatting: To make it easier for our readers. But when it starts to interrupt their reading or pull them out of our message, we need to have restraint.

When we introduce readers to new ideas, we want them to understand why they should pay attention. Sentences and paragraphs will help you convey this. Complex ideas and detailed information can benefit from paragraphing and well-crafted sentences.

When formatting disrupts your nonfiction narrative

I once opened a manuscript that was built almost entirely from lists—page after page of bullet and numbered steps. It looked organized, and it was easy to skim, but something was missing.

Curious, I stepped back and asked: Who is this book for? What’s the deeper purpose? The author was writing for a business audience seeking to understand why they should implement this author’s prescribed method, not just how. But the manuscript did not make that case. It grouped ideas clearly, yes, but it lacked the context and reasoning needed to persuade. The lists were efficient, but they weren’t enough. The lists delivered information, but they didn’t build trust, spark curiosity, or move the reader toward a deeper understanding. In short, the book wasn’t making an argument; it was just presenting facts.

When formatting stands in for storytelling, you risk losing the very engagement you’re trying to secure.

“But my readers are busy people,” authors tell me. “I want to make sure they read the whole book. That’s why I’m making it simple.”

It’s a valid argument, and yes, lists can be helpful. They’re perfect for organizing steps, grouping concepts, or highlighting takeaways. I love a good summary list at the end of a dense chapter. (Katy Milkman’s book How to Change does this beautifully.) And in some instances, lists are expected. Imagine if you opened a cookbook to find the recipes were written in paragraph form!

In the manuscript I was reviewing, the lists felt like shortcuts. They grouped information but offered no context or little connection to the argument. The author’s ideas were strong, but the formatting made them feel isolated, almost like slide bullets waiting for a speaker. As a reader, I found myself skimming ahead, searching for meaning the lists couldn’t provide. The argument wasn’t unfolding. It was being itemized. And it was losing my engagement.

As I worked with this author, I learned he was an avid reader of internet business blogs. He had encountered much of his industry’s expert material online and in slides, technical manuals, and reports. So, in writing, he turned to the writing styles he knew best, and he wrote his book without adjusting for the different form of media. Simplicity was a good aim, but I asked him to slow it down and rely on good writing to make his case first. As the writer, you have control over how your readers experience your message—whether they feel guided through a smooth, immersive experience or disrupted by formatting choices that pull them out of the narrative. 

But how do you know what to do?

If you have committed to a book-length project, there’s no doubt you believe strongly in your message. Your book is an argument in support of your Important Point. Your job is to make sure your readers understand why it is worth their time. Your job, too, is to know exactly your readers’ level of interest and knowledge when they enter your book, and to decide where you want them to be when they turn the final page. What you discover about your readers will give you insight into how to present your book’s content.

When I work with writers during book-planning, we examine their readers’ readiness. I ask questions like this:

How experienced are your readers already in your topic area?How open to your argument will your readers be at the beginning of your book?How willing is your reader to be changed by your message? Are they closed to your ideas, are they ready to consider them, or are they ready to take action?

We explore what the readers need to choose their book. It may be validation, inspiration, instruction, entertainment, tough talk, or another approach. Once my writer has a strong grasp on their readers’ needs and expectations, we can look at how to present their argument, and that gives clues into book structure. Is the book instructional, laying out procedures or steps? Does it rely, instead, on analysis, interviews, or storytelling? Will visuals like maps, charts, and tables be needed? I encourage the reader to lay out their plans for their chapters so that we can see the logical connections between each.

And yes, we might discuss formatting decisions. Thoughtful choices around layout and design can ensure your book is both engaging and delivering the transformation you want for your reader. Together, we look at titles and headings: Does the book need multiple levels of subheadings, or would that overwhelm the reader? We consider how the reader can best absorb and retain what they are learning: Do they need visual pauses like white space, lists, or breakout boxes to absorb the material? And we talk about emotional readiness, especially in self-help books: Do key concepts need to be introduced in a specific order, or is it okay if readers can browse between sections?

5 tips to check for balance in your nonfiction book

If you’ve made it this far, chances are you care deeply about how your message reaches your readers. You want to write with purpose, not just publish “content.” That’s the real difference between a book and a blog post: a blog can inform, but a book can transform.

So how do you ensure your formatting serves that transformation—and doesn’t get in its way? Here are five ways to check your manuscript for balance and clarity.

Be the compass, not the map. Spend time understanding your readers and what they need from your book, right now in their lives. How can you guide them through the material as the expert without overwhelming them?Read it aloud, with fresh eyes. Read through your manuscript out loud (or use the read-aloud tools on your computer or phone) and listen for flow. Are there points when a reader might say, “Whoa. Back up. Tell me that again.” Or “I don’t really get it. Can you give me more background?” Which will support their understanding best: better writing or better formatting?Use formatting for function, not flair. Look at every bold or italicized line. Each line should do real work. Ask yourself: Why am I emphasizing this? Do the sentences around this line already emphasize the importance?Print out a hard copy. Begin to think about your book as a book. Print it out. As you scan the manuscript, let your eyes roam over the page. Look for distractions. Your eyes will tell you if the paragraphs are too long, if you have too many lists, if there are too many ALL CAPS or if the italics and underlining are creating tension. Is there a good balance of white space and text? Are there explanations introducing each list? Are there headings pointing the way? Are there too many headings interrupting the flow? Does your book feel breathable or cluttered?Revisit your readers’ needs. Are you giving them what they came to this book for? Do you deliver a book experience or a blog experience? Should this book have been a slide show? Where is your compass pointing?

Books are not fast media—but that’s precisely their strength. Your book is a bridge between your knowledge and your reader’s understanding, and your message can have a lasting impact. Shape your message with intention and remember—your readers showed up for your book, not your blog. While lists, bold text, and other formatting choices have their place, they should never replace strong writing. Give them a reading experience that is both transformative and enjoyable.