The Small Things Add Up

Imagine you’ve just opened a new book. Go ahead—smell the pages. I do it too.

Okay, ready? Pretend that this is a new-to-you author. You’re not sure you’re going to like the book, but the cover is enticing, so you are willing to give it a try. Now turn to the first page, and start immersing yourself in that new world.

You’re on the third page when you see the first error: “Marcus laid the flowers on her gravy.” You laugh out loud. Unfortunately, the author had intended for this to be a sad scene.

Then, in chapter 2, a character mentions living “on the East Coast” because she “loves the Pacific Ocean.” This could be intentional—maybe the author is showing how horrible the character is with geography?—but that’s unlikely.

In chapter 5, a character with a previously mentioned gluten intolerance is eating a huge bowl of spaghetti.

Then, while reading chapter 8, you encounter the sentence “They’re car was thriteen years old.”

Maybe this is where you decide to put the book down and take a break. Maybe you’re even feeling as though you can’t get into this book enough to finish it.

Even if the plot is riveting and the characters enchanting, those errors and inconsistencies add up. Each one pulls you out of the story. The more times you’re pulled out of the story, the less likely you’ll have that wonderful Where did the time go? feeling. That Where did the time go? feeling is what you want your readers to experience! It’s what makes reading so fun. But every time your readers are pulled out of your story, it’s harder for them to return and less likely that they become so engrossed in the story that they don’t notice time passing.

This is why catching all those inconsistencies and errors is so important. When you get your book as close to perfect as possible in regard to grammar and spelling, world-building consistency, and character believability, your readers are going to get lost in the story you’ve created for them. And that means they’ll be more likely to love your book and recommend it to others.