Books,
whether fiction or non-fiction, poetry essay, or short-story, focus on all kinds
of subjects, settings, and characters.
They address who we are and what we’ve been, sometimes with an eye on
who we aren’t and where we might be going. But I wonder if books have covered
everything.
Certainly
there will always be books that cover new ground or offer fresh perspectives on
the places and things books have already written about. But is it getting harder to find that special
something, that virgin territory that is both undiscovered and worthy of being
found?
Writers
write what they know, or at least from a place of knowing. So many books are written about real-life
events or are based on them. Many are
also written based on an imagination filled with wants and desires that stem
from a life denied.
But in the
end, we are all human, and so many books have or will cover key, relatable
points in our lives – the childhood to dying cycle, issues of love,
relationships and sex, stories of violence, a special year or person in your
life, accomplishments and failures, etc.
Books reflect humanity and the elements of life, so it shouldn’t surprise
us that many books cover similar ground, even taking similar approaches. So when the new and unusual sprouts up in
book form, there is a deep hunger and thirst that is satiated.
Where will
future books focus our attention, in order to examine or unearth the different,
the new, the unexamined?
·
Stories
revolving around future history.
·
Books
steeped in the revelations of science.
·
Stories
filled with themes surrounding the latest technology.
·
Books
covering global events or cultures so different than ours.
Book
content may change over time but the approach to revealing it will always
consist of showing how the described events impact the human existence. So whether it’s a book with a love story,
pandemic, historical accomplishment, murder, sports victory or any of a
thousand other subjects and themes, the book will have to thread its story
through the eyes, hearts, and psychodrama of the human mind, body, and soul.
What gives
stories context or purpose is the ability of the writer to convey its impact on
how one feels, lives, and thinks. The
author is always seeking to raise questions or answer them. Humans want to feel something when they read
a book. They want to be left feeling
happier, smarter, or stronger for the experience. This by no means suggests we
only want uplifting books with happy endings.
It just means we want to feel like we benefited from the reading experience.
Sometimes we turn to books to consume a story we could otherwise never
experience or even understand if it unraveled in real life.
There will
always be something worth publishing, even as we stockpile millions of books,
each filled with scenarios and variables that cover so much ground. As long as
your book finds a way to be relevant to how we experience or view life, it will
find its readership. You don’t need to
capture a whole new galaxy of ideas or inventions – just find a way to say
something that touches us.
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Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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