- well-read
- knowledgeable in the field
- able to write clearly
- able to summarize
- deadline-oriented
Becoming Well-Read
How will being well-read help you with manuscript reading? If you had read only one spy novel in your life and you were given a spy-novel manuscript to evaluate, you wouldn't have much of a basis for comparison, would you? The more you read in your area of interest, the better you will be prepared to see how your manuscript-for-pay stacks up against others that have already been published.
Fiction
If you want to be a fiction reader and you plan to work for a book club, literary agent, or a publishing house that publishes a variety of fiction, you should read different types of novels and short story collections so that you'll have a background in whatever comes your way. On the other hand, if you want to target only mystery publishers or romance publishers, for example, you can stick to reading books in those areas.
Nonfiction
If you want to read nonfiction in a specialized area of expertise, e.g., coin collecting, you should be familiar with other works in the field. You can look in the card catalog file at your local library under the subject heading you're interested in to find recently published books. For the most part, you would want to read what's current. An exception would be a book that's considered a "bible" in its field. This would be a book that experts use for reference-a book that is used as a standard. If you haven't read the top works in your area of interest, you should certainly do that before you look for work as a reader in that area.
Depending on where you live, your library may not be all you'd like it to be. If you can't find useful books in the card catalog, you can look in Books in Print to see if there are other titles there. Most libraries can get you books you want from other libraries that do have them if you know the titles and authors.
You might also consult an expert-a coin dealer, for example, if that's your interest-to find out what books he or she would recommend. Of course, you can always buy a book or books if you can't get them through a library. You probably won't need to buy books in your nonfiction field of interest in order to read them once, but you might want to own the outstanding reference books in this area to check facts from time to time during your manuscript reading, just to make sure the author knows what he's talking about.
Becoming Knowledgeable in the Field
Being knowledgeable in the field is quite different from being well-read in the areas of fiction or nonfiction in which you plan to work. To be knowledgeable in the field you must be aware of trends in publishing. In other words, you must be up on what publishers are looking for in book and magazine fiction, movies, TV, and in certain areas of nonfiction. For example, diet, health, celebrity biography, and business biography, e.g., lacocca, are "hot" topics in nonfiction publishing at the moment. In cooking, the trend is toward healthful meals, so cookbooks featuring recipes that use lots of salt, sugar, or fat are "out."
Because publishers must invest a great deal of money and effort in the promotion of a book, they want to publish sure winners whenever possible. This means that, as a general rule, they don't like to take chances on publishing books that are out of the mainstream of current readers' tastes. Of course, there are exceptions if a book is particularly outstanding or has been written by an established author with a following.
Manuscript Marketability
As a manuscript reader, you will be expected to consider a book or script not only on its own merits but also on its marketability.
Where to Find Information
How do you become knowledgeable about publishing trends? You can learn a lot from heading the book review sections of newspapers and magazines. Note the types of books that are reviewed. Keep abreast of what's on the best-seller lists. If you're interested in reading scripts, keep up with what's going on in television, movies, and the theater by reading these columns in newspapers and magazines.
Writer's Market is published yearly. Although it's basically a sourcebook for writers-listing publishers' names and addresses, what they publish, and what they pay, it also has brief articles about trends in publishing. Because it comes out only once a year, Writer's Market is not up-to-the minute on trends as is Publishers Weekly, nor does it give more than a brief overview of what's happening in publishing. However, Writer's Market will be invaluable to you when it comes to finding work (more about that later), so you'll want to become familiar with it anyway.
If you're interested in reading scripts rather than books, you may want to follow what's going on in the show biz world in Variety. This periodical should also be available at your local library. Or you can become a subscriber. (With all the publications we've suggested, it's a good idea to check out the book or periodical at the library before you decide to buy or subscribe.)
Although writing "talent" per se is not a requirement for a successful manuscript reader, you must be able write reviews clearly and in a reasonably interesting fashion. If the person you work for doesn't understand what you're trying to say, you won't last long as a manuscript reader. A slightly above-ordinary ability to put sentences together should suffice, but if you think you're weak in this area, you might want to think about taking a writing class at a local community college or "lighted-schoolhouse" program. The price is generally right, you'll learn something, and the credit will look good on your resume.
When you tell a friend about a book or movie you liked, do her eyes glaze over? Does she sigh frequently or dart her eyes about frantically looking for escape? Does she fall asleep on the phone? If any of the above, you take too long to tell a story, and the odds are you'll go on and on when writing about one too. Fortunately, you can cure yourself of this habit and rather easily too. All it takes is practice.
Summarize a chapter from a book you're currently reading. After you've finished, go back and take out all the unnecessary words. Check to be sure you haven't said the same thing twice. Then look at your sentences. Are they too long and run-on? Make them shorter or cut them in two. Also look at the vocabulary. Have you used a lot of five-dollar words when 50-cent words would have said the same thing and more clearly? Be ruthless in paring down your writing.
Don't mistake rambling, wordy, complicated sentences for good writing. Don't make your employer work to find out what you're trying to say. With a little practice, you can master the art of writing more concisely. As with clear writing, some professional instruction may help if you can't get the hang of it on your own. Of course, there are also many books on how to write. These usually deal with writing something specific-novels, plays, etc., but you may find something on writing in general at your local library or bookstore.
The Elements of Style briefly and entertainingly outlines common-sense rules for good writing. Anybody who writes more than a grocery list should have a copy.
