The Better Books Survey Results – Part 1

Have you ever wanted to know exactly how to write a book that readers will love? What if they told you how to do it?

That is essentially the idea behind the Better Books Survey. I questioned approximately 300 readers on what they’re looking for in a story and what they’re trying to avoid. The goal with this survey was twofold:  first, to find the most common themes among respondents as clues to what writers need to work on most. Second, to unearth “gold nuggets” as I like to call them – especially well-worded responses that give keen insight into how writers can craft better books.

Today, I’m pleased to release Part One of the results.

Preliminary Notes

Before we dive in, I want to make a few notes. The responses in this survey were all text responses – I read through each one individually. The strength of text responses (as opposed to multiple choice) is that it allows the respondent to fully express themselves, but the weakness is that some responses require interpretation. For instance, “I want to read more meaningful stories” is a bit vague. Does the respondent mean they want stories with deeper themes, messages that apply to where they are at in life, or messages that align with their worldview?

Theoretically, it could be any of these. In such cases, I have used the context, my knowledge of writing, and intuition to organize answers in what I believe is an appropriate manner, but there is always a slight possibility I have misrepresented the respondents’ intentions. Therefore, I believe what follows is an accurate representation of readers’ opinions, but it still should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Finally, I should note that the vast majority of respondents for this survey were conservative Christians (only two or so expressed clearly liberal views). At least half of the respondents were also young adults. Other than that, demographics are not possible to judge accurately. Those reading should keep in mind that some trends within the responses listed below would vary under a more mainstream readership.

Onward!

Question #1: What do you consider to be most wanting in adult literature?

Themes: (Listed in descending order of popularity. Themes corroborated by only two or three respondents have been kept or excluded as I saw fit. Sub-points contain quotes or themes that expand on the root theme. Some “gold nuggets” are mixed in with the themes section and can be identified by the quotation marks surrounding them.)

• “Cleanness” i.e. content that isn’t graphic or strongly immoral.

• “A decent balance between mature content and a good moral standard.”
• On top of being clean, it should be clean without being Amish.
• Wholesome humor.

• Moral absolutes/biblical values. (For most respondents, I think they’re just sick of moral relativism, but a few want consistently strong role models as well.)
• Thematic depth.

• Books with strong plots often have shallow themes, while books with deep themes often have shallow plots.
• “Fiction that connects with the real-life struggles of average people.”

• Complex/engaging plots.
• Romance generally in line with biblical standards/realistic romance.

• “Non-romantic historical fiction.”
• Examples of God-honoring marriages.

• Deep, rich characters.
• Books that do not contain romance. (A general theme which was hard to track, but repeated several times was less romance and more action and mystery.)
• “Positivity. I’ve read too much adult literature about people wanting to escape from their mediocre, horrible lives, that it’s just not fun to read anymore.” Also: “Fun and happy stories.”

• “A message of hope to go with the realism that is conveyed, or conversely, realism to go with the constant happiness portrayed.”
• “Warmth.”

• Mystery (often paired with adventure when mentioned).
• Healthy friendships.
• The gospel, God, and God’s saving grace.
• Good role models.
• “Clean fiction that includes controversial issues. (i.e. how Christians should treat the LGBTQ community, sex/rape, split homes, etc.)”
• Relatable characters. (This includes characters not being too fantastic or perfect, and deal with relatable issues that aren’t often addressed in fiction.)
• Christian fiction that isn’t preachy.
• Real-life situations.

 

Gold nuggets:

• “A sense of hope, wonder, and joy in simple, ‘childish things’.”
• “Adult literature can be serious to a degree that it’s unrealistic.”
• “Writing style. Too often, it feels like a third draft instead of a final draft.”
• “More fantasy set in locations other than knock-off Middle Earth, ha-ha.”
• “Realistic female protagonists.”
• “Books that will turn into legitimate classics (Like Les Misérables, War and Peace, etc.)”
• “Accurate portrayal of a vibrant Christian life in a natural, appealing manner.” Also: “Realistic spiritual struggles/lives.”

Question #2: What do you consider to be most wanting in young adult literature?

Before we get to the themes and gold nuggets, I wanted to make some quick observations. The tone in this section was noticeably different than in the comments on adult literature.

The respondents seemed to blossom here because most of them are young and YA is their home ground. I believe that to some degree, commentary on adult literature was just an expression of disgruntlement against bad literature in general whereas answers on the YA genre seemed more optimistic in a subtle way, as if problems existed, but they must be overcome. I believe the general tone of this section would be “annoyance”. Respondents weren’t as cynical as they were with adult literature, but instead were generally annoyed as if they expected rich, semi-sweet, artisan chocolate with nut bits in it, but instead got a dirt-cheap milk chocolate bar with an unpleasant aftertaste.

I believe the core complaints for YA are very telling. In one sentence, YA readers don’t feel like the genre speaks to them. How abominable! They feel like authors give them cheap recycled plots because they’re young. On top of this, they’re trying to figure out how to handle romance and relationships in general and they’re being fed unrealistic, immoral, or simplistic clichés. In some instances, this seems to lead to a cynicism toward romance in general.

What YA readers really want are stories about people just like them who struggle with basic stuff like getting a job, time management, and maintaining good family relationships.

Themes:

• Deep themes

• Radical stories that show a new way of looking at life. YA is too generic.
• “Deep, thought-provoking, challenging books.”
• “Hopeful and truthful themes, as opposed to wish-fulfilling cliché tropes meant to make the hero look cool and ‘gritty’… Realistic consequences, but also heroes. Not just anti-heroes, but real, solid heroes. I want to see goodness and truth and growth and depth.”
• “Fiction that contains hard-hitting biblical truths. Too much YA fiction is written merely for the purpose of entertaining youths, making them sigh with pleasure by the end of the book. Even more unfortunate, much of what is labeled Christian fiction is merely a nice story with a few morals sprinkled in to pacify our consciences. What I want is Christian fiction that explicitly communicates solid biblical truths in an engaging way.”
• Bold, countercultural themes.
• “Content that is substantial, meaningful, and answers the deep questions of life that young adults are searching for.” Also: “Age-appropriate handling of difficult moral/ethical situations that encourages young adults to consider tough choices.” And: “What young adults go through (love, jobs, craziness with life).”

• Wholesome relationships (especially, but not solely, boy/girl relationships–both sexual and platonic.)

• “Stories for teen and youth that portray a realistic look at relationships (romantic or not) and show their hardships and challenges rather than a strong focus on how people look and happily-ever-after.”
• YA needs to stop with love triangles.

• “Cleanness” i.e. content that isn’t graphic or strongly immoral.
• Moral absolutes/biblical values.

• Morality taught in non-preachy ways.

• Originality.

• “YA needs some originality, and more focus on a great novel and less on a bestselling franchise. The main characters of YA are generally strong, although they all kind of blur into each other- they’re entertaining but don’t stand out. The side characters are generally very flat feeling, without much focus. The idea of the ‘series’ seems to have too much precedence, where the books are fairly short and there’s five of them. A single, thoughtful, and well-fleshed out YA novel with new ideas and not trying to sell you on a whole series with a recycled cast and plot, would be great.”

• Strong family relationships.

• Wise adults (in YA, adults/parents are too often the bad guys/idiots).
• “Young adult literature lacks healthy parent-child relationships, healthy interactions with people outside of the young adult age group itself, and showing elementary-age kids to be the actual intelligence level they are.”

• Less romance.
• Relatable/realistic characters.
• Compelling plots.
• Good descriptions/literary quality/vocabulary.

• “Mature writing that doesn’t write down to commonly used language, but focuses on raising the bar to reflect higher-level thinking and behavior.”
• “Showing” as opposed to “telling” (conformity to the show-don’t-tell rule).
• Deep characters.
• Good role models.
• Realism.
• (Some made complaints against fantasy, I believe as a form of escapism.)
• More historical fiction.
• Hope.
• Stories where God is obviously present.
• More disabled characters (realistically displayed) and more diverse people/beliefs/ages.
• Characters who aren’t always moody.

Gold nuggets:

• “Multi-character stories, like Charles Dickens; because it shows how one person’s choice affects others and the world doesn’t revolve around just one main character.”
• “Stories that show teens can make a big difference” (Presumably, what is meant is a meaningful impact on other people which moves culture toward a higher moral standard, not just overthrowing the evil dictatorship.)
• “Books with characters that inspire young people to work hard for what they want out of life and to let them know that it’s not going to be easy or come quickly, but it’s totally worth it in the end.”
• “Books with a Christian message that isn’t the ‘prosperity gospel’ in disguise.”
• “No more misunderstood protagonists!”
• “Pulling out the emotion and depth in everyday lives.”
• “Heroines that aren’t so hardened and ‘manly’.”

Question #3: What do you consider to be most wanting in children’s literature?

Before we get to the themes and gold nuggets, I wanted to make a quick note. One peculiar oddity about the feedback for this section is that some respondents thought children’s literature was too basic, while some thought it was too complex. Likely this is due to equivocation on the term “children’s literature”. A ten-year-old will desire vastly different books than a three-year-old. Answers for this section are really for both children’s and juvenile fiction. The following should be considered with this in mind.

Themes:

• Biblical themes or some sort of useful lesson. (A general theme in many of these comments is that kids can comprehend more than they’re given credit for.)

• This done entertainingly/not preachily.
• “There should be no vagueness of virtue in children’s literature. Being young, they must be taught exactly what is right and wrong. Granted, Truth is not simple, but there are stages of development.”
• Deep themes.
• “Themes that are important in adult life – instead of letting children just dream about princesses and knights, give them an example of and a chance to do something worthy of the princess.”
• The gospel.

• Better developed plots/more tension.

• Some children’s books think they can get away with plot holes since they’re writing to kids.

• Action/adventure.
• Mystery.
• Strong adult figures/good family relationships.
• Good prose/vocabulary.

• More/better description.
• Show, don’t tell.

• Funny stories.
• “Books that ignite wonder and discovery.”
• “Children’s literature ‘writes down’ to kids, but it shouldn’t.”
• “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” -C.S. Lewis (Quoted or otherwise affirmed by respondents.)
• Deep characters.

• Evolving relationships.

• Originality/not cliché.
• Reality/real circumstances/real consequences.
• Character (as in good character) (Note: I think many who answered this or ‘biblical themes or some sort of useful lesson’ subconsciously meant both, though they only said one.)
• Heroes kids can look up to.
• Children’s books are agenda driven these days.
• Happy endings.
• Stories that exercise the mind.
• More genres:

• Fantasy (one person also said less fantasy).
• Simplicity.
• Children’s books have too much foolishness and not enough realistic consequences for actions.
• “Easily understood analogies of the Christian life and God.”
• “Books that are written with a protagonist who acts like they are thirteen or fourteen. Too many books have protagonists who act and fall in love like teenagers but are labeled like thirteen. There needs to be more realism where ages are concerned and what a thirteen-year-old is realistically capable of doing.”

Gold nuggets:

• Mature subjects, simplified for understanding.
• “Historical fiction that doesn’t feel ‘educational’”
• “Books explaining hard concepts to children which they ask questions about but adults find hard to answer.”
• “Personally I would appreciate more of the simpler, Winnie-the-Pooh-type stories. There are no antagonists, no having to be something extraordinary, just a bunch of simple yet thought-provoking stories.”
• “Stories that inspire selflessness, diligence, optimism, and kindness. On another note, considering the fact that many children consider reading to be a chore, more suspenseful chapter endings may be helpful. Also, for any Christian writers out there, books that introduce the concept of salvation – even if it is subtle (i.e. Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia).”
• “Most middle-grade books are geared towards relating to kids a little too much. With split parents, school issues, etc. I think we just need good, clean stories. However, I think that most middle-grade books are pretty good, and capture emotion better than most YA books I’ve read!”
• “Children’s literature is honestly usually the best lit out there.”
• “A good children’s book or picture book is one of the greatest things in the world. There are plenty of cute, shallow, entertaining books for children. We need books that are worth re-reading and give the children something that they can take away after reading them.”
• “I love children books! Especially ones written by older authors. Even as an adult I often prefer children’s books to young adult and adult books because of the depth of their characters.”
• “Lovely stories. My favorite books as a kid included Beatrix Potter stories, Winnie the Pooh, books with gorgeous illustrations, and things like the Arabian knights, and Narnia. Stories that made me feel wonder were the best. I never wanted a super simplistic book filled with a predictable story. I wanted quality. Obviously as a kid I couldn’t really say what I wanted exactly, but looking back, I know I wanted quality, wonder-filled stories.” (emphasis added)
• “I read a lot of kid’s books to my little sister who is very logically minded. Whereas I love fanciful, imaginative stuff, she doesn’t, and I think it would be nice for her to have more science/math type books that she can really mentally grasp.”
• “Curiosity of learning new things.”
• “Material that fosters imagination.”
• “Innocence.”
• “Good conflict – unless you’re writing to teach kids to read you MUST HAVE CONFLICT. Not just silly ‘everything becomes perfect in three pages conflict’ either. Look at Grimm’s fairy tales. I’m not saying children books need more cannibalism, but they have great conflict and good lessons too.”

 

Question #4: Think back to a book that never managed to engage you emotionally. It could also be a book that started off great but then lost your interest. What do you think kept that book from engaging you?

 

Themes: (not necessarily listed in any order of popularity)

• Characters.

• Lack of clear emotional goals and drives for the characters.
• Flat characters.
• The characters weren’t relatable (often because they were too perfect).
• The characters lack emotions.
• Too stereotypical.
• Lack of growth/development, or conversely unrealistic growth.
• The characters were total jerks and impossible to care about.

• Lack of action.

• Too much backstory or historical explanation.
• Not enough conflict or suspense/nothing really happening.
• Issues of immoral content.
• Boring dialogue.
• Bland character/narrating voice(s).
• Unnecessary, poor, or excessive descriptions with too many big words.
• Telling rather than showing.
• A slow beginning.
• A lack of realism.
• Inaccuracies.
• Preachiness.
• Flat or unrelatable story worlds.
• Didn’t fulfill on their foreshadowing.
• Too many point-of-view changes.
• Writing style was too simple.
• Sloppy or overly simple/cliché plot.

Gold nuggets:

• “Books with unrelatable characters of course do this, but it’d be hard to say what exactly about them was unrelatable, except that they didn’t seem to have yearnings and weaknesses that felt solid. Also, books that seem to promise something and then don’t deliver, tend to lose my interest.” (Note: this is the best succinct explanation on why some characters are unrelatable I have ever heard.)
• “A false title – it gave the impression of excitement and a specific tumultuous event, and as I read, the suspense continued to grow as I waited for it to happen – and then it never did, leaving me quite disappointed.”
• “The characters act irresponsible, lovesick, or inactive.”
• “I think it was how the author wrote. I don’t think the author wrote the characters like they were real people.”
• “The characters didn’t have realistic struggles. Or if they did, they didn’t express them in a way that drew me into their shoes.” (emphasis added)
• “There weren’t any meaningful relationships/friendships between any of the main characters.”
• “Slow-ish pacing, maybe lack of meaningful action? There was action, it just wasn’t done in an appealing manner, nor did it have explicit meaning in the story other than to set the charries [sic] back on their quest.”
• “I also enjoy stories that clearly set things up at the beginning of the story. I don’t need spoilers or intense foreshadowing, but the protagonist’s clear goal and mission. Plot twists are fun, but I don’t like to be clueless as to where I’m going. Part of what helps me get committed to the character is when I’m aware of what he/she wants or is planning.” (emphasis added)
• “Possibly the lack of a positive story goal; it seems like there’s a lot of things to root against in the book I’m thinking of, but nothing to look forward to even if the hero wins.”
• “The rules of the world becoming too ‘form on demand’ and not staying consistent with themselves.”
• “The protagonist being dragged along by the plot, rather than the one who leads the story and makes decisions for himself/herself.”
• “It was the lack of meaning. It had no meaning – it never made me look at the world differently… It was void of what is really the meaning of existence, and it was also void of passion. The writer had no passion or enjoyment in the subject they were writing on.”

Question #5: What is the single deepest, most life-changing, or most inspiring novel you have ever read?

Note: The purpose of this section is to give authors reading material to study and emulate.

Common repeats (*indicates a decent number of repeats, **indicates numerous repeats)

• Les Misérables**
• The Wingfeather Saga series (especially The Warden and the Wolf King and The Monster in the Hollows).**
• The Book Thief**
• Stepping Heavenward**
• The Lord of the Rings**
• The Chronicles of Narnia**
• The Hunger Games*
• Books by Francine Rivers*
• Books by Chuck Black
• Books by Bryan Davis
• Pilgrim’s Progress
• Ishmael
• The Stormlight Archives (series)
• Harry Potter
• Crime and Punishment
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• This Present Darkness
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Ben-Hur
• The Baker Family Adventure Books
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Question #6: Now that you’ve shared the most inspiring novel you’ve ever read, what about it made it so inspiring?

This section was highly encouraging to me. Everyone’s responses showed me that books do change lives. A few shared specifically how they were changed and many, many of the respondents were clearly inspired, encouraged, or challenged by their favorite book. Their testimonies were moving.

Themes: (not necessarily listed in any order of popularity)

• The depth of human experience.
• Thematic breadth.
• Vivid characters.
• Characters who were inspiring in their example.
• Well done allegory.
• Characters with deep, hard to overcome challenges.
• Character struggles that were personal to the reader.
• Depth of emotion.
• Themes that were lofty and inspiring.
• Open-mindedness – the story looked at issues from many angles.
• Plots (and especially endings) that evolved from what they first appeared they would be into something even better.
• Symbolism.
• Excellent writing style.
• It showed what life is like for other types of people. It promoted empathy.

Gold Nuggets:

• “The willingness to dig into deep emotion, both sad and positive.”
• In reference to The Wingfeather Saga: “While I was reading the part where Janner realizes he’s selfish, I realized that I’m selfish too, and it inspired me to change that and become more selfless.”
• “It had a beautiful mixture of joy and sorrow, of victory and loss.”
• “I think the depth, the complexity, and the truth of it. It makes you think, makes you feel and care for each and every one of the characters; there’s so much symbolism and theme. No matter how many times it’s read, there’s always something new.”
• “When the character has issues that most people suffer from (e.g. feeling stupid, having a crush, not understanding what anyone else is saying, bad memory, etc…)”
• “It took the struggle that I was facing and put it in a different light. It clearly analyzed each possible outcome, the choices that were required, the costs, the benefits, and how to find the wisdom and strength to conquer the difficulty I was facing.”
• “Almost every single page had something on it that dealt with an issue I was struggling with. The character was so real to me, I had to finish the book, and then re-read it to see how the character dealt with her issues, and it gave me hope that I might conquer them too.”
• “The emotional plot line made a huge impact on me because it was a story about a friendship, where the ENTIRE story circulates around the characters. The character doesn’t influence the story, he IS the story.”
• “The Lord of the Rings was the epitome of everything I had ever wanted in a story. I know it sounds weird, but it felt like I had finally found the story I had always been looking for but that I had given up on finding. It felt like this story had been written just for me… I don’t know that there’s one thing I can say that encapsulates why I was wonderstruck by the story. Maybe the biggest thing was that it was a story which someone had poured their soul into. Middle Earth felt alive to me. It was SO rich and full and the attention to detail was amazing. It felt like it had been written so that a story was chronicled, not so that it could teach a lesson or make a statement. It felt like a loved story.”
• “Any novel that inspires me is going to be one that challenges my views without being pushy about it – one that doesn’t necessarily oppose my views, but basically asks a question I don’t know how to answer.”

That’s all for now, folks. Your job from here is to go out and use these answers as inspiration to write better stories. When answers disagree, keep in mind that it’s rarely an “either or” issue. Often, both sides of a debate have some truth to offer.

Keep a look out for Part Two!