The topic I started with originally was "Easy to read books are the toughest to write". Never having written a tough-to-read book myself, I didn't feel up to making comparisons, and decided to stick with the challenges involved in writing a quick-read book.
Most easy-to-read books fall into a genre - thrillers/ romance/ detective fiction/ chick-lit. Authors may argue with the labels all they want but they're stuck with them. And once you're slotted into a genre, there are expectations that readers have from a book. Obvious ones like not being allowed to kill off the hero in a romance novel, or have the heroine run away with a policeman. Also not so obvious ones, like not making a character's life and motivations too complicated. Being realistic without being too grim. Not encroaching into another genre.
Then there's the writing style itself. While most writers of popular fiction have a light style, there is the always the temptation to show people that you can manage something a lot more 'literary' if you want to. I honestly don't think that writing needs to be 'heavy' to have literary merit - similarly, the chances of a book winning the Booker do not increase exponentially with the number long words and complicated plotlines. What distinguishes popular fiction from other types of fiction is that it caters to a specific audience, and is written keeping that audience in mind. It’s not the same as a book that 'comes from within', and is the creative outpouring of a literary mind, with no thought to 'who's going to read this' or 'how many copies will I sell'.
"How many copies will I sell' is a pretty big thing for a popular fiction writer, and other than the writing itself, there's a lot that goes into making the book a success. But it still starts with the writing - no amount of PR or trade discounts will help a book that doesn't have intrinsic merit. Also, catering for a specific audience isn't as simple as waking up in the morning and deciding "Oh, books on Indian mythology sell well, I should write one immediately".
When I write, I usually have a few typical readers in mind, and I keep stopping to ask myself the question 'Would so-and-so like this?' Or "Is this section dragging - should I delete it?" Also, because my books sell in countries other than India, "Will this make sense to a non-Indian reader?" Editing is crucial - often my editor will spot something that hasn't occurred to me.
Making characters realistic yet appealing is another challenge. The perfect hero of a romance novel is an incredibly hot alpha male who in addition to being tall, dark, handsome, sexy and rich, also needs to be capable of deep emotion and understanding. It’s a bit of a tall order for the average male. For the character to be believable, he needs to have flaws that make him seem more human but don’t detract from his overall appeal – if possible, they should add it to it! So he can be reserved but not arrogant; impulsive but not immature; hot-tempered but not violent. Endowing him with a sense of humour helps! Similarly, the heroine can’t be seen telling lies or being overly insecure or whining about her lot in life. If a reader stops sympathizing and identifying with the protagonist, the book loses its charm.
The last thing about writing popular fiction is the sheer volume that most authors of popular fiction churn out. To retain reader interest, it’s important to keep up a steady stream of books in their favourite genre. Switching genres, or having a big gap between two books doesn’t work very well, because you need to build up your readership all over again.
Having said all of this, there is something singularly satisfying in writing the kind of book that a reader looks forward to reading after a long and tiring day. So while easy-to-read books might be tough to write, they bring a little more zing into both the author’s and the reader’s life.
Happy reading – and writing!