Book Clubs —The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

By Kathleen Ernst


I’ve visited a handful of book groups since my first Chloe Ellefson mystery came out two years ago, and usually have a good time.  I’ve participated in some lively discussions with readers who held a variety of opinions about my work.  That’s what makes book groups interesting, right?  If everyone agreed about every aspect of a novel…well, yawn.

But "lively" can go wrong.  A group once invited me to join their discussion of one of my titles.  Almost everyone told me they liked the book.  If they had questions to raise, they did so graciously.

Then I got clobbered.

A couple of people were not so gracious.  One man summarized his thoughts:  “Your book was nothing but empty words on paper.”  (Yes, that’s an exact quote.)

In fairness, I know it’s a tricky thing to invite an author to attend a book club.  People in these groups are used to having honest discussions about their reactions to a book.  I know in my own book group, we don’t hesitate to be blunt about aspects of any work that we don’t care for.

So is it reasonable to expect a group to automatically know how to switch gears?  How to leap into a discussion in a totally new way on those rare occasions when the author is present?

Honestly, I think that’s a lot to ask.

So I’d like to respectfully suggest a few pointers for anyone considering inviting an author to attend a book group’s discussion of her work:

1.  Even if your group usually proceeds in free-for-all fashion, determine a moderator in advance—someone who can step in if the conversation goes off-track.

2.  Start the conversation by providing the author with positive feedback.  And if you can, be specific.  Did you like the pacing, the depth of characterization, the language?  Let the author know.  It will mean a lot.

3.  When you raise a point about something that did not work well for you, try to phrase it as a question.  “What your character did in chapter four makes no sense” doesn’t leave any room for discussion.  “Why did your character make the choices she did in chapter four?” does.  I’ve facilitated a whole lot of book discussions, and I promise that this suggestion alone will make an enormous difference in the tone of the conversation.

4.  Give the author a chance to respond.  When a reader poses an unexpected question for me, I sometimes need a moment to collect my thoughts.  Don’t arrive with a written list of criticisms in hand and rattle through them at machine-gun speed.

5.  As with positive feedback, be specific.  Vague statements like that “empty words on paper” line aren’t helpful in any way.

6.  End on a positive note.  Circle back to things the group liked about the book.  Give the author a chance to share whatever visuals or other goodies she might have brought.  Express appreciation for the author’s time.

So, what am I missing?  What suggestions for book group members would you add to my list?  How about suggestions for the visiting author?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Feedback

by Kathleen Ernst

We writers get a lot of feedback. In the course of publishing a book we may hear from critique groups, trusted first readers, content specialists, agents, editors, reviewers.

Sometimes an email pops up from a reader I’ve never met, which is always a wonderful surprise. What I’ve come to treasure are the opportunities to have an actual conversation with people who have read one of my books.

I’ve visited several book clubs since Old World Murder came out last fall. I love to share some behind-the-scenes stories about how the book came to be, but I also try to leave lots of room for open discussion.

Sometimes people mention some little something that I would never have guessed would resonate in a particular way. Sometimes a reader asks a question that helps me think more about what to reveal within the pages of a mystery, and how to reveal it.

And sometimes it becomes clear that one or more readers interpreted a scene or event entirely differently than I’d intended. It’s fascinating to listen to the conversation as each group member explains what they believe happened. My thoughts may range from Really? to That’s exactly what I meant! Some comments are validating, a few may be surprising, all are interesting.

The most surprising comment I’ve heard about Old World Murder came from a person who thinks that Ethan, protagonist Chloe’s best friend, is angry with her at the end of their final conversation. Not my intention! And, from what I can tell, not what most readers took from the scene. I’ll take a careful look at their first conversation in the next book.

Have you ever read a book, and learned later that others interpreted a key conversation or action completely differently? Writers, have you ever been surprised by something a reader interprets in an unexpected way?

Review copies of The Heirloom Murders, Book 2 in the Chloe Ellefson series, are going out this week. I will be waiting to hear what reviewers, and especially readers, think of this one.

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