The Drafts Folder: My List of Book Don’ts

Since I only do my Impressions post every other Wednesday, I thought I’d keep things interesting and dig into my drafts and random blog titles I’ve found written in my planner over the past couple of years. There are a lot of them, and I don’t even know what some of them were supposed to be about, so they’ll be alternating with the Impressions post until I’ve finished amusing myself with them. And maybe you, if I’m lucky.

I…don’t even know what this was supposed to mean. Unfortunately, I also have zero context for this as well. It’s just on a sticky on a non-calendar page for 2021.

Is this supposed to be a list of things to not do to my books? Or maybe it’s things I don’t think should be in books or that books shouldn’t do? Or could it be a list of books not to read? Honestly, nothing at all is coming to mind. So I guess I’ll cobble something together and maybe we’ll have a laugh together at the end of this.

Okay…list of book don’ts.

Don’t break the spine

My mom found this one out the hard way. Actually, so did I. My mom and I didn’t normally swap books, but, when I was in high school, she saw something on my shelf that caught her eye, so of course I lent it to her. Until then, my books remained solidly in my hands and I very lovingly preserved them and tried to keep them looking the way they did when I got them. When my mom finished the book, I noticed the spine had a noticeable crease I hadn’t put there and I, uh, went a little ballistic. In my defense, I was a teen at that time. Anyways, that was when my mom and I both realized broken spines were a complete no for me.

Don’t provide a misleading description

Oh, I hate this with a passion! Especially when it comes to NetGalley, it’s just not really possible to get a sneak peek at the content of a book. I hate relying on the description to decide if I want to read a book or not. I’m glad I’ve only been misled by a description/wrong marketing maybe a handful or so times, but, seriously, it makes me wonder if I and the person who wrote it even read the same book. Hmph, marketing ploys. I despise them with a passion.

Don’t publish early drafts

This is directed to self-publishing authors. I get the thrill that new authors have, the one where they know they’ve written a novel and they think it’s awesome, so everyone else is going to think it’s awesome. So they got ahead and lightly edit it before publishing. It’s so easy to see these books, usually from page 1. They make me cringe. Writing and editing are arts and not to be rushed, and why should I pay 99 cents for a barely looked over book if I can get a quality edited one for the same amount or just a dollar more?

And, um, yeah, that’s all I can come up with. What are some of your book don’ts (whatever that’s supposed to mean)?

This blog is my home base, but you can also find me on:

Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook