A Pitfall of Self-Publishing: Why Character Development Matters

     I read a lot, and since around 2014 the majority of what I've read has been in Ebook form. The great thing about the explosion of Ebooks and other forms of digital publication is that it's made getting your work seen a lot more accessible to writers. There are a number of authors who self-publish whose work I actively anticipate. In fact, I would say my current favorites publish this way. 

    However, I do think one problem that isn't properly recognized about self-publishing is that you don't always get as many eyes on your work in the early stages, which can lead to pitfalls like pattern writing. What do I mean by that? Well, I have examples. 

    There are two different writer's who've done fairytale retellings, which is a genre I really enjoy, particularly if they're doing one of the lesser known fairytales. After I read the first book by each of the authors, I quickly purchased their next one... and it was basically the exact same plot line both times.

    Author One had a down on her luck female run into the middling male lead and they somehow fall into each other's company despite the girl's disinterest in the guy (he was definitely interested). She's attracted to the classically handsome other guy. They go through mortal peril, the classically handsome guy dies violently. Middling man has some skill that saves the girl and the day, and then they fall in love. The end. Honestly, it's been years since I read these, but the main plot point I distinctly remember was the classically handsome guy that the girl was initially interested in dies a gruesome death in both of the stories I read, and that overarchingly after reading both stories consecutively, they were pretty much identical in terms of major plot points. It was disappointing. 

    The second author did a slightly better job. Her fairytale retellings had powerful female leads who found themselves in precarious circumstances at the beginning of each story. They quickly meet the first and second male leads, the first of which they have chemistry with, but also a lot of frustration. The second is more charismatic and easier to be around. Various things happen. The second male lead is actually evil and betrays both the female lead and the first male lead. They have a big show down with the main villain (the second male lead is little more than a henchman), and then they end up going their separate ways due to things said way earlier in their relationship that neither party bothers to clarify further down the line. They're then reunited in dramatic fashion at the very end and profess their love for each other, etc. 

    There were a couple of big differences in these stories: one featured an arranged marriage at the beginning, and both had differing causes of tension between the female and male love interests. However, again, the general structure of the stories were annoyingly similar. In both cases, it made me completely stop reading the author's work, which is not really fair of me. They probably have evolved as writers. But am I likely to ever take the time to check? No. There are plenty of stories to read with significantly less chance of such aggravation. 

    Now I recognize that any writer is going to have threads of commonality running through their various works. They are one person whose own life experiences and interests are going to color their works more than they probably anticipate. Additionally, if they're consistently writing in the same genre, or if the length of their works is similar, there are only so many different plot points you can come up with. 

    So, how do most writers avoid the above mentioned pitfall? They make their characters real enough that even if their circumstances are similar, their responses are different. They also flush out side characters enough that their relationship dynamic and even just their presence adds variance to the main character's experiences. 

    One of my current favorite authors has been on a hardcore streak of writing urban fantasy trilogies the last few years, and she does a phenomenal job with this, despite all the storylines have some similar plot points. Book One always ends with some sort of realization about either the female lead's abilities or the dynamic between the main female and male character; frequently it has both. Book Two usually includes the female expanding her training and attempting to find some certainty in the upheaval of her existence. It also usually includes an increase in the chemistry between the two lead characters. The second book also usually ends with the two going their separate ways, even if only briefly. Sometimes it's a one sided attempt to protect the other, or because they are forced into a situation where staying would require sacrificing something they're determined to protect. Book Three has the female character finally beginning to come into her own. Eventually the two reunite, although the point at which this occurs varies quite a bit. 

    The male lead is usually the one who has fully realized his feelings first, and starts to seriously pursue the main female character, although in two of the five trilogies that have thus far been released, the male lead struggles with feeling undeserving due to his bloodstained past and does not begin a romantic pursuit despite realizing his feelings. Eventually they conquer their enemies together and declare their mutual feelings. All of the stories take place in the same world, and most in the same city, so you get to see fun little cameos of the different characters in other stories and there are even a few interconnected side characters that feature in all or almost all of the books. 

    All that to say, you can have a lot of similar plot points in your stories, you just have to make you characters into distinct people and let them drive the plot forward instead of becoming a puppet master in the frame work of your plot. In stories, just like in life, constant victims of circumstance are not enjoyable to spend your free time with, and writers should make sure to keep that in mind. Also, if your love interests can't manage basic communication in the early stages of their relationship, how the heck are they going to deal with anything remotely complicated later on? But that is a rant for another time.