HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLING THRILLER NOVEL?

Introduction

The thriller novel is one of the most exciting and dynamic genres available to novelists. They are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings, and cliffhangers are used extensively. Everything in a thriller is designed to create this feeling of heart-pounding, white-knuckle suspense.

What Makes a Good Thriller Novel?

There are elements to bestselling thrillers that can help your readers stay on the edges of their seats.

A Clear Threat

Any successful thriller has a clear and imposing threat. The form of that threat can determine which of the many thriller sub-genres your story falls in.

High stakes

There are many different techniques to raise the stakes in your thriller. Piling one problem on top of the other and putting your characters in seemingly unsolvable predicaments is one way to raise the stakes. Additionally, placing a time limit on when your character must solve the problem they are facing works well.

Twists

Most good thrillers have a storyline that is full of cliffhangers and plot twists. Subverting your audience’s expectations and throwing unpredictable roadblocks in your protagonist’s path will produce a great page-turning thriller.

Dynamic and Complex characters

As a writer, it’s your job to fully flesh out a character and brainstorm their backstory and point of view. The thriller hero needs to struggle with issues inside as well as outside. He’s got to be a carrier of flaws as well as virtues. Give each character a point of potential conflict with your hero as well as with the other characters—especially those who are allies.

Memorable Locations

A clear and detailed location is an essential part of writing a good thriller. Your readers should feel as if your characters are inhabiting a rich and detailed world; they should be able to picture the physical environment in which your action unfolds.

Action

The action doesn’t necessarily have to mean violence or pyrotechnics. The important thing is to keep your storyline moving and include dynamic action as you start writing the first page up until the end.

Confrontation

This is where the hero and antagonist battle over the high stakes a thriller demands.

Communication

The first thrillers carried a message and helped bring a local community together. Readers still seek that kind of story.

Multiple Points of View Can Give You a Great Range in a Thriller

They allow you inside the heads of many characters, which can build more dramatic tension and irony.

Make Your Characters Miserable

Give them grief, false hope, heartaches, anxiety, and near-death experiences. We don’t want our protagonist to win until the end.

Your Main Characters Have to Change

It has to be an emotional change that shows growth and victory over some of his baggage.

Pacing Must be High

Each scene should reveal something new, no matter how slight it is. Short paragraphs and white space are good. Consider using cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, albeit a sudden surprise or provocative announcement.

Show—Don’t Tell

Avoid the passive voice. Use action verbs. Avoid adverbs—they are cheesy and cheap ways of telling instead of showing. Don’t start sentences with –ing words. Make the subject and verb close and upfront in the sentence.

How Do You Structure a Thriller?

There’s no fool-proof way of writing a successful thriller but there are ways to ensure that your novel ticks all the right boxes.

1. Flesh Out Your Characters and their Motivations

Characters in thrillers are usually complex. The good guy might not be the model citizen, and the bad guy may have a justification and conviction for everything they do — at least in their mind. The rivalries between these opposing forces are what will give rise to the action that will propel your story forward.

2. Start with Action

The opening scene is a pivotal moment in any book. In thrillers, it’s especially important because you need to start with action from the get-go. Oftentimes starting in media res is a good way to accomplish this. You need to start with something exciting that sets the protagonist in motion.

3. Show What’s at Stake

High stakes are characteristic of thrillers, but the particulars change depending on the subgenre.

4. Bring on The Twists

As we have established, thrillers are mainly propelled by plot events, and the best way to keep readers engaged in the plot is by introducing twists and unexpected events.

5. Build Up to The Climax

The climax is a pivotal scene in your book, so make sure you dedicate time to polishing it. In particular, it may be helpful to write the climax first so that you already know where your characters need to end up.

6. Give Your Story a Satisfying Ending

A satisfying ending isn’t necessarily a “happily ever after.” Keep in mind the kind of story you’ve been telling so far and make sure the ending fits well. It’s always necessary to wrap up the current action so that there’s a sense of satisfaction at the end of the book.

To write your unstoppable thriller, don’t forget to create that action-driven tension, conflict, and suspense. Turn everything upside down — for the protagonist and the reader — with every turn and twist.

What are the Elements of Suspense?

Building suspense is impossible without an understanding of its elements. The list of ways to create suspense can grow the longer we think about it.

1. Strong Characters

Your story needs a likable main character, a compelling villain, and a supporting cast. Each one has a role to play in either the conflict or its resolution (or both).

2. Conflict or Dilemma

No one wants to read about characters who want something and end up getting it because nothing stands in their way. It only gets interesting when they have to overcome some challenge to get to or accomplish the thing they want.

3. Pacing

To maintain a brisk enough pace to hold your reader’s attention, keep the story moving with short-term suspense and sentences that reveal necessary information without drowning it in nonessential details.

4. Red Herrings and Rabbit Holes

Also essential to building suspense is knowing how much information to withhold from the reader — and how you can use red herrings to trick them into focusing on the wrong suspect. Both withholding and bread-crumbing information can lead your reader down a rabbit hole and keep them guessing about the central mystery or the looming threat.

5. Atmosphere

The setting is one of your most important characters. And sticking to essential details is as essential to your story’s intrigue as it is to its pace. Think of those details as atmospheric dialogue. Give your reader the details that mean something and add to the story.

6. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is hinting at what’s to come, whether you use atmospheric details, interesting turns of phrase, or events that relate to what’s coming. The purpose of foreshadowing is to get your reader thinking, “What could this mean?” and make them worry about your hero or about what could happen to them.

7. High Stakes

When writing suspense fiction, make sure your main character’s goals and reasons for achieving them are clear from the outset of the story. As your story progresses, the stakes should get higher to build the momentum and suspense of the story.

8. Put Time on Your Side

You can easily build up suspense and tension by putting time constraints on your characters; the suspense will naturally build and give your story momentum.

9. Pressure-Filled Situations

Create situations that put pressure on your hero. You must test your hero to the breaking point, but make sure your hero never breaks, no matter how stressful the situation is.

10. Unpredictability

Make your hero go through several unexpected events and have nothing be straight-forward; it adds a bit of intrigue and suspense to the story.

11. Intriguing Villains

In a suspense story, the villain is always present. Make sure this antagonist of your story is smart and motivated. Let the readers know and understand why the villain makes particular choices. Make the readers believe in and fear the villain, and make the villain a worthy opponent for the hero.

12. Provocative Heroes

The suspense hero must be believable and sympathetic. Also, take time to show your readers why they should care about the hero.

13. Use Parallel Plotlines

Using parallel plotlines is a great literary device for instantly building suspense. Your readers will be compelled to keep reading to find out how and why the two storylines connect.

Writing a suspense story does not need to be a daunting task. But, it does take a lot of forethought and planning.

How Do You End a Horror Story?

Everything Is Gone

At the end of this kind of horror story, everyone is dead, everything is destroyed, and there’s nothing left and no hope of anything ever rising from the ashes. Often this means good has won, and there’s no one left to fight but also nothing left to live for, though it can also mean that evil has won absolutely.

Good Conquers Evil… For Now

This is a classic. You’ve seen it before: the villain has been vanquished, dead and buried, and then the hand shoots out of the grave, or the prophecy promises the curse will return. This is a great way to go if you’re building a sequel or a series.

Hero Wins the Battle But Loses Something Else

The monsters have been quelled; the hero is victorious, everything on the surface is returning to normal. Except… something is wrong. Often this will come in the form of a post-trauma effect.

A Shred of Hope Remains

Here, everything is pretty bad – the villain might be dead or just about to be brought to justice, and everyone is broken. But there’s hope that maybe, somehow, something might be okay again, one day.

The Lesser Evil Remains

The hero has beaten the ultimate evil, and that part of the battle has been won. But, evil remains involving a secondary dimension of threat. This is often a great ending to craft a moral ambiguity, a discomfort that fits nicely into the unease inherent in the horror genre.

Whichever ending you choose for your horror story, the payoff only needs to do one thing – honor the genre.

How Do You Get Your Book Published?

The prospect of publishing a novel can be daunting. As the book publishing industry shifts toward digital publishing options in addition to traditional publishing, first-time novelists have increased opportunities to get published.

Methods for Self-Publishing a Novel

1.  Via print-on-demand: Perhaps the lowest risk publication method in the publishing world is print-on-demand, where copies of a book are only printed when someone orders one.

2. As an ebook: Issuing digital copies of a book on an on-demand basis is even easier, as it requires no paper and no printing apparatus.

3. Via self-printing: You can self-print books in advance of publication and hope they will sell later.

4. As an audiobook: Today’s audiences frequently consume novels as audiobooks. It requires a narrator, who may be called upon to record dozens of hours of prose narration.

Steps for Getting Your Book Published Traditionally

1. Edit and proofread: A bevy of typos will make you look unprofessional. Remember that you may only get one chance with a publisher or literary agent; make sure they are seeing the best work you have to offer.

2. Identify a target audience for your book: A writer’s market for publishing houses is determined by their book’s markets—the potential audience who would be interested in their book. Within the publishing industry, certain genres hold more appeal than others.

3. Identify potential agents: While having an agent doesn’t guarantee your book will find a publisher, it certainly helps.

4. Submit your book proposal: Most literary agents do not want you to send an entire novel as part of a cold call. Here are some things they likely will want: A query letter, a 1-2 page synopsis of the entire novel, and 1-5 sample chapters—these combined elements from your book proposal.

5. Submit directly to a publisher: If you don’t have an agent, you can sometimes submit directly to a publisher—just know your odds of acceptance are very slim.

Hopefully, this article gave you some ideas regarding thriller novels.

How to Publish Your Book!

We at Veronica Lane Books are always enthused to read fresh work from new writers. Our team of experts will guide you through the entire process and work alongside you to make your publishing dream come true. However, in this article, let’s discuss the best way to get your book published.

“You are now a published author!” Everyone who writes in any format has this ultimate dream of getting published. Getting your book published is serious and hard work. Ask yourself if you are really ready to put in the required time and effort.

The fear attached to going through the process of publishing is so much that for many of us it becomes a deterrent to even write. After all, what is the point of writing something if it is not going to see the light of the day?

Most of us have also heard stories of how manuscripts are thrown into the bin without even being opened. The idea of your painstakingly created work lying in some trash can somewhere send chills down your spine.

Well, we cannot let fear rule our lives and we definitely cannot allow scary publication procedures to stop us from exploring our creativity and giving words to our thoughts.

So today we are going to talk about things that you can do before and after writing your book that will make your pathway to publishing a little bit easier.

Let us first start with the things that you can keep in mind before starting to write.

There are always certain topics that are trending. Once you decide on the genre that you would like to write in, find out what is trending in that particular genre. It may help to have some elements in your novel that are currently in demand amongst readers. It not only increases the chances of someone taking an interest in publishing it but will also help in sales of the book.

Unless you are absolutely confident about your story, we would advise you to stay away from any controversial or politically charged items in your book. Publishers always tend to play safe and if this is your first rodeo as a writer, better stick to a good fictional story that doesn’t ruffle any feathers.

Having said this, we would still urge all aspiring writers out there to write first and worry about publishing later. There is a lot that you can do once you have your manuscript ready in hand.

Let us assume that you have a story that you want to tell the world and now you are looking for someone to publish it.

You must first understand the different types of publishing that exist and how each one works before you approach anyone with your work.

1. Traditional Publishing

Traditional Publishing is generally related to big and medium publishing houses. Here the publishing house signs a contract with the author after the agent has done all the preliminary work. This contract allows them to publish and sell your book through booksellers and retailers that they have tie-ups with.

Once a publishing house signs you, they take over the process of getting the book publication-ready. They may even suggest a few changes in the book, title, etc. to make it more saleable. They will also design a suitable cover page. Remember that at this point they are investing their money into your book as they see the potential in it. So they will do everything in their power to launch it the best way possible and generate interest through various ways in your book.

Once the book is published, you as the author will receive a certain percentage from the book sales as royalty. These details will be clarified in the initial contract that you sign.

You will also be asked if you are allowing them just print publishing and selling rights or even signing over screen adaptation rights.

It is very important to make sure that you go through each word in the contract and take your time in checking everything before you sign the contract.

Traditional publications don’t want to waste their time or money and will only consider books that they are 100% sure about. It is all about the sales figures and your book will solely be judged on its saleability. This makes it extremely difficult for a first-time author to get on their radar, as they literally have hundreds of manuscripts delivered to their office daily.

Traditional publications also have tie-ups with literary agents. They depend on these agents to recommend books to them. Hiring an agent is another option for someone who is looking at getting published traditionally. But it is costly and you have to be prepared to incur the expense involved. This is a good option if you have faith in your book and genuinely believe it has chances of doing well if published properly. As then you will have a person with connections in the publishing industry working on your behalf to make sure your book gets noticed.

2. Independent Publishing

Independent publishing or Indie Publishing is often confused with self-publishing. This is not the case and both are quite different from each other.

An independent (indie) publisher is defined as one that operates on its own, rather than as part of any large corporation or conglomerate. It’s as simple as that.

Most of these publishers are very open to working with first-time authors. They have their ear to the ground and look for new and interesting work to publish. Another advantage is that they will take a personal interest in your book and also guide you through the entire publishing process. With indie publishers, you may have to pay for certain services like editing, graphic design and cover and cover art. The best thing about working with an indie publisher is that you keep complete creative control of your book. The indies also get your book out to the market much faster than the bigger, traditional publishers, plus they find smaller, niche markets to sell in that do not attract the bigger publishers. You will also not make as much money as you make with a big publisher.

3. Self-Publishing

This is the easiest option available today which was not there for writers earlier. All you have to do is write, edit, publish, market, and sell your book. Sounds fun? Well, it’s definitely cool, to not just have your name as the author but also as a publisher in the book. But the entire process is easier said than done.

First let us talk about platforms like KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), Smashwords, and LuLu that offer services and tools to help you self-publish. These are platforms where you can publish your book for free and even earn royalties. But do keep in mind that these are online platforms and you will not be having any copy in the local bookstore.

The biggest advantage of self-publishing is that it is free and easy. But if you are not satisfied with just an online presence and actually want a book that you can sell then you can consider approaching various agencies that do self-publishing.

Before you start jumping with joy, let us inform you that these are paid services.

They have various packages that include services like editing, designing and marketing, number of printed copies and distribution.

Signing up with these agencies is fairly easy. They don’t have any approval process. They will print your book if you pay them. The obvious disadvantage is that you have to shell out a substantial amount of money to get published. And the amount keeps increasing if you go for the premium packages. Plus, these self-publishing companies are not really interested in marketing your book, as they receive all their earnings up front.

The Case for Independent Publishing

Before we go ahead, we would like to emphasize the fact that there are no absolute rights or wrongs when getting your book published. As a creator, you have to weigh the options that are available to you at the given point in time and select an option that you feel works best for your book.

Having said that we advise first-time authors to go for Independent Publishing, there are a few reasons for that.

1. You stand a better chance with them. You may try, but the chances of getting the attention of a major publisher, especially without hiring a literary agent is difficult.
2. They will be more involved with your book as they have fewer projects on hand.
3. They are easier to approach, friendly, and are always on the lookout for new authors to publish.
4. They have a loyal fan following who love and read all the books published by them.
5. Most independent publishers only agree to publish if they resonate with your book. This makes them emotionally invested in your project and they will do their best to promote it.

You may start with publishing a few stories online. Create a name and fan following and then move to an independent publisher who will do justice to your work.

Having said that, many first-time writers have struck gold with big publishers. Like we said, in the beginning, it is all about what you feel is right for you. So, if you have absolute confidence in your work, by all means, don’t be daunted. Keep pursuing the major publishers till you find success.

So, What Next?

We have given you all the information and the advantages and disadvantages of the three different types of publishing. Let us now move forward and discuss what you can do to get published with any of these.

There are a few things that are common no matter which way you go.

A clear demarcation of the genre your book belongs to.

Being ready with a proof-read manuscript. Nothing puts off a publisher as a glaring spelling or grammatical mistake.

Be ready with a gripping and impactful story synopsis and well-drafted letter. You will require both.

Traditional Publishers

1. Most big publishing houses cater to all types of genres so you don’t have to worry if they will cater to your book or not.
2. Do your research and find the emails of major publishers and their editors.
3. Arm yourself with patience. It will not happen overnight. You will have to face a lot of rejections. Sometimes just getting a publisher to read your work can take months or years.
4. Publishers receive scores of emails daily. Make sure your mail stands out.
5. Hire a professional editor if you can.
6. Hire a literary agent if you can afford one. This will increase your chances of acceptance.

Independent Publishers

1. Most of them cater to certain genres or certain types of books. Do your research and find out ones who have published books similar to yours in the past.
2. They may be more approachable than big publishers, but will not just meet anyone. Try and build a connection before you approach them.
3. You can still find an agent. Most agents have personal relations with indie publishers and can be very useful in connecting you to the right publications.
4. Be ready with your vision for the book, small publishers sometimes take their decision not just on the book but the vision of the author.

Self Publishers

1. Be prepared to do all the work yourself. You will have to work on all the aspects of the book yourself.
2. Work tirelessly to promote the book. Since you don’t have any publisher backing you, you will have to sharpen your marketing skills.
3. Sometimes because it is so easy, we take it lightly. Everything that is published in your name will be there forever. Take this as seriously as you would traditional publishing.
4. Connect with someone who has self-published before to understand the entire process.
5. If approaching an agency, research their credentials before you make any payment.

We hope this article helped answer your questions and we were able to demystify the process of publishing for you. We at Veronica Lane Books are always enthused to read fresh work from new writers. Our team of experts will guide you through the entire process and work alongside you to make your publishing dream come true.