In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors, never make it past the “first reader” who for all practical purposes is a gatekeeper of sorts. This person’s job is to weed out manuscripts that do not fit certain established submission criteria. However, many never make it to the editor’s desk, simply because they are badly disorganized and downright incoherent.

But even if you are self-publishing, you owe it to yourself as well as your readers to develop a theme. Not only will a theme tell what your book is about, it also serves to hold your book together. Every other element