I just recently discovered the writings of James Patterson at an Apple Store. As I waited for the Apple employees to repair the damage to my wife’s iPhone, I was left to entertain myself in the store. I happened to be near an iPad and after checking out a game or two, and looking at three dimensional images of DNA, I came across an eBook reader. The available titles were spread across the screen on a virtual bookshelf and only one seemed to have a male focus - Worst Case by James Patterson.

The story dropped you right into the action and through there were hints that this was not the first case for the main character, I felt the book was very new reader friendly. The short chapters were action packed and before I knew it I was 40 pages into the book and the iPhone repair was complete. I had to leave the iPad behind but before I left, I wrote down the name of the book with the hope to find a print version. The next week I found myself in a local bookstore looking for a book my daughter needed for school. While the book I was looking for was not in stock, they were nice enough to order me a copy which would be in store the next day. Since I had one book on order, I remembered my note about Worst Case and decided to order that novel as well.

Though I have yet to finish the book (I am 80 chapters and 256 pages into the 320 page novel) I have found it a wonderful case study in copywriting. Many of the chapters are short and a lot of the unnecessary detail is removed so that only the core of the story remains. The characters are believable and you feel a connection to their cause. At the end of each chapter there is a hook that makes you stay up just a few more minutes to read the next chapter (and often the next after that.) The wording is easy to understand, clear, and concise so that the mind can quickly grasp the concepts and ideas discussed. Finding James Patterson was entirely by chance but once I found his novel, it was his writing style that has thus far made my purchase worthwhile.

Reading this novel made me think of three business ideas. First, that if writing is concise and well written that the reader is compelled to continue reading. Second, I’m glad that James Patterson doesn’t write website copy because he would be a tough competition. And finally, that I think a little too much about business – but is that really a bad thing?