Q for Quality
A plethora of systems ensure quality in manufacturing but how do we achieve quality in creative work?
One of the many engineering projects I worked on in the 1980s was aimed at increasing the quality of the synthetic fibre the company produced. There were two benefits claimed for improved quality:
We could reach more discerning – and, therefore, more lucrative – markets for our product, and
By reducing the quantity of product that was rejected, we could significantly increase productivity.
Later, whilst working for another organisation, I was part of a team introducing a concept called Total Quality Management (TQM).
TQM is a philosophy based on the work of an American, Professor W.E.Deeming. An engineer and statistician, Deeming was instrumental in creating the Japanese post WWII industrial 'miracle'. As producers in the USA and Europe found themselves unable to compete with Japanese quality in the 1980s, they began to adopt the same underlying principles. Soon they were incorporated into national and international standards. The International Standards Organisation, for example, defines TQM as: "A management approach of an organisation centred on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction and benefits to all members of the organisation and society." (ISO 8402:1994)
Implementation involves every member of the organisation in thinking about how to improve the way they carry out their individual functions, and seeking ways to continue to do so. A great deal of effort is put into training so as to ensure every member of the team develops his or her full potential.
A related process in the UK was trade marked 'investing in people'. Businesses that displayed the slogan were supposed to be able to prove that the individual contribution of each member of the workforce was valued and that systems were in place to encourage continuous improvement of individual and collective performance.
How might these principles be adopted by creative people, especially writers? The quality of a manufactured object, whether a uniquely crafted piece or mass produced, can readily be seen in its fitness for purpose, its aesthetic appearance and its durability. The same can be true of a piece of visual art, to which can be added the ability of the finished piece to evoke an emotional response in the viewer.
How can the quality of a literary work be assessed? Certainly a printed book is a physical object that can be judged by its visual impact – the cover, the layout – the weight and texture, the binding, even the unique odours of printers' ink and the glaze used in the final paper making process. Together they convey a sense of quality through all five senses. But it is the writing by which we judge a book, especially in these days when so much content is delivered electronically.
What constitutes quality in writing, as a craft or as an art form?
Surely, like the visual arts, a literary work must be judged by the emotional response evoked in the reader. Does the story resonate in some way with the reader's experience? Are the characters realateable? Is their behaviour consistent with the belief systems the author has attributed to them? Do they develop over the course of the story so that at least some of those beliefs have been revised? Are the locations and the period recognisable as the time and place in which the events are set? If the setting is outside of normal human experience, is it coherent? As different elements are revealed are they consistent with each other?
Although we mostly work alone, we can still aspire to continuously improve in everything we do. Great artists regularly produce sketches and studies in preparation for a significant painting. A writer will produce several drafts of a novel before showing it to a trusted beta reader. Jeffrey Archer is on record as producing at least ten drafts of every one of his novels, all in longhand. Only then is the book released to an editor who will suggest further improvements.
In this we begin to realise that producing a book requires teamwork – the beta readers, the editors, the agent, the cover designers, the photographer or artist responsible for the cover image. All need a shared vision of the hoped for impact of the finished product. All need to “participate . . . aiming at long term success through customer satisfaction.”
Even if you self publish, your finished work will be improved if at least some of these craftspeople are a part of your team. An eye-catching cover will attract readers. Suggestions from beta readers and editors about the content and structure of the novel, the plot, the characters, will improve the reader's experience and increase the likelihood that your book will be read from cover to cover and earn praise from reviewers. And never underestimate the importance of a final proof-read to eliminate spelling mistakes and punctuation errors.
As a writer, what steps do you take to ensure reader satisfaction? How easy do you find it to work with others – beta readers, cover designer, editor – to achieve that aim?
Whatever your profession, how are these principles applied in your work place?