How much value do publishers and editors place on informative/educational content in fiction stories?

Question

I have heard people say that ‘good stories are educational as well as entertaining’. But how much does it actually matter in the eyes of editors and publishers? For example, if one is writing a story that happens to involve farms to some extent, is the author expected to enrich the story and provide readers with significant details about the realities of farms and crops, even if they are not crucial to the plot? (I notice that Stephen King does this quite extensively in his story ‘Children of the Corn’, to the point that it almost seems too excessive to me – like info dumping).

Answer 1

Hello, I'm not an editor for a publishing house but I do some freelance editing. It depends a lot on your style of writing. You have Stephen King as an example, so notice that in his novels not only are the details about the farm extensive, so are the details about the character, about the thoughts the character has, etc. His style of writing in his novels is to give details; whether it is too much or not is really neither here nor there since he's already a very successful author. For yourself, as an author, think of this quote when it comes to deciding how much detail to give in a fictional story. "The reader is educated, but tired." They are educated enough to let their imagination take over if you give less detail and educated enough to follow along if you give a lot. They are also tired from their jobs/school/lives and not always willing to look up facts and information that the author should have provided, especially in a fictional story. If you find yourself getting bored with your own details though, chances are, so will your reader. I hope I was able to help. Good luck!