|
mary rosenblum
|
Good morning all!
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I hope you had a great weekend
and aren't too hot out there.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I think we have the only cool
temperatures in the country, out here on the northwest coast...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
but tomorrow we join you in
the hot weather.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. If you're
new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or
the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use
the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar
won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your
regular send bar to reach me.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I thought I'd talk about
genres, what they are, what they mean, and what the markets demand.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I think a lot of new writers
have a hard time figuring out just what 'genre' actually means...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
and it does get used in
various ways with various subtexts. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
It's exact meaning is simply
'type'. A genre is a particular type of writing...mystery, romance, science
fiction.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
The designations were created
to allow bookstores to group similar books on the shelf...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
so that a reader who enjoys
romances will find lots of romances in the same place and find it easier to
buy several instead of one.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
It also gets used as a sort of
epthet at times by afficionados of 'literary fiction'...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
and is used to mean 'fiction
written with entertainment in mind'...as opposed to 'serious literary
fiction'...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
although why you can't combine
'serious' writing with entertainment has forever escaped me. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But the genres have indeed
evolved into species of their own.
|
|
drew2u
|
Do you have a favorite genre
that you write?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes. Science Fiction is my
first love, followed by fantasy and mystery.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're
talking about genre fiction today. If you're new here, remember that you
need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon
in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach
me.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
LtSonya couldn't be here today
and she sent me a question:
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I know some genres, like
fantasy and mystery, will have sequels or be part of a series. Is it better
to have that first novel written with a proposal for the follow-up story or
just keep writing until it's finished? That would be terrible to go through
all that writing and then unable to sell that first book.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, both mystery and fantasy
love series books. But no, I personally wouldn't write an entire multibook
series before trying to sell it.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
While an editor may be willing
to buy up to three books on the basis of the completed first book in the
series...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
it is almost unheard of for
that editor to buy more than three...if the first three books don't 'take
off' and sell well...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
they aren't going to continue
the series.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
And even if you are an
unpublished writer, they'll buy those additional books on proposal if you
have the first one completed.
|
|
tarsus
|
Is literary fiction actually
considered a separate genre? I really don't understand what literary
fiction is.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Well, literary fiction writers
would shrivel up and die at the mere thought that what they write might be
considered 'a genre', but of course it is.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
'Literary fiction' is ....like
most of those 'genre divisions'...a blurry boundary.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But essentially it is fiction
where the style, language, and literary technique are more important than
what is going on in the book.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Or at least as important.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They rarely if ever have a
'conflict resolution' type plot, are often experimental in form.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They really aren't written for
your average reader.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Probably every one of you
reads in one or more genres preferentially.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You might enjoy mystery and
suspense, or romance and mystery, or SF and fantasy, or horror.
|
|
xana
|
Is chick lit a genre?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, it certainly is, xana.
:-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
A strong new once actually.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Genres are not really cast in
stone at all...the marketing universe constantly tweaks them and invents
new ones.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
The 'chick lit' phenomenon is
sort of an outgrowth of romance that took off in its own direction...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
and features stories mostly
with younger protagonists who are strong, independent, and not always
focused on romance first.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Although romance seems to play
a strong role in most of them.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
The market is constantly
changing.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
When you're starting out it's
a good idea to write within the genres you read, at first.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Every genre has its own
idiosyncracies. Certain things have been 'done to death', certain things
are kind of expected by readers.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
If you decide to write, say,
in suspense because the publishers are paying big advances in suspense
right now...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
and you traditionally read
romances for pleasure, you're probably not going to write a saleable
supsense novel on your first attempt.
|
|
xana
|
How would you classify the Ya-Ya
series?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I think that's a pretty good
example of chick lit. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
And genres are not cast in
stone.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Many books end up in different
sections in different bookstores. :-) Drives authors with 'crossover' books
nuts.
|
|
xana
|
Is there a fictional memoir
genre? ;-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
That could be romance,
mainstream, mystery...depends on what the fictional memoir writer included
in her memoir. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
A memoir is no different than
a fiction book written in first person, Xana...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
it's just that 'memoir' means
it is someone's memories of their real life.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
To Kill a Mockinbird is a
fictional memoir if you will. It is Scout remembering a pivotal summer of
her life.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Some genres have a bunch of
subgenres.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Mystery does.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
SF has a few.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Although the SF boundaries are
a bit more fluid than mystery.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Fantasy is a few fuzzy
divisions and it blurs over into Horror.
|
|
tarsus
|
The line between SF and fantasy
seems a bit blurry. I was told you cannot mix the two in one story. Why
not?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You certainly can. :-) You
just have to make it plausible...or very humorous.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
What is problematical is when
you mix bad fantasy with bad SF. Doesn't work well.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
If you look at the VERY hot
selling Pern series by Anne McCaffery, it is nothing more than fantasy
(with dragons) set in a SF universe.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
That series is still in print,
still selling VERY well, and if it's not fantasy mixed with SF I don't know
what is.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But of all the genres out
there, I'd say that SF has the fewest rules and conventions. THat's partly
why I like it.
|
|
tarsus
|
Now I get it. Thanks. You've
made me very happy!
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
There is virtually nothing you
can't actually do...the problem is that some things are very hard to do
well...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
so a lot of writing books will
say 'you can't do this'...when what they really should say is, it is VERY
hard to do this well.
|
|
drew2u
|
What in your opinion is the most
difficult genre to write?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
One that you never read in.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I'm being serious, drew.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
No genre is more or less
difficult than others...well, historical fiction DOES require a lot of
research, but so does good hard SF.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But in terms of craft...it's
the same from genre to genre. Powerful plots, rich, three dimensional
characters, and settings with meaning and depth.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
The difficulty is meeting
reader expectations and not repeating earlier mistakes if you write in a
genre you don't read it.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Many things become 'cliches'
in a genre.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I would say that if you plan
to write in a genre you don't read, you need to read and analyze at least
ten current novels in that genre...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
be able to say what they have
in common, how they differ, and what similarities seem to be common from
book to book within the genre.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're
talking about genre fiction today. If you're new here, remember that you
need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon
in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach
me.
|
|
tolkienlvr
|
Mary - I'm working on a YA novel
but can't figure out what genre it fits best. It takes place in 2021 and
has a lot to do with computer technology and space science. But though it's
in the future the characters (teens) are all normal people; there are no
aliens or special powers involved. The overarching plot is a high tech
(teen friendly) murder mystery with a love story thrown in. Where do you
think this fits best? Mainstream? Mystery? Ack! Do I have to pick a genre
to market to a publisher?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You probably don't tolkien.
This might interest mainstream YA publishers (all of whom require agented
submissions) and Tor Books might be...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
interested in it for their YA
line, although I'd look at books in that line first...this may not have
enough SF for Tor.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
(Tor does not require agented
submissions).
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
If you go with a YA agent,
that agent will know the markets and where the book should be submitted.
That's what you pay them for.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is a nice example of a
crossover book...it might fit equally well into YA mystery/suspense...or
into YA SF.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Big question...is the POV a
girl or a boy?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I ran smack into a real wall
there...the few YA publishers who are publishing SF for YA believe that
only boys read it, grrrr, and don't want books with female POVs.
|
|
tolkienlvr
|
MC is a boy with a lot of
emotional problems who identifies with the greek mythological hunter Orion
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You're fine then. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Actually, I've seen quite a
bit of YA that is set in a technological future...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
not space ships but more high
computer tech etc...they seem to be a hot subgenre for teen boys right now.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
With lots of action/violence,
I have to say.
|
|
xana
|
My older son has read sf with
female povs ever since he was a kid
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yeah, Xana, but what happens
in the real world and what the publishers believe don't necessarily have a
lot in common, she says with a sigh.
|
|
tolkienlvr
|
Thanks! So - it's a crossover
book, probably. Good. : )
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, and it's actually a good
time to sell it.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This type of book seems to be
getting a good share of the YA market right now.
|
|
payton
|
Is it a good idea to write for a
bunch of genres to increase the chances of getting published or stick with
one?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
It's up to you. If you write
comfortably in more than one, do it. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I write in mystery and SF.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But when you're first
developing a name with readers, it's a good idea to stick with that genre
if you can...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're
talking about genre fiction today. If you're new here, remember that you
need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the
red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon
in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach
me.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
If readers liked your first
mystery, say, they'll look for a new one from you...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
but they'll forget you after a
couple of years..
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
so if you go off and write,
say a romance or two, and then bring out a mystery three years later...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
you won't have built what is
called 'momentum'...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
that is a steady increase in
readership.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Generally, your publisher will
nag your for more books if they like the first one. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They have a vested interest in
seeing you succeed, after all. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
In fact, most book contracts
have a 'first refusal clause' which means you have to submit your next book
to them first.
|
|
xana
|
When I really like a book, I
will look for others by the same author
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Exactly.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Unless you're a very prolific
writer it's hard to build name recognition in multiple genres. But if you
can write and sell a couple of books a year, you can do it.
|
|
libertybell
|
Should you send simultaneous
submissions when starting out or go for exclusive submission?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Generally the well regarded
publishers in both traditional and small press houses will not accept
simultaneous submisisons, liberty.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Although if you're going
through an agent, they can and do simultaneously submit.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
The 'quantity' presses...the
publishers who publish virtually anything with the expectation that they
will make a small profit...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
if they publish LOTS of books
that don't sell particularly well (mostly ebook)...generally don't care if
you simultaneously submit.
|
|
tarsus
|
Do publishers care if they
publish a writer they know is also being published by other publishers in
different genres?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They may LOVE it tarsus, if
you've got a hot seller in another genre.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Both my mystery and SF
publishers mention that I'm published in the other genre in their PR stuff.
|
|
libertybell
|
Do you know if Comcast is
quantity?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I don't know, liberty, tell me
more. The only Comcast I know is the huge broadband company. They do have a
magazine for the industry and customers, but that's all I know of.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Is that what you mean?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
Jay Lake here, just dropping in
for a moment
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Say hi to Jay.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
He's my next guest...a week
from this Thursday.
|
|
speckledorf
|
Hi Jay...welcome!!!
|
|
xana
|
Hi Jay
|
|
libertybell
|
Hey Jay
|
|
hidden fairy
|
hello Jay
|
|
grayalien
|
Hello, Jay.
|
|
tarsus
|
Hi, Jay.
|
|
beryl
|
hi, Jay, looking forward to next
week
|
|
guestspeaker
|
next week will be fun
|
|
libertybell
|
Sorry, Comstar
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, liberty, comstar seems to
publish most people who submit to them.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
Hey guys, nice to be here if
only for a moment
|
|
paminnapa
|
little o/t but my 10 year old is
writing a dinosaur book...and wants me to send it off when she is done with
it...is there someone who takes children authors or should I go to Kinkos
and do it....thanks ...Hi Jay
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
That's cool, Pam.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You know there are a few
subsidized publishers of work BY children. I think I have a few posted in
the New Market Updates...
|
|
guestspeaker
|
tap tap:: Is this thing on?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
but most of those as I recall
are magazines publishing stories and short work.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
hey, Jake, you're on. :-)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Join in at will.
|
|
grayalien
|
What will Jay be speaking about?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Life the universe and
everything. :-)
|
|
guestspeaker
|
the wonderful world of genre
publishing!
|
|
guestspeaker
|
seriously, I'll be talking
about small press, breaking in and such like
|
|
guestspeaker
|
plus, of course, whatever
questions you all come up with
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Jay has gone from writing a
plethora of short fiction in just about every genre...to having
what...three novels coming out? One out already.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I've always got something to
say
|
|
guestspeaker
|
ya
|
|
guestspeaker
|
four, actually
|
|
guestspeaker
|
just nailed down the sequel to
TRIAL OF FLOWERS
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Oh, cool! That's the Tor
fantasy right?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
the Night Shade fantasy
|
|
guestspeaker
|
two Tor books in the
MAINSPRING setting
|
|
xana
|
Topology and abstract algebra?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
two Night Shade books in the
FLOWERS setting
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
And of course he'll talk about
that, xana.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
well, topology is of course
the science of spinning objects
|
|
guestspeaker
|
abstract algebra is best
discussed in hushed tones by moonlight
|
|
libertybell
|
Jay, you typed "you
all" Are you from the south?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
(Southern Portland)
|
|
guestspeaker
|
heh
|
|
guestspeaker
|
spent most of my life in Texas
before moving to Oregon
|
|
tolkienlvr
|
lol Jay about algebra! So right
you are!
|
|
xana
|
Whisper a theorem in my ear...
|
|
speckledorf
|
From one Texan to another...how
do you stand all the vastly different weather?:--)
|
|
guestspeaker
|
it's much cooler here
|
|
guestspeaker
|
and there's never water
rationing
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Not yet anyway...she says
darkly.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I've been writing more about
Texas since I left it
|
|
guestspeaker
|
Oregon has given me a look
back at Texas
|
|
libertybell
|
I miss Texas, particularly since
I'm languishing in Mississippi weather nowadays.
|
|
grayalien
|
Is there a market for
speculative fiction dealing specifically with UFO's and the paranormal? I
like writing that.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Hey, Jay, since you're
here..can you suggest any?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
sure
|
|
guestspeaker
|
Weird Tales, for example
|
|
guestspeaker
|
loves that stuff
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I'd try Interzone as well
|
|
guestspeaker
|
and in fact just sold a
paranormal Texas story to REALMS OF FANTASY
|
|
keith harjes
|
how often do you go back to
Texas to refreshen memory?
|
|
xana
|
Anything to do with the Bush
family?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
keith, I still have lots of
family there
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I'm back once a year or so
|
|
libertybell
|
Anything around San Antonio you
write about?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
and Xana, not a Bush story,
but rather about the secret rulers of the Earth -- faerie transported to
Texas and Oklahoma
|
|
guestspeaker
|
libertybell, the closest to SA
was a Kerrville story in my Texas collection, DOGS IN THE MOONLIGHT
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I've got a couple of questions
that got sent in before you showed up, Jay, we should include. We can argue
if needbe. :-)
|
|
sewsteph
|
Do agents typically specialize
in a certain genre?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Pretty much.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
what does your agent handle,
Jay? Besides SF?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
SF, romance, mystery
|
|
guestspeaker
|
she
|
|
guestspeaker
|
she's focused on several
genres
|
|
guestspeaker
|
which is good insurance for
her, as the business cycles
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Who do you have? Not Martha,
right?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
no, Jenn Jackson with DMLA
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, most agents handle three
or four genres.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Some only a couple or one.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Oh here's a good one. :-)
|
|
xana
|
Is it generally esier to publish
genre fiction?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
yeah, you want someone who
focuses sufficiently on your genre(s) to know your markets well
|
|
guestspeaker
|
genre fiction -- not easier,
no
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
As opposed to literary
fiction, Xana means, I think. Your experience here?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
different
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yeah, I agree..
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
And name recognition does not
necessarily carry over from one to the other...depending on where you have
published.
|
|
xana
|
How different?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Different type of writing.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
name recognition can even be a
negativer
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Different reader expectations.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yeah, alas.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I don't list genre credits
when submitting to lit markets
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Genre is not respected by
literary publishers for the most part.
|
|
keith harjes
|
do you share your short stories
with agent before you submit
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I don't. Do you, JaY?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
no -- heh
|
|
guestspeaker
|
she doesn't care
|
|
guestspeaker
|
maybe if I was selling to
Granta or the New Yorker
|
|
guestspeaker
|
let me put it this way
|
|
guestspeaker
|
my first payment on my Tor
contract exceeded any years short fiction income
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Very few agents want to bother
with short fiction, and why should you pay 'em 15% for something you can do
yourself?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
and thte total contract is
more than my lifetime income from short fiction
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I've sold a LOT of short
fiction
|
|
guestspeaker
|
what Mary said
|
|
guestspeaker
|
not enough in it for the agent
|
|
xana
|
What are some of the better
publishers for beginners, and which are toughest to deal with?
|
|
guestspeaker
|
publishers are interested in
the story, not the author
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
What do you think, Jay? I
don't think it's a matter of the publisher being difficult...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
what Jay said.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
if you're capable of writing
decent short fiction (some people are novelists by nature) it's an obvious
place to start
|
|
guestspeaker
|
because the risk/reward cycle
is much shorter
|
|
guestspeaker
|
you can get feedback, grow,
change, experiment, all in manageable bursts
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But do realize, a new breed of
publisher exists who makes money from quantity sales and accepts most
everybody...and that is not a way to build a career.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I've been told it's no harder
(in genre) to sell a first novel than it is to sell a first pro short
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I dunno
|
|
guestspeaker
|
ya
|
|
guestspeaker
|
what Mary said
|
|
guestspeaker
|
KNOW your publishers
|
|
guestspeaker
|
also depends on genre
|
|
guestspeaker
|
romance short fiction market
is very thin
|
|
guestspeaker
|
there are no short thrillers,
for example
|
|
guestspeaker
|
mystery and SF/F are pretty
much it, that and the literary short fiction world
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Jay, I heard something kind of
scary yesterday, I might as well share it you're here...
|
|
guestspeaker
|
ok
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
which is that the quantity
publishers in music and prose are making good profits as they sell at least
1 copy of 98% of their inventory...
|
|
guestspeaker
|
(then I have to split...)
|
|
guestspeaker
|
wow...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
So the quantity verusus
quality works for THEM. When the person was asked..
|
|
guestspeaker
|
I don'tknow whether to laugh
or run screaming from the room
|
|
guestspeaker
|
there's this idea of Long Tail
|
|
guestspeaker
|
google that term
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
about the artists, the answer
was 'they're doing it for passion's sake not for money'
|
|
guestspeaker
|
there is a world out there for
microsales
|
|
guestspeaker
|
you don't want to be in it,
not if you want a commercial career
|
|
guestspeaker
|
if you're writing for a
specific passion, it might be a great place to be
|
|
guestspeaker
|
either one can be completely
valid, but its important to understand your own goals
|
|
guestspeaker
|
guys, I should bow out
|
|
guestspeaker
|
see you all soon
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Thanks for coming by, Jay.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
It was fun.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
waves ::
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
See you a week from Thursdsay.
|
|
guestspeaker
|
bye y'all
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
waves backl
|
|
guestspeaker
|
looking forward to it!
|
|
xana
|
thanks for your input, Jay
|
|
libertybell
|
Example of a music
"quantity" publisher you're talking about?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
itunes.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
That was the one specifically
mentioned.
|
|
libertybell
|
Thanks, Jay. Mary, at least 1
sale from 98% of inventory; they bought it themselves?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
very likely.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But it explains the growth of
the ComStar and other quantity publishers.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They are making money, but the
writer is swimming in a sea of...let's face it...mostly mediocrity.
|
|
keith harjes
|
swimming or treading water?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
trying to stay afloat? :-)
|
|
libertybell
|
How disparaging
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Disparaging or discouraging?
|
|
libertybell
|
"Disparaging word?
Discouraging thought.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
It is discouraging. It
suggests that publishers will care less and less about the quality of what
is published.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
But where does that leave
readers?
|
|
xana
|
As a reader i would
intentionally avoid those publishers because I wouldn't want to wade
through the crap in hopes of finding a treasure
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
This is why it's problematical
to take the 'easy way' and publish with one of these...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
if you aspire to a career. They
are fine if you only want to get your book into print and sell it through
your website.
|
|
speckledorf
|
But doesn't that make those of
us who write well stand out more?
|
|
keith harjes
|
but those publishers might once
and a while publish a
|
|
keith harjes
|
quality story
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Yes, BUT...if I buy three
books from ComStar and they are all awful...why would I buy another?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I'll look at the next title
and think...they publish lousy stories.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They publish hundreds. Not
just ComStar, many others.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I don't mean to pick on them
alone.
|
|
keith harjes
|
blind squirrel and the nut
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
exactly.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I think that we will see a
system of 'triage' arise that will let us find quality books...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
as quantity publishing
proliferates...but we don't have it yet.
|
|
speckledorf
|
Actually, I meant stand out in
the slush piles of the more major publishers:--)
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You ALWAYS stand out, speck.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You can tell whether the book
is worth looking at seriously in about three pages or less...
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
And those books get passed on
to the editor by the 'first reader'.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I'm talking MAJOR craft
issues, not quality of the story itself.
|
|
xana
|
Reviewers are supposed to help
us find good books
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
They are, but do you rely on
reviewers for purchasing, xana?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
I wonder how many do.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Other than on Oprah.
|
|
libertybell
|
The book that we talked
about--Rand's 10% solution-- last week--do editors go by that?
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
Oh, sure. Rand is simply
giving you some techniques to achieve what you NEED to achieve in craft.
|
|
mary rosenblum
|
You shoudn't need Ken's book.
If you do, use it because you DO need it.
|
|
xana
|
I read some reviews and choose
|