I'm a recovering bookworm.Or in other words, my life is thankfully so busy that I'm left with little time, outside of reading on the train.Nonetheless, last Friday's (8/19/11) Wall Street Journal article After Harry Potter. The Search for the Magic Formula left me more than a little perturbed.The article lists several novels and series, some listed for publication within the next month, the rest due out later this year or early next year.Nearly all of them are aimed at the 'young adult' audience, and all of them are being published by names such as Scholastic, Random House and Simon & Schuster.With the Harry Potter series finally over - fourteen years, seven books, eight movies and $15 billion after Bloomsbury Press first published Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone back in 1997 - publishers, agents and film studios are all scrambling to award big contracts to lure promising authors, in the hopes of landing the goose that will lay the next golden egg.Launch parties are being assembled and marketing campaigns are being readied for a blitz; all in what may ultimately prove to be a vain hope to get young readers interested - read 'hooked' - to a particular brand, series or novel in order to rake in a big payday.How far we have fallen.Novels used to be a form of art.While commercializing fiction is nothing new, the extant modern companies are going to in order to create the next Harry Potter disturbs me.I enjoyed reading Harry Potter because it was a fun read and a compelling story.It was a whole new world to imagine, and the universe it contained unfolded bit by bit between books.Some of the later books got bogged down, and to me, were not as enjoyable.Yet, like authors such as Tolkien, Asimov, Jordan and Dixon, while some books were great; others were not, but as a whole, a positive experience.That's not whats happening with these big publishers now.They don't want me to like a book because I think (in the words of Raymond Fiest) it's a "ripping good yarn".They want me to like a book because it will make them more money.Pure fiction has been corrupted.As a child, I was addicted to reading.Hardy Boy's and Norby were two of my favorite series.I never bothered with advertisements for books; instead I would look at books that sounded interesting, whether at a book fair, a library or just at a friends house.For me, reading represented both an escape and an exercise.Free to stretch my imagination for hours I would become nearly oblivious to everything that happened around me (including, as my parents are fond of reminding me, forgetting to return library books in a timely manner and incurring fines and late fees and the wrath of the librarians assigned to my case).As I got older, my reading trends started to reflect those interests of my classmates, and movies that I found enjoyable.It seems that the industry has forgotten what makes authors such as Tolkien, Rowling, Jordan or Feist a success.They started out as outsiders, writing a story they felt was worthwhile; with Tolkien it was a children's story with plots scribbled between classes at Oxford.The simple "children's story" (The Hobbit) became such an international bestseller that he decided to expand into the even more popular Lord of the Rings.Raymond Feist has repeatedly stated that he ignored the conventions of the literary world and wrote a novel (and eventually over a dozen more books in the same universe) that he thought was a great tale.And Rowling has stated that inspiration (like it comes to many writers) came as a flash, and she had the beginnings of a story that took another three years to finish writing.Regardless of the precise source of inspiration, a decent author with a good editor will sell books.A great author with a great editor will sell even more books.And that is precisely what's being overlooked.How many authors, how many potential Tolkiens or Rowlings are being turned down because no ones willing to invest a little time and money into making an unknown into a powerful known.Instead of searching for budding and up-and-coming authors to guide into an excellent career, with the resources of a great publishing house to ensure a high quality product (and therefore sales) companies are looking to strike it rich in one shot.They're taking these same authors and giving them the contract of a lifetime, then going on a media blitz to convince the rest of us they're really worth it.What will happen if none of these make it? What happens when they produce hundred-million dollar films with whiz-bang special effects that no one watches (remember The Golden Compass)?What can be done to preserve the integrity of our fiction? Start with the children.Sponsor book fairs in elementary and high schools.Encourage writing contests with published finalists.Encourage reading.Children who love to read often times learn to love to write.And children who love to write frequently become excellent writers as adults.Pure fiction should not become compromised or adulterated.Let writing stand on its own, let reading be for readings sake.Otherwise you risk killing the goose in order to get the golden egg.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Drive-By Fiction
I'm a recovering bookworm.Or in other words, my life is thankfully so busy that I'm left with little time, outside of reading on the train.Nonetheless, last Friday's (8/19/11) Wall Street Journal article After Harry Potter. The Search for the Magic Formula left me more than a little perturbed.The article lists several novels and series, some listed for publication within the next month, the rest due out later this year or early next year.Nearly all of them are aimed at the 'young adult' audience, and all of them are being published by names such as Scholastic, Random House and Simon & Schuster.With the Harry Potter series finally over - fourteen years, seven books, eight movies and $15 billion after Bloomsbury Press first published Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone back in 1997 - publishers, agents and film studios are all scrambling to award big contracts to lure promising authors, in the hopes of landing the goose that will lay the next golden egg.Launch parties are being assembled and marketing campaigns are being readied for a blitz; all in what may ultimately prove to be a vain hope to get young readers interested - read 'hooked' - to a particular brand, series or novel in order to rake in a big payday.How far we have fallen.Novels used to be a form of art.While commercializing fiction is nothing new, the extant modern companies are going to in order to create the next Harry Potter disturbs me.I enjoyed reading Harry Potter because it was a fun read and a compelling story.It was a whole new world to imagine, and the universe it contained unfolded bit by bit between books.Some of the later books got bogged down, and to me, were not as enjoyable.Yet, like authors such as Tolkien, Asimov, Jordan and Dixon, while some books were great; others were not, but as a whole, a positive experience.That's not whats happening with these big publishers now.They don't want me to like a book because I think (in the words of Raymond Fiest) it's a "ripping good yarn".They want me to like a book because it will make them more money.Pure fiction has been corrupted.As a child, I was addicted to reading.Hardy Boy's and Norby were two of my favorite series.I never bothered with advertisements for books; instead I would look at books that sounded interesting, whether at a book fair, a library or just at a friends house.For me, reading represented both an escape and an exercise.Free to stretch my imagination for hours I would become nearly oblivious to everything that happened around me (including, as my parents are fond of reminding me, forgetting to return library books in a timely manner and incurring fines and late fees and the wrath of the librarians assigned to my case).As I got older, my reading trends started to reflect those interests of my classmates, and movies that I found enjoyable.It seems that the industry has forgotten what makes authors such as Tolkien, Rowling, Jordan or Feist a success.They started out as outsiders, writing a story they felt was worthwhile; with Tolkien it was a children's story with plots scribbled between classes at Oxford.The simple "children's story" (The Hobbit) became such an international bestseller that he decided to expand into the even more popular Lord of the Rings.Raymond Feist has repeatedly stated that he ignored the conventions of the literary world and wrote a novel (and eventually over a dozen more books in the same universe) that he thought was a great tale.And Rowling has stated that inspiration (like it comes to many writers) came as a flash, and she had the beginnings of a story that took another three years to finish writing.Regardless of the precise source of inspiration, a decent author with a good editor will sell books.A great author with a great editor will sell even more books.And that is precisely what's being overlooked.How many authors, how many potential Tolkiens or Rowlings are being turned down because no ones willing to invest a little time and money into making an unknown into a powerful known.Instead of searching for budding and up-and-coming authors to guide into an excellent career, with the resources of a great publishing house to ensure a high quality product (and therefore sales) companies are looking to strike it rich in one shot.They're taking these same authors and giving them the contract of a lifetime, then going on a media blitz to convince the rest of us they're really worth it.What will happen if none of these make it? What happens when they produce hundred-million dollar films with whiz-bang special effects that no one watches (remember The Golden Compass)?What can be done to preserve the integrity of our fiction? Start with the children.Sponsor book fairs in elementary and high schools.Encourage writing contests with published finalists.Encourage reading.Children who love to read often times learn to love to write.And children who love to write frequently become excellent writers as adults.Pure fiction should not become compromised or adulterated.Let writing stand on its own, let reading be for readings sake.Otherwise you risk killing the goose in order to get the golden egg.
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