Thursday 21 March 2013

Underestimated

Publishers be warned and stop reading now. This blog is about how both publishers and, sometimes, authors do not trust the readers. Now I don’t want anyone to think this is directed at any one publisher or author. This is a conglomeration of things I have heard from authors and readers alike.

I have a very love/hate relationship with publishers. I think sometimes they don’t trust us as readers to be able to read multiple genres. Maybe I am strange and I am not talking about my mental issues, that is a blog for another time. I am talking about the fact that I will read just about anything, well except Stephen King. I love him. It's just his books scare the crap out of me. Anyway, I have no problem reading Patricia Cornwell one day then The History of Scotland the next. I can jump genres and never blink an eye. This is the sign of a reader who loves books. I really don’t care what the genre is as long as it is well written.

I know there are people out there who will only read one genre, but they are robbing the rest of us from some awesome books. I know of a couple of publishers that will only accept one genre from an author. So if you start writing male/female books, you are not allowed to write a male/male/female book.

I may be stupid, but I just don’t understand this. If I find an author that I love then, I will read any book they write. For example, I am a huge Sherrilyn Kenyon fan. I am not a big sci-fi fan but when she released her League Series, I bought them just to try them out and you know what, I loved them.

Publishers say that authors need to fit in this little box and they are not allowed to venture out of it. I want to call bullshit on that because how is an author supposed to grow as a writer if they are not allowed to expand their horizons. This makes no sense to me. If a character falls for another man and not a woman, how are you supposed to force them to be in a relationship with a woman? This is making the author either skip books or characters who would love their own books can’t have one. I think authors need the freedom to write what they want. If a reader doesn’t like the genre then they can skip the book. I know there are stupid people out there that aren’t smart enough to read the warning labels on the books. But why should their stupidity deny the rest of us the opportunity to have a great experience reading a book that we have wanted or sometimes begged for?

Now sometimes authors fall into the same trap as the publishers. They want to write a book and the characters are talking to them, but they are afraid to write them because of the hateful people out there. I know of a few who have told me that they want to write specific books, but they were unable to because either the publishers said no or that genre doesn’t make them money, and they have to write what people will buy. I understand this because we all have to make a living but in the end, it cheats both the author and the reader. Now I am not saying this is all the author or the publishers fault. I am saying the sometimes you have to trust your loyal readers to help you out by buying the books.

This also brings up the pen name issue as well. I know of a few authors that write under several names, and I may know them but others may not so they are missing books by their favorite authors. Pen names are confusing to a lot of readers. I know one author that has three names. One for each genre she writes. I understand this, and it doesn’t really bother me because I know them. But if there are other readers out there like me, they are missing a few books just because they don’t know that the author has multiple names. Again, this is cheating the reader and author alike because, sometimes, it is the publisher who will not allow the author to post that they have other names they write under as well. Does this all sound confusing because it is to most people.

Readers also have to shoulder some of the blame, as well. If you don’t like a genre then don’t buy the book. Wait till the author writes the books you love, but don’t drink the haterade and send the publisher/author hate mail. This does nothing but force them to censor what they write. Yep, I used the C word. Because in reality that is exactly what this is. Censorship by the publisher and sometimes the author themselves. You have to wonder what great books we have been cheated out of just because some reader has a stick up their butt and sends hate filled rants to publishers, authors and booksellers.

The moral of this blog is sometimes publishers and author need to have a little faith that readers don’t care what genre they read-as long as it is a well written book.

Sinfully Sarcastic,
Shmuttmeister

13 comments:

  1. Amen, Sister! I also thoroughly enjoy reading MANY genre's of books and I am just as excited to read a non-fiction book as a fiction book IF IT IS WELL-WRITTEN. There are several series that I have felt have been "watered down" as the series progressed, and I read news from the author that they were responding to publishing pressure or reader feedback. I know that books are meant to sell, but I am always sorry when an author's unique voice is muffled by capitalism. I appreciate your discussion of this topic!

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    1. I agree I have noticed that a lot of series get weaker as they progress instead of getting stronger like they should. I have heard from a lot of authors about how their publishers or editors tell them to change major plot lines because they won't sell well. I love it when I can get my hands on a manuscript before an editor messes with it. I do believe that editors are necessary but they need to let the author's voice be heard in the story.

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  2. I agree I have a appetite for books and yep most are of the romance genre but don;'t try to guess my likes or dislikes. First you would not survive in the Cherieverse and second how do I even know what I like until you give me the chance to try. Have some faith in us and we will pull through. We had to take a chance to read the first book that hooked us into the quicksand trust us to take more journeys with you too. The pen names really confuse me too, I am coming over to NOLA Rt in, so what happens if my author with the two pen names can only sign one authors stuff, so not fair to a DF like me. Cheers for the voice you give to real problems

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    1. I agree Cherie,most of the time I don't know what I will like till I read it so how in the hell will someone else know. A strong fan base is important to an author and sometimes I feel like we have been abandoned when an editor or publisher starts to try and rewrite an authors work just to sell more books.

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  3. Totally agree with you and it drives me nuts about the pen names ok so use a pen name to distinguish between different types of books but let me know cause as a consumer of books if I like an author I will buy all their books regardless of genre because the reason I like them is they are writing a good well put together story

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  4. I usually will private message an author to check and see if they have a pen name but a lot of times I can read a book and the authors voice comes through enough that I can tell if it is someone that I already read.

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  5. This actually just became an issue for me, when I had to decide whether or not to sign on as an exclusive author with one particular publisher. I decided that giving up the right to use my pen name on ALL of the books that I write wasn't going to work for me. The problem is that exclusivity-while being more lucrative-can also be stifling. If an author has time for 3 pen names I say good on them, but I sure don't! And I fully intend to write every story that smacks me upside the head, even if it's not something certain publishers are looking for. Who's to say it's not the "Twilight" of my career? You raise a great point about people reading everything, because one of my favorite types of books to read are real life crime mysteries, which are on the other end of the spectrum from what I write. :)

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    1. I applaud you for not signing with one publisher. I think authors have more potential to make money by working with several publishers and even doing self-publishing. This also frees them up to write the stories they want to write not what the publisher wants.

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  6. Very well said. I love reading all types of books, sometimes different genre's at the same time. As long as it is well written I will probably like it. I'm positive I've missed some books from my favorite authors because I don't know their other pen names and YES that is a shame.

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    1. I get having several pen names for different genres but I think they should post all their names in one place so that the reader can decide what books they want to buy and not miss some just because they are not in the know.

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  7. I just have to say that this was excellent food for thought. I've taken the first baby step on what I hope(and dream?) will be a long writing career. And my second step is an almost 180 from the first but I couldn't not take it. If I hadn't it would have left a burning "what-if?" in my gut. I have no idea if it will pay off or not, but taking the step felt awfully good.

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    1. I think you are smart to ease yourself into the crazy world of publishing your books.

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  8. I think what pisses me off the most is that I am more and more disappointed with the latest books in series I love because they've been "watered down" and some of them just don't make sense anymore or are not as well written. The reasons I got sucked into the series I read, regardless of the genre was because of the way the author writes, their passion, the characters and the story lines. When any of this changes due to editor or publisher pressure it takes away from the amazing work the authors do.

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