On Writing a book the public wants to read

[Susan Gable]

Tess Gerritsen has an interesting blog entry talking about writing a book that the public wants to read. She points out that if the public wants to read books about golden retrievers (because everybody loves goldens) and you write a book about a "rat dog," then it only make sense that your book isn't going to sell as well.

I found this interesting in light of the fact that I hang out a lot in the PA thread, and I know that Uncle Jim is always saying "write a book that many people want to read" or something to that effect.

Anyway, I thought it was a good blog entry, and one perhaps worth discussing:

http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blogs.cfm


Susan G.

[maestrowork]

The thing is, unless you go after the obvious (everyone LOVES dinosaurs), you really have no way of telling what other people want. There are so called "sleeper" hits because nobody even realizes there's a market out there. And then there are blockbuster flops.

There are always calculated risks. The Kite Runner, for example, is a good book that just came out at the right time (it's about Afghanistan, and it came out in 2002!). Then there are books with a solid cult following that eventually made it big.

p.s. I just got a comment on my blog. The person said he wasn't sure if he wanted to read my book because it just wasn't the kind of things he normal went for. But after reading my blog, he was sold. It's great to hear someone say something like that. And it goes to show that sometimes the way you write can make a difference, too, that it can compensate for the subject matter/genre. Just a thought.

[Lyra Jean]

Although I do believe that if people are not interested in your content it won't sell. But it just sounds like Tess Gerritsen is telling to you to try and predict the trends. That just doesn't work.

Write what you want. You can't please everyone. You can only please some of the people some of the time.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I can only write what I find interesting. If others find it interesting, then I have a market for it. I can't write well on a popular subject if I'm not interested in even if I know I"ll make a ton of money.

So although the advice is sound -- Write about golden retrievers (the #2 breed after Labs) -- I happen to love dalmatians (the #80 breed). I'll be able to write my book about dals with more love and personal interest than I would be able to muster for a book about goldens.

Thus I would hope my enthusiasm for the subject would be enough to make it a good read for a wider audience.

[Lyra Jean]

I don't even like dogs. Guess I'm SOL.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I don't even like dogs. Guess I'm SOL.

You're not human! ;)

[Susan Gable]

I also wondered how you could "know" in advance if the public wouldn't nec. like your subject matter. She mentioned her book about the space program, which tanked. She said she doesn't regret writing it, but apparently no one wanted to read about the space program.

Was that the case? Could it have been the timing of the book? Might there have been more interest in this fiction at a different time?

:Shrug:

I mean, I read an article the other day that said many people are afraid of clowns. That should have meant that Stephen King's book, IT (I think it was It, right?) which featured a maniacal clown, shouldn't have sold, right? Unless the point was to face your fear in a book that scared the snot out of you. ??

Susan G.

[Susan Gable]

I don't even like dogs. Guess I'm SOL.

Uhhhhh, the dog thing was a metaphor. Not literal. :)

Susan G.

[James D. Macdonald]

I thank Steve Eley for this formulation:

1) Write the book that you want to read.
2) Don't have psychotic tastes in reading.

[maestrowork]

Hey, the 101 Dalmatians sold like hotcakes.

Sometimes it really is the right place, the right time and if you have a good book, halleluia! Luck has something to do with it.

Does it mean we should all go out and write something that is just TOO off the chart? Sure, but don't expect it to become a blockbuster hit. A bunch of college guys went out and made "Napolean Dynamite." Did the world love it? No. But it became a cult hit and it took these filmmakers somewhere. Sometimes we have to look at each book and see where they've taken us. If it fails, you will have to try harder. If it sells well, then you will have to keep up with the expectation next time. Either way, there's no such thing as free lunch. We just need to write the best way we could.

[scribbler1382]

What Jim (and Steve) said. Even if it never gets published the journey will ultimately be more satisfying, IMO.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Hey, the 101 Dalmatians sold like hotcakes.



That's true, except dalmatians were much more popular at the time. ;)

[blacbird]

I also wondered how you could "know" in advance if the public wouldn't nec. like your subject matter. She mentioned her book about the space program, which tanked. She said she doesn't regret writing it, but apparently no one wanted to read about the space program.

Even big publishers make huge mistakes of this sort. Remember HarperCollins and their ridiculous advance to Johnny Cochrane about the O.J. Simpson case. By the time the book came out, nobody cared, and practically nobody bought it. Which caused HarperCollins to cull something like 100 contracted books off their publication list, in order to make up the monetary loss.

caw.

[Celia Cyanide]

I mean, I read an article the other day that said many people are afraid of clowns. That should have meant that Stephen King's book, IT (I think it was It, right?) which featured a maniacal clown, shouldn't have sold, right? Unless the point was to face your fear in a book that scared the snot out of you. ??

Yeah, I think that was the point. It was IT. Many people are afraid of clowns, so when it's a horrot story featuring an evil freaky clown, people say, "Ooohhh! That's scary! It's what I want to read!" The horror film market is saturated with freaky clown movies, which makes it hard to draw the line between "what people want to read," and "what's been done too many times."

My professor told me that the two main reasons a novel gets accepted are 1) it is unique and 2) It is familiar, and people have enjoyed books like it in the past. The two main reasons why novels get rejected are 1) It's too different, and it's nothing like what people are reading and 2) There are too many books like it, and the market is saturated. That's quite annoying, but at the same time, it makes perfect sense.

[maestrowork]

My professor told me that the two main reasons a novel gets accepted are 1) it is unique and 2) It is familiar, and people have enjoyed books like it in the past. The two main reasons why novels get rejected are 1) It's too different, and it's nothing like what people are reading and 2) There are too many books like it, and the market is saturated. That's quite annoying, but at the same time, it makes perfect sense.

I will go on and say that to be accepted, it's either: 1) unique but offers something universal and familair -- be it fear, love, etc.; 2) it's familiar, cliched even, but it should be a cut above the rest, a different flavor of that old fried chicken recipe...

[veinglory]

It can be so unpredictable can't it. David Feintuch manage to make a mainstream career as a fantasy writer despite seeming to be driven mainly by a desire to write about spanking...

[Celia Cyanide]

I will go on and say that to be accepted, it's either: 1) unique but offers something universal and familair -- be it fear, love, etc.; 2) it's familiar, cliched even, but it should be a cut above the rest, a different flavor of that old fried chicken recipe...

Ideally, yes. But I think there are far too many published novels that are neither one of those things. Particularly the second one.

[Nateskate]

There's two ways to look at this. But the basic premise is true, you've got to connect with people's interests.

The other side of this is having a passion about something, and the ability to make things relevant. Many people have stories, but not everyone knows how to tell them, or connect with people, and their story languishes.

[maestrowork]

Ideally, yes. But I think there are far too many published novels that are neither one of those things. Particularly the second one.

These two rules only apply to new authors. Obviously, they don't apply to people like Danielle Steele.

[reph]

I mean, I read an article the other day that said many people are afraid of clowns. That should have meant that Stephen King's book...which featured a maniacal clown, shouldn't have sold, right?
Nope. People with a clown phobia make up a tiny fraction of the reading public. Even so, King's book might have worked especially well for them if their fear of clowns gave it an extra measure of "scare."

Anything you use to create conflict might touch a nerve in some readers. A scene of a flood or a house fire might cause pain for those who were hurt by similar disasters. Child abuse, street crime, illness, marital discord – anything. I suppose there are people who refuse to read a novel set in South Dakota because they had a bad experience there, or people who can't stand it when a character likes cats.

[Maryn]

I always figure that by the time I learn a trend exists, it's very nearly over. So I never attempt to write to the ever-changing market.

Sometimes it pays to be uncool.

Maryn, way uncool

[DamaNegra]

There's a saying that goes:

"I don't know what they key to success is; but the key to failure is trying to please everyone all the time."

Write what you like. Trends last too little and most times after they're over they vanish to thin air and no one remembers them.

[blacbird]

at the same time, it makes perfect sense.

No it doesn't. Nothing's perfect.

caw.