May 1, 2008
I refuse to name names. And I refuse to mention what prompts this but…I’ve noticed that there are famous authors out there who continue to churn out one horrifyingly bad book after another. (And in fact if said books were their first book we can safely assume they wouldn’t make it out of the slush pile.) Their first books were great, in fact what got them on “the list.” They built a name and now it seems like they are just coasting on that name with no thought or care to what that name is being attached to and either no concept that disappointing your readers so much will screw up your book sales, or just not realizing the books are that bad.
I hate it when I love an author and then they start churning out crap. I wonder if they’ve overcommitted themselves and are now just trying to make quota. I wonder if they’ve gotten too enamoured with their “famous life” and have forgotten that the quality of the writing got them there and if the quality of the writing doesn’t return they could become as relevant as MC Hammer.
I wonder if they just don’t grasp that it’s not their best work. They’ve heard so much glowing praise and butt kissing that maybe they just don’t have the critical eye anymore. Who knows why it happens?
Maybe they’re just out of ideas. Maybe they play with the same basic plot and characters over and over because they love them so much. But really by the fourth time everyone has to read the exact same story, aren’t we being just a wee bit self-indulgent? One can play with the same basic theme, without rehashing the exact same characters over and over.
Like I said, I refuse to name names, because this isn’t about badmouthing someone. And no, you won’t be able to tell from checking my 2008 reading list because I’m not listing the book on my 50 books read thingie. I’m just saying…I’m highly disappointed in a trend I’ve noticed in more than one author that got too famous too fast.
I just feel with so many people desperately wanting to be published and working toward it, producing the best work they can possibly produce, it’s irksome when other authors publish the unpublishable based on name recognition alone. Of course that’s a train that can only be ridden so long without anything to back it up.
I think what bothers me most though is the loss of the really great earlier stories. When the first books came out it was so exciting because this was author I could happily read til the end of time. Then each book slowly got a little worse and a little worse until it felt very much like the rough drafts must be being published. I just feel cheated as a reader, and very sad to lose the quality that was there before.
Thoughts?
May 1, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Zoe, I feel sad when that happens, and I’ve seen it happen to more than one writer. I don’t know if their deadlines are too tight that they don’t have time to write a good book or what it is. Susan Elizabeth Phillips just puts out a book a year, and look at how good it is. La Nora and Jayne Ann Krentz write more books, but they’re almost all of them great, IMO.
May 1, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I would just do a book a year. I maybe could do a novella too but that would be tops. I’m not really understanding why these authors aren’t able to negotiate with their people. I mean if someone’s a big name, surely they can negotiate. And frankly wouldn’t the publisher prefer a BETTER book so they are ensured better sales?
From a business bottom line perspective, putting out a shoddy product makes both the publisher and the writer look bad.
May 2, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I don’t mind that JAK writes more than one a year. Or Nora.