Writers, Right?
Not to keep pointing this out, but I think all/most writers are feeling it. The glut of books out there is like that massive seaweed blob sliding inexorably toward the Gulf of Mexico -- an overwhelming tide threatening to swamp us all.
More books than readers, or the reality that the number of avid readers are far outnumbered by the mass of book (and entertainment) choices available to them. Net result: sales drop for most.
The willful romanticism of the writing world endures, although it's threadbare these days. For example, people mistake the ongoing popularity of horror movies as indicative of an interest in horror books.
However, the reality is that horror movies/tv shows have a far broader reach than horror novels. And horror movie fans aren't necessarily horror book readers. If anything, they're less likely to be active readers. Watching a horror movie is a very specific thrill ride, and it's an easy one to be a part of. Watching a movie is simply easier than reading a book.
Horror writers are misled by Stephen King's remaining/enduring popularity into thinking there's a strong market for horror for everyone. But there really isn't. It'll always be a niche market. The boosters of horror fiction have a vested interest in pushing/pimping horror books and anointed authors -- in making it seem like everyone can get seen, read, and appreciated, while full knowing that most won't.
However, none of the current crop of horror Flavors of the Month will ever reach Stephen King levels. It'll never happen for them, no matter how well-regarded they supposedly are within the community, or even how pretend-popular or well-regarded they and/or their work is there.
Anyway, the disjunction between movie/television audiences and readers creates a weird dichotomy -- like people see the pop culture attending movie/television stories and think that'll drive book appetites, but I just don't think there's a 1:1 correlation, there.
The deluded and/or idealistic might argue otherwise, but the pop culture profile of even the Flavors of the Month writers remains largely minute, even in the cases of the "success" stories. It's always relative success -- like a writer winning a literary award nobody outside of the community cares about, or getting invited to contribute to an anthology nobody will read.
This might seem very pessimistic or whatever -- as I've said elsewhere, writers will write. The drive to create endures. However, it'll increasingly be writing that doesn't get read. Especially for the majority of us. I've been at it longer than any of the Flavors of the Month writers out there, and have written more books than nearly all of them. I know how one endures as a writer, what it takes to persevere, especially in the absence of audience and support.
Writers are gonna write. That's a fact. And rooted in that writing is a hope for readers. I just don't think there's any industry this side of panning for gold that's more rooted in hopeful speculation than writing and publishing. Everyone's praying (and preying) for that elusive gold, that something of value that comes out of nothing.
The whole panning for gold story from BUSTER SCRUGGS feels to me like the plight of the writer. It's worth watching, if you haven't seen it. And, yes, it could be applied to almost any endeavor, but I see the parallels with the writing and publishing life.
Writing is rooted in a romantic idealism -- the desire to create something that readers will care about. And it just doesn't come true for most of us. Writing (and reading) is work, and people are lazy, and writers are crazy. Therein is the epitaph that frames our benighted lives.
More books than readers, or the reality that the number of avid readers are far outnumbered by the mass of book (and entertainment) choices available to them. Net result: sales drop for most.
The willful romanticism of the writing world endures, although it's threadbare these days. For example, people mistake the ongoing popularity of horror movies as indicative of an interest in horror books.
However, the reality is that horror movies/tv shows have a far broader reach than horror novels. And horror movie fans aren't necessarily horror book readers. If anything, they're less likely to be active readers. Watching a horror movie is a very specific thrill ride, and it's an easy one to be a part of. Watching a movie is simply easier than reading a book.
Horror writers are misled by Stephen King's remaining/enduring popularity into thinking there's a strong market for horror for everyone. But there really isn't. It'll always be a niche market. The boosters of horror fiction have a vested interest in pushing/pimping horror books and anointed authors -- in making it seem like everyone can get seen, read, and appreciated, while full knowing that most won't.
However, none of the current crop of horror Flavors of the Month will ever reach Stephen King levels. It'll never happen for them, no matter how well-regarded they supposedly are within the community, or even how pretend-popular or well-regarded they and/or their work is there.
Anyway, the disjunction between movie/television audiences and readers creates a weird dichotomy -- like people see the pop culture attending movie/television stories and think that'll drive book appetites, but I just don't think there's a 1:1 correlation, there.
The deluded and/or idealistic might argue otherwise, but the pop culture profile of even the Flavors of the Month writers remains largely minute, even in the cases of the "success" stories. It's always relative success -- like a writer winning a literary award nobody outside of the community cares about, or getting invited to contribute to an anthology nobody will read.
This might seem very pessimistic or whatever -- as I've said elsewhere, writers will write. The drive to create endures. However, it'll increasingly be writing that doesn't get read. Especially for the majority of us. I've been at it longer than any of the Flavors of the Month writers out there, and have written more books than nearly all of them. I know how one endures as a writer, what it takes to persevere, especially in the absence of audience and support.
Writers are gonna write. That's a fact. And rooted in that writing is a hope for readers. I just don't think there's any industry this side of panning for gold that's more rooted in hopeful speculation than writing and publishing. Everyone's praying (and preying) for that elusive gold, that something of value that comes out of nothing.
The whole panning for gold story from BUSTER SCRUGGS feels to me like the plight of the writer. It's worth watching, if you haven't seen it. And, yes, it could be applied to almost any endeavor, but I see the parallels with the writing and publishing life.
Writing is rooted in a romantic idealism -- the desire to create something that readers will care about. And it just doesn't come true for most of us. Writing (and reading) is work, and people are lazy, and writers are crazy. Therein is the epitaph that frames our benighted lives.
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