Re: Clue bats

On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:43:12 -0500, mbottorff@xxxxxxxxxxx (Michelle
Bottorff) wrote:

Jonathan L Cunningham <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I wish we could discuss whether subtlety helps or hinders volume of
sales - rather than whether or not that (whichever it is) is a bad thing
or not.

I suspect sometimes it helps and sometimes it hinders.

I suspect that it helps when a book is too obvious, and hinders when it
is too subtle.

Nowhere have I said that subtlety is bad. I've been arguing that, IMHO,
on average, books are too subtle for a majority of potential readers.

Undoubtedly they are exactly right for others. I'm talking numbers here,
not individuals.

I would like to write books which sell to lots of people. I'm not trying
to impress anybody with how well I write, so my aim is to write books
that will sell.

A lot of you seem to think there is somethind wrong with that. Ok, if I
succeed, I won't win any prizes, and you won't read my books. I'm not
exactly happy about that, but I can live with it.

Some of you are thinking "But you won't be able to sell a book unless
you love it with all your heart, and it's the best writing you can
imagine. Aiming at the marketplace won't work." That;s a viewpoint that
has a lot going for it. For a start, it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.

But I'm not sure that it's true, though it might be. But I doubt it.

I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle: write the books you
want to write, but compromise just a teeny bit, and try to please
potential readers, too. There are more readers than writers, so just
possibly your writerly intuitions aren't the be-all and end-all of what
and how to write.

Just a thought.

Nobody seems to be able to figure out what makes a book 'take off'. It
it were as simple as "less subtleties = better sales" I think the
publishing industry's guess rate would be much better than it currently
is.

Indeed. And if you are an archer, you are more likely to hit the target
if you aim at it. But, unless you are Robin Hood, you might miss even
when you do aim at it.

Your point, again?

Jonathan

.

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