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Dan Brown's new book “The Lost Symbol” will be out in September and the publishing industry is looking forward to blockbuster sales. Last week at the Sydney Writers Festival, it was pointed out that literary fiction doesn't sell and one of the panel asked authors to ‘please write more books that sell'. After all, it will help you as an author as well as the suffering publishing industry!
So what do we aim for as authors?
One the one hand we want to win prizes, be literary geniuses and praised for our glorious ability with words. On the other hand, we want to make money! (after all, most literary prizes are very small! )
Here are some examples of best-selling authors that cannot be considered “literature”, but are definitely books that are popular and have touched the hearts of millions (and made a lot of money for their authors and publishing houses).
- Dan Brown “The Da Vinci Code” has sold more than 80 million copies. The movie made more than $700 million at the box office. I have read “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”, the non-fiction book that the ideas came from, as well as perhaps the literary equivalent Umberto Eco's “Foucault's Pendulum”. I enjoyed both other books, but Dan's comes out tops in terms of popular appeal!
- Robert Kiyosaki with The Rich Dad series of books, which have sold over 27 million copies in 109 countries. Robert is a multi-millionaire, and says himself “I am a bestselling author, not a best writing author”.
- JK Rowling of Harry Potter fame is constantly criticized by literature fans especially for her use of adverbs. But that hasn't stopped her from becoming the first ever billionaire author and loved by millions around the world.
- The Chicken Soup for the Soul series by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen is just a bunch of stories told by real people in simple language. Those simple stories have touched hearts in 40 countries and sold over 112 million copies, as well as developing into a self-development franchise model.
- Stephenie Meyer with the Twilight series. Stephenie is even criticized by Stephen King on her writing ability, but that hasn't stopped her books selling over 30 million copies, as well as the movie rights and associated merchandise.
There are many literature prizes – the Man Booker is just one of them that I follow. I found this excerpt on the impact of winning the Booker Prize on Yann Martel, author of “The Life of Pi” (which is a great book!).
“…after the announcement of the Booker win, Life of Pi sold 7,150 copies in the UK, making it the bestselling hardback fiction that week…. D.B.C Pierre “Vernon God Little” went from a sale of 373 copies to 7,977 in the week after”
Clearly, literary fiction sells less than mass-market popular fiction.
Now, I love books of all kinds. I have a lot of literary fiction, stacks of non-fiction and many popular fiction novels (although those often get recycled through second-hand bookshops!)
I go to Writers Festivals, I have taken writing courses. I write journals and poetry and have 3 non-fiction books to my name. I have always wanted to win the Booker Prize because of the prestige!
But I have decided that I want to be a best-selling author, NOT a best-writing author lauded by lit fic critics! I want to write well, but not be classed as literature. I want to be popular, not literary.
How about you? Would you rather be a best-selling author or a best writing author?
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1 2 3 … 5 Next »I'll be facetious and say that I want to be both. Aim high! :)
I agree with Alan - aim for both!
If I had to choose between being 'literary' or being 'popular', I would go for literary. I want to write something I am proud of, something that can perhaps stand the test of time. Many best-sellers boom for a short while, but most of them won't be remembered in fifty years time.
It's important to me to be a good, if not excellent writer. But it's most important that my stories are enjoyed by many. What good is it to have a beautifully written story that no one reads? My choice is to be a best-selling author.
Great post! This is a question I think about a lot. I love reading both popular and literary fiction.
As a writer, however, I think I'd rather start off as a bestselling author and then gradually go more literary. That way my popular bestselling books can 'finance' my more high-brow projects.
Then again, this also begs the question: Where does one draw the line between literary and popular fiction?
Best-writing. Absolutely.
Both sides make me a little ill, though. The myopic greed on one hand, the insufferable snobbery on the other. But what can ya do?
Interesting that JKR was slated for the use of adverbs in a children's book. Gives me hope.
Just posted a rant about not giving in to the fashion of slaughtering your story for the sake of pace by wiping out adjectives and adverbs without thinking.
Makes you think the buying public like to buy a good story, a good read, a fun time. It is the industry which is telling them (and us) what we are doing wrong.
I wonder what will happen when Scribd lets people rate work with one to five stars and vote with their feelings and not a rulebook.
What do I want? I want to be a performer who plays out his stories by the written word. Someone who truly entertains his audience. I believe riches follow an enjoyable performance.
I recently had a well-established agent look over the first chapter of my historical fiction novel as part of a writing conference. I was somewhat amused and pleased by her response to my work. She liked it very much, but was trying to be careful with her words...almost like she was afraid of "letting me down" when she said she sees it more as commercial fiction vs. literary fiction.
I was just fine with that verdict! For me it meant that I told my story well and that it may have mass appeal. I'd rather have my book be read and remembered by many than the few.
Popular and literature are not necessarily exclusive in my mind. I'm a storyteller. If I tell those stories well, and they connect with my audience, then I consider that a success.
After all, our most enduring literature -- the stuff that stands the test of time, beyond awards and lists -- lasts because it is universal, compelling, AND well-constructed. That's what I'm working toward, draft by draft, and I appreciate reading other writers striving for the same qualities -- whether or not they strike the award/best-seller lotteries along the way.
I'd much rather be a best selling author than a best writing author. Aside from personal therapy, there's no point in writing anything if no one's going to read it.
I'll counter. I absolutely do NOT think that the vast majority of literary fiction is well written. It is self-indulgent garbage encouraged by a bunch of 20-something-english-lit-graduates-now-editors who think that if it is hard to understand it must be good.
Of course some of it is good, even occasionally great. But 'popular' fiction is very underrated. Robert Parker for example writes better than 95% of literature writers.
I believe that it is the publishing companies themselves that are ruining publishing. They no longer know what they are doing.