There’s been a lot of discussion both on the blogs and behind the scenes about prejudices within the creation and consumption of fiction. This time the talk has been centered on the worth of self-publishing and the inherent presumptions in the old paradigm that self-publishing is a form of retreat embraced by authors whose stories are of lesser worth.
The conversation has got me thinking about my own prejudices. What I will and won’t read and why. Am I turning down a novel out of hand because I’ve mentally classed it in an outgroup? Am I rejecting it because it tells a story I don’t tend to enjoy? Am I decrying its existence because of drecky or treacly cover art? Most of all, which selection methods are a wise use of time and which are an outgrowth of a snobbish prejudgement?
Let’s take a look at Books Kath Won’t Read:
Case One: You lost me at the MT
Yes. I want no bananas today
I used to not buy books based on the man titty, romancelandia’s term for the cover featuring the male chest, oftentimes the headless male chest.
–blogger Jane at Dear Author
Jane may have reformed her opinion over time, but I’m just not there yet. If the book has the nips-and-six in the cover art I just cannot bring myself to pick it up. I don’t care what the words say. The words could say “Abraham Lincoln’s physician, crushed by the loss of his presidential patient and close friend, escaped to Ireland where he found the magic of medicine and the medicine of true love” (words that would otherwise get me to give you more than $10 for the book). Doesn’t matter. In my book the Nips-and-six are nix.
Verdict: Outright Prejudice Cover art is meant to be eye-catching and is usually designed by someone other than the author. I could be walking by a great many good stories by fleeing from these. Of course now that I have a Kindle the embarrassment factor caused by reading such a book in public is now non-existent. So there is that.
Case Two: You Suck and therefore you suck
It was actually hard to find one of these that didn't ALSO have MT on the cover.
I have tried. I really have. But I just do not enjoy stories where women fall in love with vampires, werewolves, the pillsbury doughboy come to life. If the story is about how “loving you is wrong and I don’t want to be right and oh by the way you are a demon” I just don’t engage well. There are certain tropes which leave me cold. This is one of them.
Verdict: Discerning selection based on trope. I’ve been reading long enough to know which stories hook me and which ones don’t. Roommates thrown together in a house who learn and grow? Yep. Doctors? Of course. Bildungsroman? Nearly always; if a book has one of these devices I’ll at least give it my 56-pages rule. Likewise I know well enough by now to know that it won’t take 56 pages for me to realise I don’t like the type of story at hand.
Case Three: Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
My sister loves these. Or the ones set in Israel. Maybe both.
I have long been at enmity with most Christian fiction because it’s been, in my opinion, too market-driven and shallow.
Verdict: Outright Prejudice I still maintain there are significant problems with many books in the genre–stories are still often broken up into series when one book would serve just fine. Layouts are still often in large print and trade paperback style to justify a higher price. Many times the stories are too overtly preachy and the character development consists of being bad and then becoming a Christian. More and more often, though, there are good things to find in Christian fiction. Authors are becoming better at the craft and the new publishing methods (small independent houses, faith imprints at mainstream houses and self-publishing) are bringing better works to light. For Christians this is no longer a genre that’s easy to dismiss. Unfortunately I still would have problems recommending most books to non-Christians, with a few exceptions.
Case Four: Self-Published Works
My friend wrote this and it is good
Verdict: It used to be an outright prejudice for me but I’ve evolved. It’s now almost–ALMOST–a non-issue.
Case Five: Cover Art
I write about this a lot, but it can’t be said enough. Your cover matters. If you self-publish your book, I will base my selection in part on your cover. The cover is your chance to get noticed. It says a lot about what you think about your book; unlike those who go the traditional publishing route you have say in what you put out there. If you don’t care enough to put any time at all into it (or even to invest in a commissioned cover, which I recommend every person serious about self-publishing do) then why should I care to read it?
Verdict: Sensibility I don’t base my choices solely on this. I’ll take other factors (tropes, reader recommends, blurb copy) into serious account. But I can’t lie–if you don’t feel the artisanship of the story any more strongly than to present like this then I have a sinking feeling about the overall quality of the story.
So there it is. Feel free to redirect me. And know that I know that I am still really prejducial toward Jane Austen and the Russians. I’m working on it. I promise.
**this analogy makes sense but it’s a hot mess….
This is the most hilarious post I’ve read all week. And I concur. While it’s certainly good to read “outside one’s comfort zone”–an inane phrase I’d like to strike from my vocabulary, despite its occasional usefulness–there are a lot of great books in the world. I will not be able to read them all before I die. I’m OK with the fact that I might miss a few great love stories that were so indiscriminate as to advertise themselves with an over-developed man-chest.
Also, the paranormal romances. And I’m getting to the same place with dystopians. Nor do I care for conversion-as-character-development.
I’ve considered self-publishing, but first I’d like to read some quality self-published work. While I’ve found tolerable stuff, none of it has been great, though my experience is desperately limited and I’ve never read Hocking because her books seem to be paranormal romances.
Any suggestions?
P.S. As per your recommendation, I just read The Curse of Chalion. And loved the worldbuilding and the characters. Very good story.
…aaaand somehow WordPress made me log in with my gravatar account. This is Jenna St. Hilaire.
Oh I’m SO glad you liked _Chalion_. I am ridiculously crazy about that book, possibly because it struck a particular chord with me. One of those “right book, right time, right place” scenarios.
Hmmmm. Quality self-pubs I’d recommend tend to mostly be in the Mystery/Thriller genre and I’m not sure if that’s a genre you read. If it is, I’d recommend the series by…oh great. Here’s another one of these brain cramps I’ve had the past couple days. I can’t remember the names of the books or the guy who wrote them. But they are about a polygamous sect of fundamentalist mormons and one of them trying to solve mysteries. Excellent books. I’ll try hunt the name down. Michael somebody.
Michael Wallace. Thank you, GoodReads.
Pay no attention to the pictures on the covers. Really. I know (via the internet) a couple of very-well-thought-of historical novelists, who genuinely pay attention to time and place and detail in their writing, who have NO say over the covers the publishers put on their books. I mean, not even so far as getting the clothing from the right century.
I still pay attention…but only in the self-pub market where the cover is part and parcel of the author’s self-determined presentation. In the general market I’ve found myself accidentally reading a MT covered book on the Kindle (you don’t always see the cover art well when ordering from the device itself) and realised the actual STORY is well-researched and well-crafted.
Still and all, though, I hate being pandered to and I hate objectification. So those covers are just….so ick.
Oh, yeah. Plus the publishers are so deliberately ignorant about it. One writer said that she had complained to the publisher that not only was the clothing wrong for the period but the architecture in the background was in a style that wouldn’t be invented for 300 years after the setting of the novel. To which the publisher (or her editor, I forget) responded that the cover had been done by a professional artist, and they trusted a professional artist to know this stuff, so that she (the writer) was probably the one who was wrong about it. I mean, it’s one thing to say “sure, we know they didn’t wear those things or live in those buildings, but that style has become a signifier of certain kinds of stories” and it’s another to say “don’t bother us with facts.”
Yeah, I can totally believe that about Chalion. It’s a good book.
I’ve not read a lot of thrillers or (murder) mysteries, generally because I find psychopaths decidedly more creepy than dementors, but the concept of that set has me amused and curious. I’ll at least have to look them up. Thanks!
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Self-publishing is going through a lot of transitions right now as are the traditional houses. Some authors are launching their careers through self published. Cliff Graham managed this with his Lion of War series. Zondervan signed him to a five book contract after seeing his first novel self-published through Tate. His books are not normal CBA fare so only time will tell how well received this venture is.
Other authors are on the other end of this publishing tale. After being published by the likes of Zondervan and Simon and Schuster, Athol Dickson is striking out his own, He is however using quality copy editors and cover art graphic artists.
Tim, I think that what I see you doing with Athol Dickson is the best approach to self-publishing; I’ve seen other authors doing the same and I think ultimately that is going to turn into a Micro-Press revolution that stabilises the Self-Publishing world.
Self-Publishing is like Deadwood. Slowly but surely civilisation is going to creep in.