Is it better to write a good book which doesn't sell or...

[Johnny Canuck3]

That's a terrible analogy!

No McDonalds burger takes years to create,

Harlequin romances don't take years. Read the biographies of some of the authors.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a Toronto, Ontario-based company that is the world's leading publisher of series romance and women's fiction. Owned by the Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publisher in Canada, the company publishes approximately 120 new titles each month in 26 different languages in 109 international markets on six continents. These books are written by over 1,300 authors worldwide, offering readers a broad range of fiction from romance to psychological thrillers to relationship novels. With 131 million books sold in 2006--half overseas and a tremendous 96% outside of Canada--it is both the country's most successful publisher and one of its most international businesses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_Enterprises

 

[DotCommunist]

Harlequin romances sound like the over the pond version of Mills and Boon. Hugely popular formulaic romance novels.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Since then, she’s sold over 25 books; 24 of them to Harlequin and most of them selected for the Presents Line. The Loving Touch, her third novel, was a short contemporary finalist for the Romance Writers’ of America’s prestigious RITA Award.

Her March ’99 release, Dante’s Twins, was the number one Presents’ seller in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Her books have been translated into more than 17 languages and distributed in nearly 30 foreign markets.

http://www.eharlequin.com/author.html?authorid=495

http://www.catherinespencer.com/

If book sales are the barometer, this woman is one of the most brilliant authors of our time.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Harlequin romances sound like the over the pond version of Mills and Boon. Hugely popular formulaic romance novels.

And brilliant, too.

 

[DotCommunist]

And brilliant, too.

They're fucking awful. Which is why I can't agree with Wookeys stance that the measure of a book is in its sales figures

 

[frogwoman]

http://www.eharlequin.com/author.html?authorid=495

http://www.catherinespencer.com/

If book sales are the barometer, this woman is one of the most brilliant authors of our time.

Noooo

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

 

[frogwoman]

I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

this is true.

 

[DotCommunist]

I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

how do we explain Kevin J Anderson then

 

[zoooo]

Harlequin is Mills and Boon, yes.
I've read a few lately. Some are fucking awful, but some are better written and quite fun! Like all genres.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

They're fucking awful. Which is why I can't agree with Wookeys stance that the measure of a book is in its sales figures

I was being facetious.

 

[frogwoman]

Harlequin is Mills and Boon, yes.
I've read a few lately. Some are fucking awful, but some are better written and quite fun! Like all genres.

Yeah, there are some Mills and Boons that are allright ... actually some second world war romance fiction is good IMO

But what about Danielle bloody Steel?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

I agree that a 'bad' writer won't get published, but a competent writer who can follow a formula, can.

But I disagree that a competent formulaic writer is a brilliant writer, just because of high sales.

Would you or he also say that the brilliance of a film is indicated in its ticket sales?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

how do we explain Kevin J Anderson then

Or David Goyer, for that matter...

 

[zoooo]

Yeah, there are some Mills and Boons that are allright ... actually some second world war romance fiction is good IMO

But what about Danielle bloody Steel?

I've never tried any.

I actually really want to read a Barbara Cartland. Just for the hell of it.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I agree that a 'bad' writer won't get published, but a competent writer who can follow a formula, can.

But I disagree that a competent formulaic writer is a brilliant writer, just because of high sales.

Would you or he also say that the brilliance of a film is indicated in its ticket sales?

Well, much as I loathe much of the cheese that Hollywood puts out, I suspect that 99% of us wouldn't have any clue how to make anything comparable, even given the budget and equipment...

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Well, much as I loathe much of the cheese that Hollywood puts out, I suspect that 99% of us wouldn't have any clue how to make anything comparable, even given the budget and equipment...

True, but I don't know how to make cheese fondue, either.

Both can be done from recipes, though.

 

[Disaster]

Your poll - it's made of fail.

 

[Wookey]

I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

Someone is listening properly!!

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Someone is listening properly!!

15-06-2008, 16:00
Johnny Canuck2
Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 68,115

Quote:
Originally Posted by RenegadeDog
I don't think Wookey is saying that exactly, though. He's just saying that just getting a book published at all no matter what genre is nigh on impossible, so it's unlikely that anyone who achieves it, no matter the genre, is really a bad writer.

I agree that a 'bad' writer won't get published, but a competent writer who can follow a formula, can.

But I disagree that a competent formulaic writer is a brilliant writer, just because of high sales.

Would you or he also say that the brilliance of a film is indicated in its ticket sales?

....................

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I must be in Wookey's bad books or something....

no pun intended.

 

[Wookey]

I must be in Wookey's bad books or something....

no pun intended.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I'd be fucking happy if any of my books ever got published for any reason, whether I thought it was a total piece of fluff or something more (supposedly) 'serious'.

Seriously, there is literally nothing else which would make me happier, even winning the lottery.

 

[frogwoman]

I'd be fucking happy if any of my books ever got published for any reason, whether I thought it was a total piece of fluff or something more (supposedly) 'serious'.

Seriously, there is literally nothing else which would make me happier, even winning the lottery.

yep!!

 

[Bob_the_lost]

How hands do you have Cheesy?

On the gripping hand...