Quick review: NYT bestelling author
06/21/09 11:52
So I am
spending time with a famous teen author, one who’s
been on the NYT bestseller list. Her characters are
great, and they hit me where it hurts. But the
storylines . . . not so much. Parts of them are
compelling, but lots seem drowned in words and too
much extraneous info/characters. Granted, my style
(except here, it seems) is slightly minimal, so it
doesn’t take much to be wordier and busier than me.
But still.
So I wonder: what makes a NYT bestseller? Characters? Storylines? Beach readability? Getting in and getting out with no muss or fuss? Or is it just who you know, and knowing 47027009984 people who will buy your book? I don’t believe she’s won any awards, so that doesn’t do it (I can’t imagine there’s a huge correlation between awards and bestseller-dom at all). What has made her so popular? I think she’s getting ready to release her 7th or 8th book, if I’m not mistaken. She touches the terrible in her work--but it’s a light touch in some spots. Maybe teens don’t want too much pain in their commercial books. I’m not sure. She’s eminently readable, but I still see flaws. But what book is flawless?
I’m not sure I can unlock this mystery. And I wonder if NYT bestseller-dom is even achievable for someone like me. Not that I’m aiming for it, but I don’t think as commercially as I could. At my heart, I’m a lit major, and as a very wise editor said, sometimes lit majors are not good writers---they’re trying too hard to imitate the Great Books, and failing quite admirably.
She seems like a very cool, sane, down-to-earth person, and her writing mentor is the author of one of my favorite short stories. I would like to meet her. And she’s touched a ton of lives. I would like to do that, too. Maybe that’s the answer to the secret: resonance. If your book resonates, you land on the NYT bestseller list. Maybe I could do that.
I will say I rearranged the beginning of one book (in my head) and liked it much better. But what do I know?
So I wonder: what makes a NYT bestseller? Characters? Storylines? Beach readability? Getting in and getting out with no muss or fuss? Or is it just who you know, and knowing 47027009984 people who will buy your book? I don’t believe she’s won any awards, so that doesn’t do it (I can’t imagine there’s a huge correlation between awards and bestseller-dom at all). What has made her so popular? I think she’s getting ready to release her 7th or 8th book, if I’m not mistaken. She touches the terrible in her work--but it’s a light touch in some spots. Maybe teens don’t want too much pain in their commercial books. I’m not sure. She’s eminently readable, but I still see flaws. But what book is flawless?
I’m not sure I can unlock this mystery. And I wonder if NYT bestseller-dom is even achievable for someone like me. Not that I’m aiming for it, but I don’t think as commercially as I could. At my heart, I’m a lit major, and as a very wise editor said, sometimes lit majors are not good writers---they’re trying too hard to imitate the Great Books, and failing quite admirably.
She seems like a very cool, sane, down-to-earth person, and her writing mentor is the author of one of my favorite short stories. I would like to meet her. And she’s touched a ton of lives. I would like to do that, too. Maybe that’s the answer to the secret: resonance. If your book resonates, you land on the NYT bestseller list. Maybe I could do that.
I will say I rearranged the beginning of one book (in my head) and liked it much better. But what do I know?