This excerpt says it al as to why publishers don't check the facts before publishing a book:
I suspect it's because there's money to be made in them thar memoirs. Readers seem to have an endless appetite for rags-to-riches (or, these days, addiction to sobriety) tales, where the happy ending is inevitable and the depths of degradation are explored in loving, lengthy, almost pornographic detail, especially if the stories are true.
This reminds me, Frank of your own coinage "the pornography of despair." The desire to publish and sell that stuff (because it does sell), while a cynical motivation on the part of publishers, goes a long way to explain the current crises in both memoir and fiction. It also goes a long way towards explaining why ALL the Oscar nominated movies this year were downers. As Jon Stewart quipped while hosting the Oscars, "Does Hollywood need a hug?"
This excerpt says it al as to why publishers don't check the facts before publishing a book:
ReplyDeleteI suspect it's because there's money to be made in them thar memoirs. Readers seem to have an endless appetite for rags-to-riches (or, these days, addiction to sobriety) tales, where the happy ending is inevitable and the depths of degradation are explored in loving, lengthy, almost pornographic detail, especially if the stories are true.
This reminds me, Frank of your own coinage "the pornography of despair." The desire to publish and sell that stuff (because it does sell), while a cynical motivation on the part of publishers, goes a long way to explain the current crises in both memoir and fiction. It also goes a long way towards explaining why ALL the Oscar nominated movies this year were downers. As Jon Stewart quipped while hosting the Oscars, "Does Hollywood need a hug?"