As the Telegraph noted in its look at “Why great novels don’t get noticed now ,” Samantha Harvey’s “Dear Thief” received universally glowing reviews — and sold only 1,000 copies in six months. Publishing houses have a brief window to push a work into the public’s consciousness. If the pilot doesn’t light, the novel doesn’t move. But with a constant stream of exposure over a period of six or 12 or 18 months, a novel would stand a far better chance of piquing the public’s interest.
Friday, April 24, 2015
And another …
… Bring back the serialized novel — The Washington Post.
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I love serial fiction. In its own way, it forces the author to resolve and shape stories in inventive ways that may not be pursued using the traditional methods. But you've got to hand it to Curtis Sittenfeld whining about "committing to certain plots even if I subsequently decided they were weak." Spoken like a truly toothless, weak-kneed MFA type (and really she's not much of a writer, despite her braying a few years ago about the evils of chick lit) who doesn't seem to comprehend that it's the author's job to come up with creative solutions to "weak" plots. Dickens had no problem resorting to spontaneous combustion in BLEAK HOUSE, and we don't think any lesser of that book as one of his greatest.
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