Publishing industry

arbilad · Head Chef

Publishing industry

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

I don't know. It has been something I've wondered about since a teenager.

Cuz, I've wanted to be a famous (and well to do) published author as well. But, I ain't published, and I ain't well to do, and I don't really have much in the way of writings...

I think there is definitely something to be said for being the right person at the right time with the right book and the right insider connection to the industry...

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

Wizards! It's all explained by Wizards!

--Ray

arbilad · Head Chef

Cat Herder wrote:

I don't know. It has been something I've wondered about since a teenager.

Cuz, I've wanted to be a famous (and well to do) published author as well. But, I ain't published, and I ain't well to do, and I don't really have much in the way of writings...

I think there is definitely something to be said for being the right person at the right time with the right book and the right insider connection to the industry...

Rowling herself said that, for the first little while, her first book only did moderately well. So, what was the key that pushed her book into popularity? Was it being picked up by a US publisher? Was it just a matter of the book needing time to have its reputation spread by word of mouth?

I think you're right that being the right person at the right time has something to do with it.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

It's the wizards! I'm tellling ya! Wizards!!

fear of shiz · Profuse Pontificator

We're all under the Imperius Charm so we have to buy the book....

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

Maybe it appeals more to the masses instead of, say, the real obsessive book readers who would appreciate more the rigorous attention to detail or the thoroughly thought-out characters... I don't know. They were like "zone out" sort of "escapist" books. Nothing that you needed counselling for when you were done.

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Hype and media buzz. I wish I had a dollar for every movie I went and saw because someone said it was great. I didn't want to get left out in the cold when everyone else was telling me how great it was. These things have a way of snowballing and feeding on themselves. As the media reports the craze it actually helps stimulate more people to join it. The marketing buzz can sell more than the content. What drive the Hollywierd critics mad is that the folks don't often follow their lead. I can't remember the last time I actually watched one of the films that won the oscar and don't know many folks that did either.

There is even hype and buzz in the LDS book and movie market. I've never read the Work and the Glory but how many people think it is great just because they have heard from their fellow members that the books are great. The fans themselves actually help market the book or movie. This is often why publishers will send out copies to key movers and shakers of a book before general release. It is also why they do special sneak previews of movies and midnight showings. Get the buzz going from a midnight showing of Shrek's Revenge Part VII from a Midnight showing and it is the talk of the water cooler on Friday. Then people flock to the theater over the weekend to see what the buzz is about. The movie goes number 1 and those that haven't seen it feel left out and rush out to see it. It snowballs until all those that don't want to get left behind have seen the movie and then it drops. Occassionally, you get a mega sensation like that piece of chromed turd called, "Titanic". I remember watching an interview on it and some lady in her late 20's actually said that after watching the movie she now knew what true love was. For pete sake, the film had some good set design and special effects but I couldn't have been the only one cheering when that punk kid Leo DiCrappio finally died. The only other time I cheered louder is when that pretty boy hack got shot in "The Quick and the Dead".

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

I am so there with you, Jason! The only thing I have seen DiCrappio in that he was actually good in was "Catch Me If You Can" and the reason that he was so good in it was because he was playing a sleaze bag!

Cocobeem · Keeper of the Holy Grail

DiCrappio??

salesortonscom · Wise and Revered Master

Freudian slip.

Euphrasie · Senior Bucketkeeper

You mean it wasn't intentional? 'Cause that's even funnier.

Ros · Senior Member

I would like to know the answer to this.

I have banned "LDS fiction" because I have had the disadvantage of reading pathetically bad books marketed as such. And I mean P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C! Baaaad! Laughable. Nauseating. BAD. (I have enjoyed Lund's Work and Glory as well as Kingdom and Crown - I'll consider them an exception)

How do these books get published? There must be an army of good literature out there that SHOULD be published but for whatever reason aren't accepted.

The only thing that seems to guarentee success is Oprah's Book Club picks. Unfortunatly, I've also banned those because so many of them are annoyingly feminist, political and tend to sneak up on you with unwanted and wierd sexuality.

What's the deal?

fear of shiz · Profuse Pontificator

You have to go back to the classics....

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Ros,

Referencing what I said earlier, and this is just my opinion, if this holds true for the general publishing industry, it is even much more so for the LDS market and why things get published and who gets published (but mostly that which I've emboldened):

I think there is definitely something to be said for being the right person at the right time with the right book and the right insider connection to the industry...

Ros · Senior Member

Do you mean Classic LDS Fiction?

If so, I would agree. When I was growing up it was much better. I still have a little crush on the Yorgensens. (I even live in one of their houses)

Ros · Senior Member

Cat Herder wrote:

Ros,

Referencing what I said earlier, and this is just my opinion, if this holds true for the general publishing industry, it is even much more so for the LDS market and why things get published and who gets published (but mostly that which I've emboldened):

I think there is definitely something to be said for being the right person at the right time with the right book and the right insider connection to the industry...

I think the LDS publishing "connections" need to be investigated. Is someone trading cushy callings or a free ride on Home Teaching in exchange for publishing??

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

It's all about distribution, baby... well, that and Wizards... Harry Potter is distributed by Scholastic. Scholastic distributes to every public school in this country... which means every kid knows about it... This is not rocket science, folks, it's marketting... Wizard marketting... Great and spacious, Harry Potter's the last Horcrux, Wizardrous Marketing...

--Ray

TitusTodd · Senior Member

I think Harry Potter has been popular because it is not overly detailed and is really a simple story. Now, I state overly but I really don't mean other books are necessarily overly detailed. I like a rich detailed environment in my books and favor those. But, something is to be said of the simple stories that still tell a good tale. A broader segment of the population is going to be willing to invest time in a story that doesn't take a lot of investment to follow (how's that for contradiction?).

arbilad · Head Chef

Not overly detailed is correct. Harry Potter is all about the story - the details she gives are frequently wrong or incomplete. For instance, at the Quidditch World Cup, she mentions that there are 100,000 wizards there watching. However, at the campsite there were only hundreds of tents. Either there were many, many campsites, or each tent, on average, housed over 100 people, or she messed up that detail. She said in an interview once that in the Harry Potter world there are only about 3,000 non-muggles in all of England. And yet the ministry of magic has a support staff of at least 500 (they bought self-defense gear from the twins for 500 support staff). That would indicate that at least 1/6th of all the non-muggles in England work for the ministry in the support staff, which doesn't seem likely.
Many have described the Harry Potter books as being mystery books for kids. I wouldn't agree. Part of the excitement of a good mystery is that, if you are clever and perceptive, you can work out from the clues exactly what will happen at the end of the book. While some guesses we make are fairly accurate, in actual fact most of what happens in her books only seems obvious in retrospect.

Cat Herder · Understander of unimportant things

Oh great... gee thanks for ruining the whole Harry Potter book series for me Arbi... I haven't read any of them, and I'm the type who gets hung up on continuity issues. rolleyes

I think there is something that is just really catchy for a lot of American youth about series written in a British myth type thing, particularly when it is a strong good vs. evil plot line. I remember when I was young, I loved a series called the Dark Is Rising. British setting (Wales actually), good vs. evil, some magic / supernatural powers, and an ordinary kid learning he is a being of great potential and key to the good side's fight against the evil side. What natural kid doesn't want to relate to that sort of thing?

TitusTodd · Senior Member

Well, perhaps not all the 100,000 watching the Quidditch World Cup stayed the night? Also, isn't the Ministry of Magic a worldwide body? If so, the 500 staff and only having 3,000 non-muggles in England could be explained. There are probably many more non-muggles worldwide.

I think setting a story in England is attractive in that England has a longer known history.

arbilad · Head Chef

Titus, there could be explanations for many of the seeming inconsistencies, but we don't have that information. As far as not every wizard of the 100,000 staying the night, that seems unlikely, as it sounds like many quidditch matches last several days. And the ministry of magic is specific to England, because they talk about cooperation with other governments, and there are separate international bodies, etc.

rayb · Hot Air Balloon

The explanation for all inconsistencies are, "Wizards!"

JK does a whole slew of things right in her books.

1. It's a contemporary character set in a "believable" fantasy realm.
2. She's not so in love with herself as a writer that she makes common mistakes like killing the story's pace for a bout of descriptivitis.
3. She draws upon common mythology and well known archetypes to create a new story.
4. She takes her time solving the mysteries and leaves you guessing til the end. Every book has an assortment of new mysteries to solve, while at the same time the whole series has recurring questions.
5. Everybody's been to school and can immediately sympathize with the setting.
6. She's funny and light and even in the dark parts she doesn't get carried away, she has a way of peppering everything with new little twists.
7. She doesn't give her main character godlike powers (this is a killer for most fantasy), instead Harry remains relatively average. (with the possible exception of Dumbledore, but like a smart author she's removed him from the picture...)
8. The characters evolve, and grow on you... especially that final horcrux... I mean Harry... :)

palmon · Senior Member

My theory on why Harry Potter was so popular:

It is a book for kids that is a fun read. Most books for kids aren't. In fact, very few are. This is why she created readers from those that hated to read.
And amazingly, when parents saw that their kids actually read the books - they wanted to have fun too. Most books for adults aren't fun either.

arbilad · Head Chef

8. The characters evolve, and grow on you... especially that final horcrux... I mean Harry... :)
Repeating something over and over isn't going to change what's already been printed and will be shipped to bookstores soon. You're only increasing the amount of egg on your face later

But the points you make are good. And Palmon's point is especially relevant - the books are fun to read, and that's why they're read.

Dyany · Senior Member

I personally think that there are certain cultural memes and/or archetypes that speak to something deep inside us, and if a book can tap into those shared ideals they really have it made. I think Rowling's books do that. Perfect underdog/powerful protagonist, purely evil antagonist, a well thought-out but simple fantasy world, simple prose that speaks well to many different classes of people, and it's British. Something about being British....

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.