(no subject)

[jdemorae.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm a newbie--found the comm through the Amazon discussion threads and Google.

Speaking of Amazon... I've been going through my recommendations and something hit me: there are an awful lot of vampire, shapeshifter, fae, whatever books out right now. I don't just mean the paranormal romances, but adventure stories, too.

"How does she stay published/how can they publish this crap?" (especially in light of the recent Harlequin spoiler) is a frequent lament here. It occured to me, just looking over the recommendations here, LKH going bad was perhaps a gift to publishers. People drawn in to 'vintage' Anita Blake and unhappy with the current books have gone looking for something better, but in the same genre. There is demand... and there are sales. Lots of sales.

So it's kind of a 'no press is bad press' thing, but it's in favor of the publishers, not LKH. They let her churn out her sexploitation dreck, and the number of disappointed readers grow, they look for other authors, other titles, other series-length stories. Then the publishers smile and produce several books with, "If you liked the early Anita Blake..."

Her sales drop, but they make up for it by selling other books, books that become more popular as more disgruntled fans say, "Hey, I know you liked the Anita Blake stuff when it was good. Try this!"

The savvy marketing isn't LKH's doing. It's the publishers. She didn't create the genre, but the decay of her storytelling ability created a market.

Comments

[brightlyiburn.livejournal.com]

It's true that the genre existed before AB.

But publishers were going after similiar books before AB started sliding downhill. You could go so far as to say that the genre was thrown into the spotlight by AB's popularity, but that's not really the same as what LKH is trying to claim.

Basically, one publisher looked and saw what was going on and said "Hey, urban fantasy is coming back, let's jump on the bandwagon and see if we can make some money" and then a bunch of others started doing it, too.

After Christine Feehan got popular, a rash (and I DO mean rash) of paranormal romances involving vampires descended upon the unsuspecting public.

After Harry Potter got really popular, publishers began scooping up every "kids with magic" series under the sun.

Doesn't mean they weren't there before, that they weren't good before, or that they had not had popularity before. Just that as the market grows bigger, the exploitation of it does too.

[jdemorae.livejournal.com]

I didn't mean to imply that I bought that she'd created the genre, or that there weren't good books in the genre before AB. :) I know paranormal romances have been popular for years now.

This was just something that occurred to me, as I went through all those book listings. (Some of which I've read and wondered if it wasn't really LKH writing under a new pen name, edited, medicated, and with refresher courses in Composition under her belt. Then someone posts a blogflog and I realize the hollowness of my fantasy. ;) )

I try to make logical connections where there aren't any sometimes.

::re-reads that:: I hope that made sense. (I plead guilty to PUI [posting under the influence] of Benadryl!)

[brightlyiburn.livejournal.com]

I know.

I was just can't seem to hold myself back when it comes to this topic. The rampant exploitation by the publishing industry these days is upsetting.

I'd like to be happy that the fantasy genre is taking in readers at a younger age now. I mean, I write fantasy (not of the urban persuasion, though) and I won't argue with a larger audience.

But on the otherhand, my sense of decency makes me disappointed that this sort of thing is happening anyway.

I certainly wouldn't be a better person if I sold my integrity off to the highest bidder, but I'd be a whole lot less confused.