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A
LITERARY CRITIC'S LAMENT ... for fellow book
reviewers, authors and publishers
While
many authors of books of poetry, short
stories,novellas and essays are concerned with
the problems with getting such books sold I
would point out that:
1) people are reading such works today, but many
are just not spending money on literature unless
the author in question is a celebrity or a
newly-discovered "sensation"; and
2) many authors underestimate or forget about
libraries as important institutions, and of the
inevitability of electronic publication taking
an increasingly larger place in book publishing.
To make one's living solely from book
publication is not something many of the world's
authors can boast of. Most modern libraries are
now digitalizing their collections so that they
are available to multitudes. Try to get your
books into local and national library
collections. Libraries and national archives
will have your books in their collections longer
than private individuals, and they can be
potentially read by several persons long after
you have left this world. Many small press and
independent publishers find their authors on the
internet. My publisher in
India - Cyberwit - found me on the
internet, and extended an invitation which I
accepted. The rest is history, including eight
publications with
Cyberwit.net to date. Use the
internet wisely ... and you will be noticed.
Another thing: I note that many new
authors-to-be seem to be offended when asked to
share a tiny bit of the
initial production costs for their books,
when asked to help with marketing efforts, when
offered an electronic publication first - in
order to test out the market before eventual
print publication ... GET REAL PEOPLE! It is
not ALL about YOU! Writing is an art form; but
being an author is a career and a business. Put
in the work, prove yourself, pay your dues,
build up interest for your work, cultivate a
clientele for your writing. That royalty
contract you dream of can be yours if you
approach the business of being an author in a
professional way, and exercise patience. There
are small press and independent publishers out
there who are looking for the right authors "to
work with" (not just to publish); and there are
still some reviewers (like myself) that are
working to present your books to the world.
That being said, publishers and reviewers of
books of poetry, short stories, novellas and
essays seem to be fewer in number than
previously, and because production and marketing
costs are often higher than possible sales
profits in the short run, the author must expect
to do more than merely write "a good book".
He/she should actively participate in the
marketing process and use all possible venues
(of which there are now many in this world of
internet,
Facebook,
Twitter, networking sites, blogs, etc.)
to market their works. If
mainstream publishers are to prioritize
these genres then sales must go up. If small
press and independent publishers are to survive
and compete with mainstream publishers for
readers then they need the help of both authors
and reviewers.
That being said, serious reviewers of books of
poetry, short stories, novellas and essays do
have their own issues ... some of which are
important for authors to be aware of:
1) the
fast-paced world of today demands perhaps
a new discussion regarding kinds of
literary reviews that are produced, and
their function. In my opinion, for most
literary journals there has to be a happy
medium between the overly-academic reviews of
the past decades and the one paragraph
summations that tell you nothing about why the
reviewer feels the book has or has not literary
quality - a type of review which is popular
today also because of limited space in
magazines, periodicals, journals etc.
2) I feel that it would be quite interesting
with a discussion amongst literary reviewers
about the subject and the art and the occupation
of reviewing. What standards, ethics, guidelines
are in place today? Is reviewing a thankless job
or a useless occupation? What are the important
elements of review-writing today as opposed to
before?
3) How do reviewers today feel about and tackle
the difficulties: in placing reviews, in being
honest vs. taking care of the author's or
publishers feelings and needs: communicating the
importance for the author of having balanced
reviews and not just raves, the stupidity of
authors flooding the internet with half-assed
reviews of their books so that good ones are not
interesting for publication, the problems
involved with getting too close to the authors
or publishers who wish to influence reviews or
publish / quote only the most positive
commentaries in order to increase sales etc.
4) How do reviewers feel about communicating to
authors and publishers the importance of
choosing the "right" reviewer - especially for
the first review of the book? Serious literary
journals rarely publish reviews of a book that
has already been reviewed by several other
persons and published all over the internet, or
books that are more than one year old
(yesterday's news). Difficulties in getting
reviews placed in serious literary journals has
an effect upon serious reviewers as well.
Reviewers are also interested in "discovering" a
unique work of literature or a new exciting
author, and being the first man/woman out with a
review. I always "google" authors that ask me to
review their books to see how many other reviews
are already on the internet. And I sometimes
decline to review a book if there is little
chance of getting yet another review published.
There are exceptions: new
genres of literature, new voices that are
so special or avantgarde that they deserve a
multitude of critical perspectives, and
simultaneous multiple reviews from reviewers in
different countries and in different languages
upon worldwide book launching etc. Each reviewer
must (himself/herself) judge the marketability
of a review of a particular book vs. the
importance of doing a review anyway either for
the sake of supporting a particular work of
importance or presenting one's own literary
skills in an essay about a particular work.
5) Is it appropriate for a reviewer to ask an
author to tell about his/her marketing plans? I
do pose such questions, as it tells me much
about the kind of review to write, about the
necessity of eventually writing a review that
can be tailored by the publisher to be shorter
if necessary - while still respecting the
context of the criticism, and also much about
the longterm motivation and investment the
author has. I often review interesting authors
more than once in their literary careers,
addressing changes and growth and development in
their styles from book to book. If the author or
publisher is "clueless" about marketing
strategies and how a review will be used, then
writing a smashing or well-written review can be
a waste of time, as most reviewers are
constantly looking for more places and more
prestigious places to publish their reviews, and
the competition is very stiff. Often we compete
with ourselves between the various reviews that
we write and submit.
Nowadays, many good authors have also been
reviewers. Why is it that many reviewers get
burned out so quickly? It is perhaps in part due
to some of the issues that i have cited above?
The job of the critic is to write
literary criticism, and selling the book
and holding the authors' hands etc. is really
not our problem. It is - however - our problem
to get our work published, and in
good/appropriate literary journals, newspapers,
magazines etc.
And what about the ethics of charging for book
reviews? Many housewives make extra cash by
writing short summations of books for large
corporations in the USA, and make 50-75 bucks a
shot. Good literary reviewers of small press
literature usually work for free (unless
commissioned to write a scholarly essay). Should
reviewers get paid? If so, then by whom - the
publisher, the author, the marketing company?
And what are the possible ethical conflicts
involved in that?
Some authors are highly sensitive to negative
criticism, but yet authors crave assessment and
"validation" ... another interesting topic: the
psychology of reviewing and desiring to get
reviewed. Are some authors simply not "mature"
enough for
constructive criticism? And are some
reviewers too closed-minded and old-fashioned in
their likes/dislikes? I encourage all reviewers
to publish their philosophy of reviewing, what
they look for etc. from time to time. This will
help authors not only in their choice of a
reviewer, but also give many authors some
helpful insight in their approaches to their own
future writing.
How relevant is contemporary literature in
non-English language countries for today's
global young people? Should all contemporary
literature of quality only be in English? To be
honest, in today's international market
publishing in English gives the greatest
possible world public ... albeit entails much
competition. However, the reason that I employ
multilingualism in most of my works is to
reflect how today's world is and also to drive
up interest in other languages and cultures
instead of the standardized/Americanized
supermarket culture that is replacing everything
all over the world. This is - however - hard
work for everyone ... but especially for you the
author. Do not expect that a small press or
independent publisher has the staff, the
resources or the knowledge of several
languages. This is a genre that most mainstream
publishers will not even touch. Be willing to
work long and hard with special publications,
and be patient with and courteous to your
publisher.
Small press and independent publishers
are more often than not only 1-3 persons
dedicated to keeping new literature "alive".
If you as a reader or reviewer do not understand
or know a word (in your own language or another)
in a book ... then look it up and learn
something damnit! People are sometimes lazy and
impatient in today fast-paced world society. And
authors need to remember that every word is
precious. Published writing should not solely be
an act of self-gratification or literary
masturbation. People do not have the patience
for it. Choose your words carefully, and
economically. Novelists can learn much from good
poets and short,
short story authors.
Another thing: let's bring back the novellas. In
today's society they must be perfect for the
on-the-go reader. The problem is that most
publishers will not publish collections of
novellas, nor will they publish prose that is
less than 50,000 words because the
book binding should be a certain width to
be visible on bookstore bookshelves etc.
I am initiating this discussion because I feel
that authors and publishers need to understand
what reviewing is like in today's world: what
makes reviewers tick and continue to review etc.
- Adam Donaldson Powell, 2010
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