How to get "brisk sales" of your novel?

Another · Oct 31, 2007

Reviewing the novel, The Almost Moon, NY Times Sunday October 21, 07, Lee Siegel (editor at New Republic) suggests how one now can insure "brisk sales" in contemporary fiction, expressing a somewhat dreary view of things: "peg your book to some heartrending tragedy or act of violence and you're almost sure to be greeted with moral seriousness, soft reviews and brisk sales. Whether it's because the American novel is becoming Hollywoodized, or because the disjunctive tone and disassociated content of the news have numbed us to disjunctive and disassociated fiction, or because we're losing the capacity to imagine other people's pain, writing callously and sunnily and profitably about tragedy is now an established American genre." And elsewhere, "This novel is so morally, emotionally and intellectually incoherent that it's bound to become a best seller."

Perhaps that phrase, "writing callously and sunnily" aptly applies to The Almost Moon with it's starting line: "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." But since Siegel gives no other examples of books fitting the bill, we might wonder, is he onto something or just an off base grump?

See:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0D81F3BF932A15753C1A9619C8B63

Thoughts?

Another

Rolling Thunder · Oct 31, 2007

Isn't that usually left up to the editor and their PR people though?

veinglory · Oct 31, 2007

I would think that if it guaranteed brisk sales there'd be more books like that?

Ravenlocks · Oct 31, 2007

My guess is that's a case of a jaded reviewer who hated the book, hates most bestsellers, and hates people making a profit from tragedy, which does happen all too often.

dolores haze · Oct 31, 2007

I remember reading that review and wondering what the heck got Siegel's knickers in such a twist. Now I'll have to read "The Almost Moon" to find out. That was a brutal review. And that might help, rather than hurt, sales of the book. And you're right - he didn't give any other examples. I'm hoping for some juicy letters to the editor in the next couple of weeks.
Possibly just another pointless swipe at the popularity of genre fiction, but I do so hope it turns into a good 'ole literary catfight. I love them.

J. R. Tomlin · Oct 31, 2007

I'd say after deep analysis that he didn't like the novel.

Soccer Mom · Oct 31, 2007

The novel has gotten a lot of bad reviews, but I haven't read it myself.

ORION · Oct 31, 2007

I will add that in some ways that is what has hurt LOTTERY- criticism that a "feel good" uplifting novel is fluff! In fact some of the editors who bid on LOTTERY wanted a darker ending...It kind of makes sense now...hmmm

lkp · Oct 31, 2007

Carol Shields used to get bitten by that all the time. She had a hard time sometimes being treated as a serious literary author (the Pulitzer helped) because her stories had hopeful endings. In fact, her last novel, Unless was more or less about that subject.

Will Lavender · Oct 31, 2007

Man, The Almost Moon has been really hammered.

ORION · Oct 31, 2007

But it is selling well. The reviews on amazon by readers have been scathing

sanssouci · Oct 31, 2007

I haven't read the book but damn, I love that review!

...(''I felt the tears in my eyes and knew they would fall''). There's no plot in this novel. It's all free disassociation... ''The Almost Moon'' is really like one very long MySpace page.

Ahahahaha!

a_sharp · Oct 31, 2007

A couple weeks ago at B&N this book was on the front table. I picked it up and read the first paragraph and put it down. I think Sebold may be a great writer but broke a cardinal rule, which many Amazon critics mentioned--she created an MC you can't care about. It isn't about being provocative or daring or pushing us past our fears. We suppress our fears for our own reasons, and we don't need a book like this one to shove the ugliness of human nature in our faces. To me, reading the critics was a good lesson in how readers think. If with your first work you create something they love, they expect a similar reading experience with the next. They didn't get that from her and they panned it bigtime. There's a message in there somewhere. I hope Alice Sebold hears it and gets it, or she'll become another one-book success.

J. R. Tomlin · Oct 31, 2007

''I felt the tears in my eyes and knew they would fall''

Now admit it. That is a terrible line. I don't know any critter that wouldn't point out you wouldn't expect tears to float in mid-air. Yikes.

Will Lavender · Oct 31, 2007

a_sharp said:
A couple weeks ago at B&N this book was on the front table. I picked it up and read the first paragraph and put it down. I think Sebold may be a great writer but broke a cardinal rule, which many Amazon critics mentioned--she created an MC you can't care about. It isn't about being provocative or daring or pushing us past our fears. We suppress our fears for our own reasons, and we don't need a book like this one to shove the ugliness of human nature in our faces. To me, reading the critics was a good lesson in how readers think. If with your first work you create something they love, they expect a similar reading experience with the next. They didn't get that from her and they panned it bigtime. There's a message in there somewhere. I hope Alice Sebold hears it and gets it, or she'll become another one-book success.

I think there's something to be said, though, for the anti-hero or the unreliable narrator. There are some GREAT main characters who've done horrible things yet end up, by the end of the story, to somehow demand the reader's sympathy.

I don't know if Sebold's MC reaches this level or not. Haven't read the book. But that first line wouldn't ruin the book for me, certainly.

sanssouci · Oct 31, 2007

and then there's: ''Her voice hit the still house with its usual force factor''

As opposed to what, a dancing house?

And "force factor"?????

maestrowork · Oct 31, 2007

ORION said:
criticism that a "feel good" uplifting novel is fluff!

Say it isn't so!

Ray, who specializes in feel-good dramas about love, among other things.

Will Lavender · Nov 1, 2007

sanssouci said:
and then there's: ''Her voice hit the still house with its usual force factor''

As opposed to what, a dancing house?

And "force factor"?????

That's an actual sentence from the book? Are you sure? I can see "still house"; empty houses do seem to be still. But "force factor"? That...that doesn't make any sense.

PeeDee · Nov 1, 2007

There's a reporter who just needs a kick in the head, and maybe a hug. What a doofy idea.

KTC · Nov 1, 2007

I for one will never write for money or sales. I will never read what I'm not interested in, either. I don't pay attention to a book's sales before deciding to buy or read it. I always adored Carol Shields...happy endings or not. Try Naguib Mahfouz for someone who doesn't care about the trends and tides. That man's endings would make the pope slash his wrists. Wonderful stuff.

Forgot to mention: that guy seems bitten by the pessimist bug. Sounds like he probably doesn't get much joy out of reading. Maybe he should cover the obits?

CaroGirl · Nov 1, 2007

IMO, each novel has to be taken and reviewed on its own basis and merit. Criticism and comparison are inevitable, and often helpful in a review. But what isn't helpful is to say that the popularity, or unpopularity, of any novel necessarily reflects an industry "trend". Good storiesthat are well told sell, (almost) always, and are bought by readers who enjoy a good book. Period. Or am I just a naive idealist? This is entirely possible.

tjwriter · Nov 1, 2007

J. R. Tomlin said:
''I felt the tears in my eyes and knew they would fall''

Now admit it. That is a terrible line. I don't know any critter that wouldn't point out you wouldn't expect tears to float in mid-air. Yikes.

Maybe it isn't communicated as clearly as it could be (Yes, I know, this is the writer's job), but I can tell what that line means as I have thought the same thing.

Sometimes, when I fell I'm about to cry, my eyes will water up with the tears and I bite it all back so that they never fall from my eyes. My eyes just end up a little little shiny.

Other times I tear up, and I know that no matter what I do, those tears will be streaming down my face in a matter of moments.

Just saying...

CaroGirl · Nov 1, 2007

tjwriter said:
Maybe it isn't communicated as clearly as it could be (Yes, I know, this is the writer's job), but I can tell what that line means as I have thought the same thing.

Sometimes, when I fell I'm about to cry, my eyes will water up with the tears and I bite it all back so that they never fall from my eyes. My eyes just end up a little little shiny.

Other times I tear up, and I know that no matter what I do, those tears will be streaming down my face in a matter of moments.

Just saying...

I believe the point is, where are tears if they aren't in your eyes?

Toothpaste · Nov 1, 2007

Rolling down your cheeks? On a puddle on the floor? Creating an ocean a la Alice in Wonderland . . .

CaroGirl · Nov 1, 2007

Toothpaste said:
Rolling down your cheeks? On a puddle on the floor? Creating an ocean a la Alice in Wonderland . . .

Ooo, I love that bit in Alice in Wonderland. Swimming in a sea of salty tears. Cool.

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