Sure, you could write your book. But who will read it? It’s
got to have the philosophy, the big ideas that are touched upon without going
too deep. You don’t want to alienate readers by writing over their heads.
Now if you want a movie deal for this populist philosophical
masterpiece, go SciFi. People have been paying Orson Scott Card for years just
to mess up trying to make a movie out of his stuff.
On second thought, it’d sell more if it was Fantasy.
Preferably Medieval Fantasy, with swords and magic everyone gets.
If you really want it to sell, though? Make it YA. YA
Fantasy? They will snort it off the page. People stand in line for teen-friendly make-believe.
The only way you could top a good YA Fantasy is by… well, not
writing a book. Movies, Youtube ads, iPhone games! That’s where the real money
is. Because who reads anymore?
Counter est. March 2, 2008
I love it when sarcasm is so thick you can slice it with a knife!!!
ReplyDelete;)
*No one was cut with knives in the writing of this blog post.
DeleteI wasn't aware there was an option b) don't write.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very popular option in procrastinating circles.
DeleteI wish I had the programming skills to create phone app games based on my books. That really would be mad money!
ReplyDeleteAren't some books released as straight apps?
DeleteThe part about going over readers' heads hit home with me because I was recently told by beta (or gamma?) readers that the poker tournament in my novel is too complicated. They're 100% right, so I'm working on a re-write to simplify the game and (hopefully) capture its essence. The part about snorting stuff off the page cracked me up.
ReplyDeleteI probably wouldn't want to challenge my audience with incomprehensibly dense descriptions of poker, unless there was a humorous angle to the incomprehensibility.
DeleteGreat advice! I'm already half way through not writing mine.
ReplyDeleteAs you progress, you'll only be a quarter of the way through, right?
DeleteNow my brain hurts...
Deletesorry i didn't read your post don't have time but i'm commenting anyway cause i gotta get my name out there
ReplyDeleteI completely understand.
DeleteBut my wip IS a YA Fantasy! *sniff*
ReplyDeleteI kind of like reading in an age of competing media. It's like belonging to a secret society. You know, like Dumbledore's Army or The Order of the Phoenix.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I love it when you write in ironic mode. I pondered the other day that teens read more than teens 20 years ago, but they read updates on social networks in stead of books :)
ReplyDelete