I saw this article in my local newspaper – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/in-e-reader-age-of-writers-cramp-a-book-a-year-is-slacking.html – borrowed from the New York Times – and I just shook my head. I feel for the writers who commented, really I do. The notion of having to write a novel a year? That’s tough. (Just look at James Patterson. Oh… bad example.)
It’s also an artificial construct. In other words, a lie.
I admire all the writers mentioned, and I do feel bad for them if they feel they have to write 2000 words a day 7 days a week. That’s a lot of words. 730,000 to be precise. That’s the equivalent of two epic fantasies and a few novels. So, I feel bad.
After all, it’s partly my fault, and the fault of a friend of mine. She writes at least three series for a mid-level publisher and puts out the equivalent of two books a month, much less a year. Her erotic novels put her on the USA Today bestseller list.
Of course, I do have to point out that the one novel a year concept is a creation of the publisher, not the writer. Continue reading “In the E-reader era…”
