1. 13:37 28th Jan 2012

    Notes: 6

    Tags: Crime

    Someone who should know tells us why most crime novels are bad.

    The link above is Part Two of Adrian McKinty’s dissection of crime fiction publishing.

    The first post is here (and has 148 comments):

    In an ideal world only first novels would be published. The new writer has something to say and they put everything into that one book - all their jokes, all their sylistic quirks, all the things that make them weird and interesting; the book would come out and it would either be a hit or a miss and then someone else would come along with their story. Wouldn’t that be great? Readers would be continually getting new and original voices and because no one would have a reputation publishers would have to rely on a writer’s talent alone. Alas that isn’t how the world and especially the crime fiction world works. The books that sell a lot of copies are by established professional writers churning out series titles. Readers are reluctant to try new things and the non crime fiction reader who browses a random one of these books is put off because the novels are generally beyond terrible. When I was down at the caravan site in Warrnambool last week I talked to a bloke with the new Tom Clancy novel. “How is it?” I asked him. “It’s awful, but what else am I going to read?” he said cheerfully.

    Adrian runs a fabulous conversation, and I confess I was first drawn to his blog because he comes from Carrickfergus, a town that has a beautiful song attached to it in my mind. His own books are getting some great reviews internationally, too. As a non-crimefic reader, they’re going to be the first I pick up, if at all.

     
    1. mulberryroad posted this