Some Thoughts on Awards (and Niches)
Keyan said in a comment on my last post that she heard awards don't make a difference to book sales anymore. I think that was said at Clarion, Keyan. I just can't remember who said it. It may have been editor, agent, or one of our instructors.
I've been thinking about awards. Awhile ago, I start compiling a list of award winners so that I could work my way through the list and, hopefully, find some great books. The lists included the Hugo Awards, the Nebula Awards, the James Tiptree Jr. Awards, and even the Newbery Medals. I also just added the Spectrum Awards and the Lambda Awards. (I thought about adding the Carl Brandon Society Awards (Parallax and Kindred), but could only find one year's worth.)
Considering all of these lists, I think I'm less likely to seek out books from the Newbery Awards or even from the Hugo and Nebula Awards than from the others. The Newbery Awards are too full of mainstream stories. I prefer genre. Yet the Hugos and Nebulas are also pretty broad. Any sort of science fiction or fantasy work might show up there, from military sf to epic fantasy to space opera to hard sf. And while there are works in each of those subgenres that I like, I can't be sure I'll like a particular one, not even just because it won an award.
I've been reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson and I think it comes down to niches. Science fiction and fantasy exploring gender themes? I'm there. Science fiction and fantasy stories with gay themes or lesbian protagonists? Odds are pretty good I'll like it, or at least find it interesting. Do I have other interests and themes I like? Of course I do. I just haven't found awards for them yet. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Story Featuring Kids at a School published in 2007. Where's that award?
The Long Tail says that editors and publishers are pre-filters, and with the advent of print-on-demand and even e-books, those pre-filters are becoming less important. Not that I think they'll go away entirely. It means we need more post-filters. How do you sort out the good stuff from all the crap that's being generated now? One of the answers is Award Lists.
But I think the Award Lists need to go more niche. One wonders why it took so long to come up with the Carl Brandon Society Awards, but I think the Tiptree and Carl Brandon are just the vanguard of niche science fiction and fantasy awards. And I look forward to it. It'll help me find the good stuff with the themes I'm interested in.
I just think awards are going to help the midlist more than those books that are already rising to the top. So, hurrah for the midlist!
I've been thinking about awards. Awhile ago, I start compiling a list of award winners so that I could work my way through the list and, hopefully, find some great books. The lists included the Hugo Awards, the Nebula Awards, the James Tiptree Jr. Awards, and even the Newbery Medals. I also just added the Spectrum Awards and the Lambda Awards. (I thought about adding the Carl Brandon Society Awards (Parallax and Kindred), but could only find one year's worth.)
Considering all of these lists, I think I'm less likely to seek out books from the Newbery Awards or even from the Hugo and Nebula Awards than from the others. The Newbery Awards are too full of mainstream stories. I prefer genre. Yet the Hugos and Nebulas are also pretty broad. Any sort of science fiction or fantasy work might show up there, from military sf to epic fantasy to space opera to hard sf. And while there are works in each of those subgenres that I like, I can't be sure I'll like a particular one, not even just because it won an award.
I've been reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson and I think it comes down to niches. Science fiction and fantasy exploring gender themes? I'm there. Science fiction and fantasy stories with gay themes or lesbian protagonists? Odds are pretty good I'll like it, or at least find it interesting. Do I have other interests and themes I like? Of course I do. I just haven't found awards for them yet. Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Story Featuring Kids at a School published in 2007. Where's that award?
The Long Tail says that editors and publishers are pre-filters, and with the advent of print-on-demand and even e-books, those pre-filters are becoming less important. Not that I think they'll go away entirely. It means we need more post-filters. How do you sort out the good stuff from all the crap that's being generated now? One of the answers is Award Lists.
But I think the Award Lists need to go more niche. One wonders why it took so long to come up with the Carl Brandon Society Awards, but I think the Tiptree and Carl Brandon are just the vanguard of niche science fiction and fantasy awards. And I look forward to it. It'll help me find the good stuff with the themes I'm interested in.
I just think awards are going to help the midlist more than those books that are already rising to the top. So, hurrah for the midlist!