Comments | kalenodonnell: Apparently, puppy is not amused: A Discussion on Brand Name Authors

kalenodonnell

Apparently, puppy is not amused: A Discussion on Brand Name Authors

Mar 02, 2008 17:01

Blame Courtney for the title.

Bitch.

Well, it's been a good while since you've all been treated to a nice, long, Kate-style rant. Why, I believe there are some people now on my F-list who have never been treated to a Kate rant, and don't get the reference! Don't worry. You're not missing much. Anyways, lo, I am annoyed. BUT, I shall try and turn ( Read more... )

Comments 6

freneticfloetry March 3 2008, 02:13:57 UTC

Aww, poor puppy. I have used my "puppy is vexed" icon in your honor.

This is an interesting discussion. Yes, there are a lot of authors out there who have absolutely no interest in exploring anything but the genre they write in. Nothing wrong with that. Some people just work that way, I guess. They have monogamous muses. My muse, by contrast, is a hardcore polygamist (and you would know, as she has gotten entirely too friendly with yours).

I hate the idea that there should be hard-and-fast rules regarding where creativity is allowed to roam. Is there some Uzi-wielding border patrol I wasn't informed about? The brilliance in writing is that there are no boundaries. You're only limited by your imagination. Tacking a "and by genre" footnote onto that defeats the purpose. Sure, I can think of plenty of authors, off the top of my head, who have tried their luck in foreign territory and kind of failed - Christopher Pike's adult scifi (instead of his YA horror) and Jude Devaraux's fantasy series (as opposed to her usual bodice-ripping ( ... )

kalenodonnell March 3 2008, 02:21:39 UTC

Yes, our muses are such sluts. This is true ( ... )

polarthestral March 3 2008, 04:09:01 UTC

Maybe it's the influence of fanfiction but I actually wish authors that write in multiple genres would just use their regular pen name. I mention fanfic because even fanfic authors do it when they write in different fandoms. Thus, if you really like their work it can be hard to find what other stuff they've written. Personally, I don't care about genres. I like authors, not genres, and I can read anything as long as I enjoy the writing. I'm not a sci-fi girl, I don't really have a favourite genre and for someone like me it is annoying when I don't know one of my favourite authors actually writes under another name in a different genre. I'd be missing out on reading all their other work.

I like that James Patterson started writing sci-fi teen novels without changing his pen name. I like that Markus Zusak also has different teen novels that he wrote long before branching out into "The Book Thief." You can even find a fantasy kids book by Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame and she didn't change her pen name either. I much prefer that ( ... )

Part Two polarthestral March 3 2008, 04:09:49 UTC

I think they try and have it both ways: look here's a shiny new authorial identity for you to look on with new eyes (but by the way, it's an alternative personality to the great [drop name here] so you can expect it be good).

How much does an author owe their readers? How much do readers have a right to expect from the authors they've followed and supported over multiple installments? I absolutely can't fathom the idea that an author should only be limited to their first genre, they're only human of course, and just as reader's tastes change over the course of their life, of course an author's tastes can change in the same fashion The only thing I think a published author owes their readers is in the case of a series. The series finish must be known before the first book is published. It should be planned, you should be capable of finishing it and it should be finished. Of course, this isn't always possible, look at poor Robert Jordan who will have a ghost writer finish his series after his death. Perhaps Terry Pratchett, who ( ... )

Re: Part Two blindmouse March 4 2008, 02:57:37 UTC

An author who has done this is Isobelle Carmody and I can understand why her fans are pissed off given that they've all aged from the teenage girls they used to be when the series started, and the new book has only just been released.

Although to be fair, almost all of her others series have been in similar genres, and share the same fanbase, so no fans have been left with nothing to follow while waiting for the next Obernewtyn.

frozencatnip March 3 2008, 12:44:24 UTC

It's funny, I had this exact converstion with my manager shortly before Christmas, when I was shelving some - you guessed it! - books by J.D. Robb ( ... )