The Evanovich Gamble - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T13:14:56Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/the-evanovich-gamble?id=537324%3ATopic%3A243763&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI'm 45.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-08-01:537324:Comment:2444802010-08-01T03:26:50.491ZJim Thomsenhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JamesRobertThomsenJr
I'm 45.
I'm 45. Okay, that may be a question…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-29:537324:Comment:2441062010-07-29T21:11:14.151ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Okay, that may be a question of personality and talent. Or he has gone so far that the publishers don't argue with him. Yes, that would be heaven.
Okay, that may be a question of personality and talent. Or he has gone so far that the publishers don't argue with him. Yes, that would be heaven. "in such dreadful demand that…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-29:537324:Comment:2440992010-07-29T19:17:26.074ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
"in such dreadful demand that we have to regurgitate the same successful formula over and over again"<br />
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I never understood this. At what point does a writer at the level we're discussing think, "I have 12 million dollars in the bank, and if I want my hero to have a sex change operation the next book, he gets one. The publisher can offer me another contract, or not." As I read and learn more about best-selling (read: well off) authors, it seems they feel like slaves to their success, instead of…
"in such dreadful demand that we have to regurgitate the same successful formula over and over again"<br />
<br />
I never understood this. At what point does a writer at the level we're discussing think, "I have 12 million dollars in the bank, and if I want my hero to have a sex change operation the next book, he gets one. The publisher can offer me another contract, or not." As I read and learn more about best-selling (read: well off) authors, it seems they feel like slaves to their success, instead of basking in the power it can bestow on them.<br />
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Say what you want about Stephen King, he writes what he wants. Split the advance 50/50 and I…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-29:537324:Comment:2440682010-07-29T16:03:21.469ZGrant McKenziehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/McKenzie
Split the advance 50/50 and I'll ghost write the next Plum book ;-)
Split the advance 50/50 and I'll ghost write the next Plum book ;-) But this very point, Jon, is…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2440072010-07-28T22:24:08.083ZB.R.Statehamhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BRStateham
But this very point, Jon, is exactly what excites me about writing a series. Can book twelve be just as interesting as book one even though everyone knows the characters that usually show up in the book.<br />
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That's when writing really becomes challenging. No one is going to hit a home run every time the come to the plate. But I wouln't count out Evanovich hitting a least a couple of more in her career. And each time she does, her fan base with be rejuvenated all over again. True for every other…
But this very point, Jon, is exactly what excites me about writing a series. Can book twelve be just as interesting as book one even though everyone knows the characters that usually show up in the book.<br />
<br />
That's when writing really becomes challenging. No one is going to hit a home run every time the come to the plate. But I wouln't count out Evanovich hitting a least a couple of more in her career. And each time she does, her fan base with be rejuvenated all over again. True for every other who writes a series. Nothing foolish or arrogant a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2440022010-07-28T21:43:49.665ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Nothing foolish or arrogant about striving. We all strive. Or rather, maybe the Cornwells and Evanovitches don't really have much to motivate them, but those of us who are not in such dreadful demand that we have to regurgitate the same successful formula over and over again (and I don't think that was Cornwell's problem, though it does apply to the Plum books) can still attempt to do new things even within a series.<br />
And as you say, some series authors get better with time, some come up with…
Nothing foolish or arrogant about striving. We all strive. Or rather, maybe the Cornwells and Evanovitches don't really have much to motivate them, but those of us who are not in such dreadful demand that we have to regurgitate the same successful formula over and over again (and I don't think that was Cornwell's problem, though it does apply to the Plum books) can still attempt to do new things even within a series.<br />
And as you say, some series authors get better with time, some come up with stellar books somewhere in the middle, and some hold a steady pace of excellence. It's the trap when you're wor…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2439962010-07-28T19:56:14.514ZJon Loomishttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
It's <i>the</i> trap when you're working on a series. Publishers want at least a book a year, same basic cast, continuing subplots, same basic feel, new villain scarier and more threatening than the last. I couldn't imagine doing more than five or six in a series--I'd end up jumping out a window.<br />
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That said, what Jim says is often true--many writers seem to peak in their thirties or early forties and then tail off a bit after that, although there are also plenty of examples of writers who don't…
It's <i>the</i> trap when you're working on a series. Publishers want at least a book a year, same basic cast, continuing subplots, same basic feel, new villain scarier and more threatening than the last. I couldn't imagine doing more than five or six in a series--I'd end up jumping out a window.<br />
<br />
That said, what Jim says is often true--many writers seem to peak in their thirties or early forties and then tail off a bit after that, although there are also plenty of examples of writers who don't really come into their own until later in life. I think it has less to do with age than ambition: when you're young, you strive to write a masterpiece. When you're a bit older you realize how foolish and arrogant you'd have to be to think that way. Looking at your pic, Jim, I'm…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2439892010-07-28T18:19:44.922ZminervaKhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/minervakoenig
Looking at your pic, Jim, I'm guessing you're in your mid-30's, and most likely have a personal taste that coincides with your age. Generalizing that personal taste -- for 'anger, urgency and potency,' for example -- to the population at large, and then drawing broad conclusions about writers based on that, is erroneous at best. For instance, I'm a woman in my forties, and I probably enjoy books that would bore you stiff. It's not about the writer, it's about us.<br />
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I liked Evanovich's first…
Looking at your pic, Jim, I'm guessing you're in your mid-30's, and most likely have a personal taste that coincides with your age. Generalizing that personal taste -- for 'anger, urgency and potency,' for example -- to the population at large, and then drawing broad conclusions about writers based on that, is erroneous at best. For instance, I'm a woman in my forties, and I probably enjoy books that would bore you stiff. It's not about the writer, it's about us.<br />
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I liked Evanovich's first couple of books, and Cornwell's, but then I got tired of them -- same old, same old. My guess is that both have lost readers not because of their age but because their work has become repetitive. Any writer can fall into that trap. Well, the paranormal thing, a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2439582010-07-28T14:30:15.339ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Well, the paranormal thing, a spin-off from the Plum series (which was more about sex than other stuff) will arrive with such titles as WICKED APPETITE, and predictably goes for the same women readers as the Plum series. Besides, I don't think Cornwell's sales have fallen off. She still signs million dollar contracts, in spite of the fact that she has been notorious for producing terrible books for at least ten years now. When you have contracts that size, you can hardly say an author is on the…
Well, the paranormal thing, a spin-off from the Plum series (which was more about sex than other stuff) will arrive with such titles as WICKED APPETITE, and predictably goes for the same women readers as the Plum series. Besides, I don't think Cornwell's sales have fallen off. She still signs million dollar contracts, in spite of the fact that she has been notorious for producing terrible books for at least ten years now. When you have contracts that size, you can hardly say an author is on the wane. Those folks are self-perpetuating. My thoughts exactly Minervatag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-28:537324:Comment:2439532010-07-28T14:01:00.128ZLindy Cameronhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Lindycameron
My thoughts exactly Minerva
My thoughts exactly Minerva