Check out these figures in the news this week:
Total sales of the 6 books on the Booker shortlist 120,770
Sales of Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach 110,615
Leaving total sales for the other 5 books on the shortlist 10,155
I know. I found it hard to believe too.
But it gets a whole lot more depressing when you add in this figure:
Sales of Crystal by Katie Price aka Jordan 159,407
How many times do I have to say it?
Don't write because you believe you'll achieve fame and fortune from your books.
Not unless you already have said f&f for some other achievement -
- like having surgically enhanced breasts and being married to an Australian one hit wonder.
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9 comments:
I still don't know who Jordan is you know?
A pumped up orange bird with a minimal taste in clothing and squeaky men. I'm sure she is a very nice person but her chest is very scary.
But it makes the yachting so much simpler--your own built-in PFDs--personal flotation devices. She'll never drown, but she'll get old, and then what? General hilarity and scorn. We should do a calendar with pinups of superannuated implants. Make a fortune.
I can't stand Jordan. She didn't write it anyway. It pisses me off.
Not only did she not write it - it appears she didn't read it either!
A pumped up orange bird, eh? Do you think she's related to Atyllah? God, I hope not! Can you just imagine the henfights!?!
Some bright spark said to me once that the money publishers make on books by celebs goes into promoting books by lesser known awfurs. I'd like to believe it but...
It all comes down to What folk Value Nowadays, what they choose to read and some choices nowadays are misguided, to say the least.
And it also comes down to what's happening generally in education, families/society...it's at school where tastes develop, when young minds become intrigued..it's at home when parents encourage, suggest, provide inspiration , and its within society where we give chances, reveal the best, the most beautiful( eg books, opportunities etc)
I know it's all relative and one woman's Mgt Attwood is another woman's Joanna Trollope and ther's nothing wrong at all with some of the celebrity books, but its all gone too far down the wrong road and I for one think it's Very Sad Indeed...
Phew.
Im not even re-reading this; I just wanted to get it off m'chest ( Boom! Boom!)
Very eloquent, Jan.
Ab Van - unfortunately they also LOSE vast amounts of £££ on massive advances for celeb books which barely sell (Jordan's being the exception of course).
pReally well said Jan, all the nails hit on the head. It seems to be a generation of instantanious gratification, with little or no thought of long term progression. You're earlier post on Ian Rakin was spot on Debi, I would say a high percentage of authors take a couple of books to 'warm up' and become estasblished.
Just wondered if being able to tuck bosoms into waist bands without bra could set me off as an author - don't think so!!!!
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