tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post8628608161351233164..comments2023-11-22T06:35:25.251-05:00Comments on POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS: Reading Past the EnvyJulia Buckleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270211923343731659noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-9461643101068035502008-04-02T19:50:00.000-04:002008-04-02T19:50:00.000-04:00I don't think "bad" is an objective quality obviou...I don't think "bad" is an objective quality obvious to everyone. What I think is bad may be the height of enthralling entertainment to millions of others. If I read a bestselling book and nearly go crazy with the urge to edit it, rewrite it, then I tell myself I would not have been capable of producing that book, so its popularity has no implications whatever for me. Sometimes that works. Not Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-85581419002325679062008-04-02T17:47:00.000-04:002008-04-02T17:47:00.000-04:00I really think there is something I call the "succ...I really think there is something I call the "successful author syndrome." I've often thought I've noticed that after an author becomes successful and a sort of momentum takes hold, many authors don't seem to try as hard. Sloppy plot twists or inconsistent characters or even word choice that they never would have tolerated in their earlier work suddenly just slips in and doesn't get edited out. IAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-86691604061692291282008-04-02T17:46:00.000-04:002008-04-02T17:46:00.000-04:00You're right about jealousy eating at the soul of ...You're right about jealousy eating at the soul of writers. The best thing we can is live by the golden rule. <BR/><BR/>Reading is as enjoyable to me as writing. Finding new writers and new books that I love is a pleasure.<BR/><BR/>I do read bestsellers with an eye to learning something from them.<BR/>I would like to write a bestseller myself. But for the time being, I'm satisfied writing quality Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-78974060179735507002008-04-02T15:16:00.000-04:002008-04-02T15:16:00.000-04:00I must confess that every time I read a review of...I must confess that every time I read a review of someone's book or hear that someone was published I feel a little twinge of envy (I wish that was me!) But then I realize that the people I am envying deserve the reviews and the contgrats since I haven't even finished my first book and have a long way to go before I would even consider myself a good writer. I still have a lot to learn and I Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-79220482394601923812008-04-02T14:19:00.000-04:002008-04-02T14:19:00.000-04:00Laura, on the subject of envy within genres: Yes, ...Laura, on the subject of envy within genres: Yes, I suppose it's common for one cozy (or thriller) writer to envy the success of another, but I think there's also a lot of cross-genre jealousy. Every single year when the Edgar nominations are announced, we hear cozy writers complain that *their* books will never stand a chance at mystery's premiere award. And I know that some mystery writers Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-8138419716208166302008-04-02T13:50:00.000-04:002008-04-02T13:50:00.000-04:00Envy is a waste of time and energy. It's also part...Envy is a waste of time and energy. It's also part of the human condition. The trick is to rise above it. Use another writer's success as a lodestar, not a stone on your path. <BR/><BR/>To quote Joe Konrath, "no writer's success diminishes me" (or words to that effect). <BR/><BR/>As I remind Sandy -- (on rare occasions :) -- while she's busy envying some other writer, unpublished writers are Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00022883172212550101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-29645958955949200022008-04-02T12:38:00.000-04:002008-04-02T12:38:00.000-04:00I'm one of the lucky writers who has gotten less c...I'm one of the lucky writers who has gotten less critical since being published. If I'm reading a best-seller that seems flawed I find myself trying to figure out why so many readers seems to like the book. I drive my friends crazy asking, "But why did you like it?" <BR/><BR/>You'd think by now I'd have figured out the secret to best-sellerdom!Sofie Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830230500527705589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-87925291996077309952008-04-02T11:40:00.000-04:002008-04-02T11:40:00.000-04:00I abhor many bestsellers...but admire the writers ...I abhor many bestsellers...but admire the writers for being able to write something people like. On the other hand, there are best selling authors whose books I'll snatch up the minute they come out, so I don't think you have to write tripe to appeal to the masses. (John Connolly, for example, may or may not be a best seller, but he's certainly close, and I'll not only get his books in Laura K. Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444534759113332744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-75118260238463329752008-04-02T10:53:00.000-04:002008-04-02T10:53:00.000-04:00Here's a new one for you: I'm terribly envious of...Here's a new one for you: I'm terribly envious of...ME. My latest book, under a pseudonym, has officially been out one day and already it's sold more than my first book did in a year. It's with a bigger publisher, has a better cover, and it has received a ton of accolades. Is it any better than my first book? I don't think so. But there's no way the sequel to that first book (which comes outAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-28006999539191501372008-04-02T10:38:00.000-04:002008-04-02T10:38:00.000-04:00I can enjoy a book much more if I'm listening to i...I can enjoy a book much more if I'm listening to it on CD or tape than if I'm reading it. When I'm listening, I don't put the book down and think about the things that seem wrong to me. I just let the reader carry me along through the story.Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8056815460076050228.post-15529930164250700392008-04-02T09:11:00.000-04:002008-04-02T09:11:00.000-04:00Very perceptive, Sandy. But envy trickles down ev...Very perceptive, Sandy. But envy trickles down even to the lowest rungs on the ladder. Did Colleague X get a better review in Obscure Journal than I did? Did she get a review at all? Why did she and not me? My Amazon ranking is ten thousand better than hers!<BR/><BR/>I don't read a lot of best sellers (too expensive!), but I have to think the common denominator is that they keep the reader Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com