Monday, July 11, 2005

Alrighty!

I actually got my way through every single book and review on the site, so I'm all caught up. It took all day, but YAY! It's no longer hanging over my head. And I even got a bit of writing in - up to 23,877. Would have gotten more, except I'm not exactly sure where this scene is headed. How much of a suck-up should Aubrey by? I have to make it convincing that she thinks he likes her, while the reader should be starting to think he's not all that. A fine line to walk.

I also e-mailed a bunch of publishers today to kick off the whole new "Kid's Book Central" thing. Got a pretty good reception, all in all.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm writing the type of book that I'm normally not all that fond of. Am I going for the easy, more marketable route when I could be doing something 'literary'? but then I come to my senses.

1) Writing is a business. If you can't sell books and write as a viable career, then it's just a hobby.

2) Even the most vaccuous 'popular' books have purpose and value, even if it is only that they encourage people to read. I'm not a particularly huge fan of Francine Pascal or R. L. Stine (the books have a mass-produced kind of feel usually -- I probably shouldn't be saying that, as a reviewer, but hey, it's true), but if even one kid loves their books and picks up another book, that's a great thing. And tons of kids are doing just that.

3) Literary doesn't necessarily mean something has merit. I'm still not convinced that Joyce's Ulysses has any value at all. If you can't even read the thing, what's the point? It's like there's a hoity-toity literary clique out there and they don't want to invite anyone else in. Exclusivity so they can all congratulate themselves and pat each other on the back. Not my favorite thing.

Alrighty. I guess I can step on off of that soapbox now. Not sure what bee went up my bonnet today.

No comments: