Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

Sarah Dunant is quoted in the article touching on something that has captured my attention for months now: the use of any and all celebrity on the part of the author to market a book: “Looking at publishing ... it has been saturated with the notion of the creation of celebrity as a marketing opportunity ... There has to be a box, a place they can put you. I just find it annoying but it doesn’t stop me from writing exactly what I wish to write. This conversation between Margaret Drabble and myself was part of the larger observation that everything needs to be packaged, that writers cannot be who they are.”

Dame Margaret Drabble is quoted, “I write literary novels but I can sense my publishers have difficulty in selling me as a genre ... whether in literary fiction, or women’s fiction or shopping fiction. They don’t quite know whether I’m highbrow or literary....”

Brain is exploding, here. Point the first: the culture of celebrity affecting authors seems to only be growing, and I wonder at what point this fixation on celebrity and author-as-product will reach its apex and die the hell down already.

Point the second: visual recasting of novels? The Zuzu’s Petals example is fascinating. I didn’t think the first cover what all that awful, but apparently cartoon cherry blossoms and lithe women carrying mammoth handbags really captured bookstore retailers attention. I don’t necessarily see how that’s “dumbing down,” unless cartoon + obvious marketing ploy to women = dumbing down.

So retailers are still dictating title promotion and sale? If it looks good, it will be featured prominently? So will every novel go the way of older historicals, and sell with man-titty clinch covers up and down the bookshelves? I mean, if it works for older Gore Vidal novels what can it do for Oprah and Dan Brown? Ultimately, it’ll be a question for the ages - what should be bigger on the cover: the authors name, or the big buxom man titty?

Look, as readers, are we or are we not judging books, and authors, by their covers? I mean, if we’re going to be handed a superficial set of requirements as gatekeepers to our browsing selection, let’s just own it already and openly only sell books that that come with a solid cover art sample and, for God’s sake, a Botoxed author headshot with as much airbrushing as possible. It’s not the book - it’s the celebrity potential of the book image and the author image combined that move sales.

Now, who wants to slap a man-titty on their favorite non-man-tittied novel?

Thanks to Jane from DA for the heads up.

When I read a digital screen, be it a monitor, a laptop screen, or the Kindle, I read very, very quickly. While the Kindle is very different from the eyestraining LCD screens, I still read the digital words much faster than words on paper. Of the three, the Kindle is far and away the easiest on my eyes - and I’m crosseyed so focusing my eyes is all kind of wonky.

But when reading a paper book, I have to go much more slowly - and I was thinking that the reason I have to slow down and focus much more intently, sometimes even using my finger or a bookmark to mark my place and move it along the page, is because of the weaker contrast between the cream/beige paper in a mass market paperback and the black ink on that page. The Kindle has a much greater constast, which I believe is also adjustable, as is the text size, and for that reason it is far and away easier on my eyes to read, as the words themselves are in focus and larger and clearer.

That increased contrast makes a huge difference to me. When reading the Kindle, even at a reduced text size, I don’t make the mistake of jumping down a line in the middle of a sentence and coming up with descriptions that make no sense. (He placed her shoulders on the table!? What?!) I do that all the time with paperbacks. While I do sometimes think I’m reading too fast on the Kindle at times - usually at times when the text at hand has failed to grab me and I’m scanning and not reading - I am able to read without raising my eyes from the device for much longer periods of time vs. a mass market paperback, where I have to focus on something far away from my lenses every now and again.

So it’s not just the moar-moar-moar that makes me an eager Kindle-ade drinker. It’s the increased comfort and facility with which I can read books, and really, I didn’t expect the ebook reader revolution to change the way and the comfort of my reading as much as it did. And while, no, I won’t give up paper books because not every book that I want is available on the Kindle, I do eagerly look for solutions that allow me to convert and send books to the Kindle, especially from file types that aren’t Mac-friendly (which is why Stanza is rocking my tights. Thanks Teddy Pig!).

I know many, many people have yet to take the ebook plunge, and I didn’t think I’d be such a squeeing fangirl so quickly. But when it comes to the physical limitations of my vision coming up against my desire to keep reading as long as possible, my eyes have it bad for the Kindle.

“...it’s expensive in these times, but it’s not frivolous because it will pay for itself,” she told her audience. “The books are much cheaper, and you’re saving paper.”

Ok, I’m with Beyers: pays for itself? Yeah, not exactly. Kindle books are cheaper than hardcover but they aren’t always “cheap.” Yes, you’re saving paper, and yes, ebooks and the small publishers who are devoted to them (Hi Sam! How’s your Hain?) are fanshittingtastic, but pays for itself? Come on now, and I mean it. It’s an indulgence.

I am personally not crazy about Beyer’s recommendation that with the same $305 folks should buy stock in Phillip Morris International (Yes! And take up smoking, too!) so as to better fund retirement and make a small profit off that $300 investment, but he makes a rather sharp pointy argument (watch where you’re waving that thing) when he writes:

With apologies to comedian Bill Maher, what we need, Oprah, is a new rule: No more dispensing financial advice on your show. At least not until you cut the consumerism—specifically, until you realize that an electronic book reader is optional for the great majority of us who carry credit card debt. Send your viewers to their local libraries instead.

Hear, hear. Libraries - that offer ebooks for lending, perhaps?!

I process formal complaints submitted by RWA members.  Formal complaints must be within RWA’s purview.  For example we can handle a complaint filed against a publishing company that is not paying royalties correctly, but cannot handle complaints against a company that is allowing less than professional behavior to occur, like name calling, etc.  We would hope that authors and industry professionals conduct their business in a professional manner, but it is not RWA’s role to police those relationships.  We only process complaints that involve contract violations. 

At the moment I report the complaints we have processed (in general terms) with interested members, but our plan is to add a column to our Market Update sections on the website that will indicate if a complaint has been filed against a company, with a clickable link that will then open a window that will explain the basic nature of the complaint and if the company resolved the complaint or not.  We are not going to say “don’t do business with this company”, but we will give the member more information to consider before they engage in a relationship with a company. 

I also review applications for the PAN (Published Author’s Network) membership. I manage the anti-piracy program at RWA. This involves reviewing websites, locating contact information and adding the site to the RWA list on our website.  And finally, I am the 2009 RITA and Golden Heart Contest coordinator. 

When we spoke in San Francisco and you were telling me some of your war stories, I was really impressed with your laid back but utterly pugnacious attitude when defending author rights in contracts. You told me then that you come from the Better Business Bureau - how has your experience there helped you in dealing with publishing houses?

Carol: I worked for the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston for 9 years.  As the Vice-President of Operations and Bureau Standards I was responsible for the Dispute Resolution department.  The Houston BBB handled about 25,000 complaints per year.  The complaints had to be vetted against the BBB’s standards. The BBB could not handle complaints against private individuals, or labor issues, malpractice, etc. 

This background in complaint resolution has been helpful at preparing for my job at RWA.  It taught me to remain neutral and ask the next question, to gain all of the facts of a situation prior to processing a complaint.  I learned at the BBB to remove all of the passion and anger from a complaint and to consider the facts. 

Understanding the nuances of a contract is especially helpful.  I learned early on that a contract is a roadmap for a relationship.  It spells out the expectations and requirements.  At RWA I review publishing contracts both for new publishing companies that want to be on our lists and contracts in complaints.  At the BBB I also learned how to dig for information and this has been helpful in dealing with anti-piracy. 

If you could give advice to authors and aspiring writers dealing with a publisher or contract from a publisher, what would it be?

Carol: First and foremost READ the contract. Every word of it! If there are parts of the contract you do not understand then ask for help.  Find a literary attorney, invest in their services for a couple of hours and ask for a review of the contract and explanations for anything you don’t understand.  Do not sign anything that you do not understand or makes you uncomfortable.  Hopefully you will have an agent to help negotiate a contract.  The agent should be looking out for you. 

Be careful in how much you grant in rights to your work.  Read the option clause and make sure it is specific and does not bind you or your future works forever.  You should not be expected to pay for editing, production or promotion of your work. 

I learned a long time ago to do my homework prior to any major purchase.  Yes, I’m one of those people that read Consumer Reports before I buy a car (or washer and dryer).  I check the BBB to see if a company has complaints.  I go to the Internet and read as much as possible before buying or signing a contract.  I think that aspiring writers and authors should do the same before submitting their work. Research the company.  If it is a publishing company that you are not familiar purchase a book from them.  Was the book delivered in a timely manger, how did the book look?  Pay attention to the editing. If you are a member of an RWA chapter ask your fellow members what they know about a company.  Research is a good thing. 

What changes would you like to see in the publishing world?

Carol: I would like to see the publishing industry go after the file-sharing or pirate sites in a big way.  When you go to the movies they play an anti-theft commercial for movies industry.  It would be great if they included something about books.  I honestly think that many of the people who are making books available on line for free (or the people downloading the books) do not realize they are breaking the law.  I think that they see it as different from the illegal downloads of music, movies or games.  So education should be a big part of whatever the publishing industry does. 

Thank you very much to Carol for taking the time to answer my nosy questions, and for the kicking of ass and taking of names. Good on you. 

This is the Sam Hain Francium Discover New Authors Program. Or, “Francium” for short. Why?

Because it’s the second rarest element on the periodic table? And Sam Hain is among those rare entities: a commercially viable, professionally-behaved e-publisher? With a website that doesn’t feature a buffet of typos and non sequiturs?

No. (Francium is also the least stable of the elements, and that does not at all apply to Sam Hain).

Is it because Francium does all sorts of wildly kinky chemical things, like coprecipitate with silicotungstate, and doesn’t “silicotungstate” sound like something mildly porny? And Sam Hain is known for the kinky Hott Sexxoring Stories?

No. (But “Silicotungstate” was totally fun to type and say out loud, as was “coprecipitate.")

Is it because Francium was invented by Marguerite Perey, a female scientist at the Curie Institute? And Sam Hain is founded and run by a team of women (plus Scott Carpenter, who I hear likes to choke a chicken on his business cards)?

Nope.

You probably already guessed - the periodic symbol for Francium is “Fr.” Which is half of the word FREE! So - half a free book to discover new authors? Francium.

No, no, Sam, don’t thank me. I’m here all week.

PCA / ACA National Conference:  New Orleans, April 8-11, 2009
(Conference info:  http://pcaaca.org/conference/national.php)

CALL FOR PAPERS:  Romance Fiction

We are considering proposals for individual papers, sessions organized around a theme, and “special panels” featuring authors or editors. Sessions are scheduled in one-hour slots, ideally with four papers or speakers per standard session.

Should you or any of your colleagues be interested in submitting a proposal or have any questions, please contact one or both of the area chairs (see below).  Please feel free to forward, cross-post, or link to this call for papers.

We are interested in any and all topics about or related to romance fiction:  all genres, all kinds, and all eras.

Some possible topics (although we are not limited to these):

--Individual Novels or Authors
--New Directions in Romance Scholarship (historicist, formalist, post-colonial, queer-theoretical, etc.)
--Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Romance, and same-sex love within predominantly heterosexual texts
--Genre-Bending and Genre-Crossing authors and texts (erotic romance, SF romance, chick-lit, urban fantasy, highbrow / lowbrow crossover texts, etc.)
--African-American, Latina, Asian, and other Multicultural romance
--Young Adult Romance and Chick-lit (series, novels, authors, communities)
--Category Romance (its past history, recent and forthcoming lines, changing demographics, etc.)
--History of Romance Fiction and its major subgenres (major authors and texts, turning points in the development of the genre or any subgenre)
--Romance and Region:  places, histories, mythologies, traditions
--Romance on the World Stage (texts in translation; romance manga; non-Western writers, readers, and publishers; local, national, and multinational publishing)
--Romance communities and the Romance Industry:  authors, readers, publishers, websites, blogs

If you are a romance author or editor and are interested in speaking on your own work or on developments in the romance genre, please contact us!

As we did last year in San Francisco, the Romance Fiction area will meet in a special Open Forum to discuss upcoming conferences, work in progress, and the future of the field.  Of particular interest this year:  the new International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR) with its affiliated scholarly publication, Journal of Popular Romance Studies (JPRS)! 

Submit a one-page (150-250 word) proposal or abstract (via regular mail or e-mail) by November 15, 2008, to the Area Chairs in Romance:

Eric Selinger
Dept. of English
DePaul Univ.
802 West Belden Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
773-325-4475
eselinge@depaul.edu

Darcy Martin
Women’s Studies
East Tennessee State University
(423) 439-6311
martindj@etsu.edu

Smart, thinks Sarah. Very smart. But hmm. Book giving, as we discussed here when I brought up books that provide comfort and respite from difficult times, can be very challenging if one doesn’t know the taste of the gift recipient. As Jennifer Crusie once said to me during an interview for The Book (which isn’t due out until April 2009 so alas, I can’t plug our book as The Perfect Gift unless you’re buying for Mother’s Day. Or, “Your Mother” Day) there are some readers who absolutely cannot suspend disbelief for some circumstances in a romance. Some readers will not stand for paranormal activity, and others can’t handle historical romance for other reasons, but the point is apt: it can be tough to pick the right book, let alone the right romance for someone if you don’t know them well. You have to know what plots they are willing to suspend disbelief for, and which they are not. I don’t know that much about many of the people on my gift list, really, and their grasp and rejection of various realities and fictional worlds is certainly not part of my getting-to-know-you questioning.

I have bought books with varying levels of success for people in my world, including Hubby who is a rather picky reader, and my father who only likes books that weigh about 5 lbs. and are about the intricate minutiae of dead people, preferably Civil War generals. But if I were to apply Random House’s “Books = gifts” campaign to the romance genre, what books would I pick? Are there guaranteed romances that make great gifts for people, from those you know intimately to those you work with? Hell, can you buy a romance for people you work with or is that sexual harassment given the likelihood of nookification within the cover?

Plus there’s the added danger of the attitude toward romance. Even the fans of another much-maligned genre whip out their battering rod of condescension when examining romance within the sci-fi genre, so giving another person a romance novel as a gift might backfire in a multitude of ways - most of which will reveal more about the recipient than the gifter, if you ask me. (Note to io9: people whose genre is dismissed as a house built of Spock ears shouldn’t throw stones. Just sayin’.)

I can think of specific people whom I would happily mail a romance as a gift, among them my sister, who reads romance, and several of my friends, who read it as well.

But while I’ve been sitting here pondering which romance novels I’d give as gifts to people who may not read romance, I’ve come back again and again to the same thought. I’d be more likely to give bookstore gift certificates than actual books, allowing the recipient a true blissful experience, more potent than one of those massages with the hot flat rocks: the gift of guilt-free book shopping, book selecting, and book owning.