tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post4842130580309777051..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: What We Writers Gotta DoLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-84523533495978444342007-08-08T17:45:00.000-04:002007-08-08T17:45:00.000-04:00Great post, Mark. You know I've read that Shakespe...Great post, Mark. You know I've read that Shakespeare created a LOT of new words, but it's funny...most editors are NOT interested in that sort of creativity. Sigh.Joanna Campbell Slanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01951637123269159053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-20803056921681726112007-08-08T17:14:00.000-04:002007-08-08T17:14:00.000-04:00291,000 is the biggest number I've yet seen.It's h...291,000 is the biggest number I've yet seen.<BR/><BR/>It's hopeless!<BR/><BR/>But actually, without context, it's just a meaningless number. Even 42,000 fiction titles is meaningless without breakdowns.<BR/><BR/>What we know:<BR/><BR/> - a lot of books get published<BR/> - it's not easy to be noticed<BR/><BR/>But, getting back to the topic of the post, I'd say that what we can do to GET noticed among the many is write the best book we can. Originality when we encounter is almost always special, but even considering that there are:<BR/><BR/> - only 7 plots<BR/> - only 15 plots<BR/> - only 11 plots<BR/><BR/>(I've seen all three numbers cited as gospel.)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, given that there are only X number of plots, what makes our own stories special and distinctive (if not always unique) is what else we bring to the endeavor. Voice, theme, character. Old ideas can be seen in a fresh light, and drama and comedy found in new ways from old stories. As you say, Bill Shakespeare did exactly that. (I call him Bill because, well, I just assume he was a casual dood like me.)Bill Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796321136771189464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-31522405538928684362007-08-08T13:42:00.000-04:002007-08-08T13:42:00.000-04:00Bill/Mark:Good question. I found the numbers at Bo...Bill/Mark:<BR/><BR/>Good question. I found the numbers at Bowker.com<BR/><BR/>Bottomline for 2006: 291,000 new titles published and 42,000 adult fiction titles. It did not delineate between traditional publishers and self-published or PODs.<BR/><BR/>FeliciaFelicia Donovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556232226152556397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-51933448224470039852007-08-08T13:30:00.000-04:002007-08-08T13:30:00.000-04:00Bill,That's very reasonable. The 180,000, give or ...Bill,<BR/>That's very reasonable. The 180,000, give or take, comes from, I believe, BookScan, which is the Nielsen's, the same folks who give us TV ratings. I imagine most of those 180,000 are nonfiction, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them are based entirely on ISBN numbers issued each year, which becomes an interesting subject, then.<BR/><BR/>Early this year I had published by Washington G-2 Reports a booklength business report called the "Laboratory Industry Strategic Outlook 2007." It runs approximately 200 pages or so, it has a copyright, an ISBN and sells for, I think, $1050 or so per copy. (Yeah, blows my mind, but there you go...). Does BookScan count this type of thing as a book? I think so. And does is count the numerous publications cranked out by the Federal government that are booklength? Quite possibly.<BR/><BR/>And does it count the Beanie Baby Buyers Guide and "189 Ways to Make Money Utilizing Belly-Button Lint"? And possibly company reports? And every piece of dreck that comes out of iUniverse and Lulu, etc.<BR/><BR/>Quite possibly.<BR/><BR/>I've heard the number of 500 mystery novels/year. I think that's low, but I would think that the number of legitimately published mysteries and thrillers published each year in the U.S. probably wouldn't number more than say, 2000 or 3000. Romances might be higher. SF is probably similar.Mark Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410424046477699059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-69151547960507772062007-08-08T11:48:00.000-04:002007-08-08T11:48:00.000-04:00Since you mentioned going on the reservation, I'd ...Since you mentioned going on the reservation, I'd like to toss out a question that's off-topic but brought up by a comment you made.<BR/><BR/>How many books are REALLY published every year? And more importantly, how many of them are new fiction?<BR/><BR/>I mention this because you quote 180,000 books. I've seen that number before. I've also seen 150,000 and 220,000 and just about every number in between.<BR/><BR/>And I also think the same thing: huh? I mean, what do those numbers really mean?<BR/><BR/>I don't doubt that there are a lot of books being published, and I'm willing to accept that the number of new books each year is in excess of a hundred thousand. But details are important.<BR/><BR/>How many of those books are self-published non-fiction? How many are commercially published non-fiction? Of the fiction, how many are new editions of existing titles? (When Barnes & Noble publishes a "classics" edition of an existing novel, that would technically be a "new" book.) How many are actually published within the genres to which our potential readers might reasonably be attracted?<BR/><BR/>I mention this because whenever I see that giant number, whatever it happens to be that day, I feel like it's used to make a big scary point that isn't necessarily valid. "Jerbillions of books, oh my! How will I ever get noticed?" But I don't really hafta be noticed by people who are only looking for Beanie Baby price guides, or scholarly bibliographies of original sources relating to the English Civil War. Or whatever.<BR/><BR/>180,000 books is a lot, but I'm only concerned with a narrow subset of them.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, sorry for the digression. This has just been a peeve of mine for some time now.Bill Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04796321136771189464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-51564256241020029272007-08-08T11:15:00.000-04:002007-08-08T11:15:00.000-04:00Great post, Mark. And a wonderful point about exe...Great post, Mark. And a wonderful point about execution carrying us a long way. How often have we all read stories with great possibilities only to have them fall flat because of execution? And how often have some of our own pet ideas fallen victim to that and so are shelved until we are ready to spend the time and gray matter necessary to bring them to life in a way that will make them sing on the page. <BR/><BR/>I have several book ideas in the initial draft stage that aren't quite up to snuff. Maybe I'll never have the inner spark to execute them well, so maybe they will never be published. But then again, one day they just might stand up, wave their little make-believe hands and say "it's my time ... now" and I will be able to see the full vision. But until I do see that vision and spark, it's on to other things.Sue Ann Jaffarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984054116933714621noreply@blogger.com