Nearly 11.000 books are published daily, with only some managing to hit the bookshelves and sell like hot bread. So as to better secure a place in the selected “some’, you must rack up a respectable reputation, being able to sell the books and not let them gather dust until the new trendy author sets in. You may possess the abilities of Shakespeare himself, however, because your numbers are off, you are not worth the monetary sacrifice. We live in a world where you are treated as a nobody if you don’t sell. Should this nonetheless affect you? I would disagree because after taking a stroll around my local bookshops, I came to a disastrous conclusion; there is no more creativity in the publishing industry. Every single book is a carbon copy of a former book, and this fact is noticeable even to the naked eye just by looking at the seventh cover featuring a cartoonish design of a conventionally attractive girl and boy. I ask myself: What set off this perilous epidemic and how can we combat it?
If I could pinpoint a starting point, I would blame it on Collen Hoover, the infamous writer. Due to her rise in popularity in 2020, she managed to build her brand up, securing a spot in TIME's Most Influential People in 2023. If I were to tell you this, you would assume that she’d be this glorious and zealous writer whose work challenged boundaries, when in fact, at least in my opinion and many others, she is a horrible writer who glorified abuse. Collen Hoover doesn't deserve the wealth and glory she amassed, however, let's explore how her empire was built.
A key ingredient is that social media helped her bolster her persona. She mainly was a self-publisher and miraculously published a plethora of books, a raconteur for most amateur writers. She wrote about what people wanted to read, especially romance, with a dash of thrillers thrown in the mixture. My main problem with her books is that they all follow the same plot while glorifying issues. After writing each book and noticing that the reader still wasn’t getting bored of the boy meets girl, they fall in love, something causes them to fall apart and everything is wonderfully elucidated, other writers decided to take it to the next level by not even adding an element of distinctiveness that Collen bore.
Another key issue is that readers are becoming more and more impatient. For this reason, the influx of published books must be enhanced, not allowing writers to fully explore the boundless limits of their creative minds. Not being allowed to savor the glory of publishing a successful book, they must already allot time to plan out their new books. In the past, authors seamlessly allowed a few years to pass before each release, now the market is overly saturated and always seeking fresh blood. For a writer to postpone the release date by even a few weeks could potentially hurt their sales because someone else has taken the world aback with their work. Few authors still maintain the reputation of publishing books every 5 years. For Example, Donna Tartt the beloved gothic writer has continuously bore a cult following even though she has been
partaking in the literary business for over 20 years, having only published three masterpieces. Her business regime could not still function in today’s market, it is a pleasant daydream to have an idyllic view of what this market could contain, where authors published books with an actual meaning behind them.
While fast-food books sell swiftly, it is important to remember the value that literature once held, challenging even the most brilliant of minds. Back then, not everyone could write and sell, today, everyone has a spot to challenge the ever-worsening market of publishing. We do need fast food books as a treat, but we must also indulge in philosophically complicated books for our brains not to be babied. While we wait for Donna Tartt's new release, let us hope that the new generation of writers brings a fresh wave of creativity, unapologetically being themselves and not following the same cookie-cutter pattern we have adjusted to.
Tomi Anastasia 10A
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