Thursday 15 November 2012

Where are the books that have been written by writers?

Forgive me but I'm going to have a moan. WH Smith is advertising books for Christmas.  I counted at least 14 half price celebrity books (including, Kerry Katona. Yes, the ex-girl band singer, the one you see on the front of celeb magazines - either in love or out of love, drinking or not drinking, fat or on a diet.  And, wait for it! “The number one bestselling author, Tabloid Superstar and ex-Glamour Girl, Katie Price” has a book out for Christmas). And there's more.  There's a multitude of Cookbooks, Antique and DIY books.  But where's the quality fiction?  Novels that will thrill us, scare us, make us think, laugh and cry? And the quality non-fiction books? Where are the books that take us to worlds that are different to our own.  Worlds we don’t see on the television, or read about in glossy magazines? Where are the life books? Books that tell us about the origins of our world; show us how our ancestors lived thousands of years ago, or more recently, during the last century? Where are the books that are not only enjoyable to read, but we learn from? Well written books with good grammar, strong plot lines and rich believable characters. Sadly, they weren't being advertised.

5 comments:

  1. How insightful this piece is...and how true! I'm not sure how the celebrity cult began, but haven't we had our fill of it? The traditional publishers who ignored 'writers' and paid a fortune to celebs for their ghost written books are now in trouble because those ignored writers are now choosing to self -publish. abd who can blame them?

    PS.. I love the quote!

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    1. In the 1980s and 90s tabloid newspapers paid huge sums of money to party girls who slept with famous footballers, politians and TV presenters to tell all. They were called 'kiss and tell' stories. Maybe, magazine 'real life' stories, and then books, were just a natural progression of our money making cultur.

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  2. I think we might have had our fill, because most of the books written by, or ghosted for, B-celebs go on sale for 50% of their original price, a few months after their launch. Or, maybe it's because of the athletes who have written books after the success of the Olympics. Some are riding the wave of Olympic success in, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and, ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here,’ to name but two Reality shows. Don’t get me started on reality shows. As a member of Equity I hate them! So, where are all the professional writers? Probably with the professional actors – looking for agents and jobs in professions they've trained for, but can't get work in.

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  3. I totally agree with you honey, but, unfortunately, that's what sells :(

    Xx

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    1. Yes, it's the celebrity culture. A survey done last year with 16 year olds, published: "When asked ‘what would you like to be when you're older?’ over 50% said FAMOUS, 13% wanted a job in the media, 9% wanted a legal career, and 15% in medicine - nursing or becoming a GP. The most popular way of achieving fame was via 'The X Factor,' or 'Britains Got Talent.'" How sad is that?

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