In the news the other day, British writer Joan Brady said that "Fumes Made Her Go Lowbrow" (to quote the headline of the Times Online). She sued for damages from a shoe factory near her home, saying the fumes were so bad she was unable to concentrate on writing her highbrow novel and instead wrote a brutal crime story, Bleedout, which she found "easier." That thriller, by the way, sold 10,000 copies, a number many first-time crime writers would be thrilled to have under their belt. So, what is she telling the 10,000 folks who bought her book -- that they're a bunch of brainless morons?
On the heels of that fun tidbit comes another news story out of the UK in The Bookseller about a new Apprentice-style TV reality series titled "Murder Most Famous." Six celebrities (a dancer, two actresses, a tabloid editor, a TV presenter, and a gardener) will be pitted against each other to write a crime novel. The winner will have their effort published (after editing by Pan Macmillan publishing director Maria Rejt). The one good thing to come from this is that proceeds will go towards the charity organization, BBC Children in Need.
But what does each of these stories say about crime fiction and mystery authors? You have to be sick or temporarily brain dead to write one? Or that all you need is to take someone off the street who's never written such a novel before and they can crank one out in five daily 45-minute episodes?
I agree with Sarah Weinman on her blog that I'm not really sure how to feel about this, especially when poor sickie Brady is working on a sequel to her thriller.
So, I'll just end with one brief happier news item. The Book Standard reported that according to a global survey from Nielsen Online, books were the most popular item purchased online over the past three months, topping out at 40%. Surprisingly (at least to me), the top online book-buyers were from South Korea, followed closely by readers in developing countries like China, Brazil, Vietnam and Egypt. Nielsen Online's Jonathan Carson was quoted as saying this would indicates "Massive growth potential for online retailers that can specifically target these fast-growing markets."
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