Shining a Light

 

Terry here with our question of the week: 

 Who's a writer you believe deserves more attention? What makes their work meaningful to you, and how has it influenced your own? 

 Alas, this week’s question stymied me. A writer I think deserves more attention? You mean ONE? No, that’s impossible. There are many little-known writers who grab my attention as much or more than well-known authors. Occasionally I’ll be blown away by a famous author and I return to their books again and again. But just often I get excited by a book by someone I’ve never heard of –and it turns out the author is plugging along in midlist like most of us.  I can’t help wondering what it would take for that author to be exalted to fame and fortune. 

Alas, the opposite is also true. I read too many books that are on everyone’s “best of” list, some written by authors with a sterling reputation and I find them to be just okay. Of course I also read books by unknowns that are the same—just okay. Anyway, how does a writer get more attention? (And does it make their career?) 

I recently read a book that was pretty good, had some interesting content, some sections that were intriguing. BUT the book was a hopeless hodgepodge. It hopped from one focus point to another. I spoke with someone else who read it, who said, “meh.” But the book has gotten a lot of attention. Turns out the writer has paid a lot for a publicist. The question? Will the attention carry over to the next book? The author is charming and generous, so maybe…but maybe not. 

I know several wonderful authors who have gone all out to pay for a publicist, spending thousands of dollars personally because most publishers have become stingy with promotion…only to find that all the hype that accompanied the book died as soon as the book was “old news” and the attention did not carry over to their next book. 

So what makes the attention carry over, and result in fame and maybe even a bit of fortune for an author? In some cases, I can’t help thinking this means the book, or author, is well-known because a lot of money was invested in their success. But not always. Sometimes a highly successful author is successful because she writes damn good books. 

Bottom line, t the reading experience is subjective, and sometimes it isn’t just money, but “collective subjectivity” that determines if someone becomes successful. I have a good friend who said she likes my books better than another author who writes a similar series and who is much more successful. Nice to hear, but it would take a lot of people with that response to take me to another level. 

 That being the case, who is to say whether someone “deserves” more attention? All I know is that when I find a book I really like, I holler about it. I tell people in person and on social media. I review the book. Does it make a difference? I have no idea. I doubt, though, that I’ve been responsible for single-handedly turning a midlist author into a shining star. 

As to the second part of the question, what makes someone’s work meaningful to me? Again, it’s subjective—and subjectivity can be influenced by timing. Something I read at one time that seemed brilliant, on rereading may not grab me the same way. Mood, time of life, circumstance, can all converge to make a read “important and meaningful.” 

At the moment I’m reading a book by Peter Robinson. An author doesn’t get much more well-known than Robinson. But what is striking me in this particular book is his way of picking just the right detail to describe the point of view of Banks, his protagonist. I’ve read many of his books, but that never stood out the way it is on this reading. Is that due to my mood? All I know is that I hope this understanding lasts, and that the next time I start a book, I remember the way he lingers on some element of the moment…and does it with beautiful language.