  Romance/Love
This week: Not Black and White Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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Hello! I'm Crys-not really here back again with this week's Romance/Love Newsletter. I love the conversation that's been forming after my last newsletter. Keep your comments coming! |
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Not Black and White: Your Thoughts on Fifty Shades
First of all, I'd like to apologize for inadvertently misspelling "grey" in the title Fifty Shades of Grey in my last newsletter. I'd like to also thank everyone who wrote in to discuss the issue at hand- what it means to write quality literature. Everyone had such interesting things to say, so I'm delegating this newsletter to your comments!
If you have read the novel and haven't already filled out my poll regarding it, please do so!
[Linked Poll's access is restricted.]
On the issue of self-publishing
karebear  says:
I don't know if you read the second book or even finished the first one, but I think the author did a better job of character development after a while. She still needs to take several writing classes though.
There's a lot of bad self-published work out there. Not all of it, but Fifty isn't the only thing I've read where I thought "who wrote this?" Unfortunately I think the popularity of Fifty and others shows that there are a lot of readers that don't notice or don't care.
Voxxylady says:
Crys, I completely agree with you about the quality of writing in romance books. It's terribly lacking these days and we do our readers no favors that way. Especially when you're self-pubbed, you should be sure your book's quality is high, since it reflects on you, not some publisher, but also on the rest of us who self-pub and work hard on the quality of our writing.
Voxxylady makes a valid point. Not everyone who self-publishes neglects to have their novel edited for grammar and punctuation. Books that are published despite obvious flaws in these areas are one of the reasons that self-publishing gets a bad rep.
On character development, etc.
KD Miller says:
I just read your recent newsletter about. 50 Shades of Gray. I agree with you 100%. The book is awful. I also downloaded the free chapter on Amazon, and couldn't buy it. To be honest, I wouldn't waste 99 cents on it. I think a big mistake erotica writers make is they think just because they're writing about sex that there doesn't need to be character development. Ugh.
That being said, the best erotica I've ever read is The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice. The woman is flawless, as well as her writing.
pinkbarbie says:
Hi crys-10 years at WDC, I totally agree that characterisation, setting, plot, correct grammar are very important in a story. Sex shouldn't be the only thing. I too really like Nicholas Spark's novels especially "Nights in Rodanthe". The main reason why I really like it is because the setting carried me away. Thank you for this very important newsletter.
About the positives of Grey:
shaara says:
Yes, but it does prove that if you can get people talking about your book -- whether good or bad -- people will buy it. LOL
dblameck (David) says:
The advantage of fifty shades of grey is that it does explore sexuality. It is not the quality of the work but that some light bdsm is accepted as ok.
Maria8686  says:
There is something within these stories that speaks to readers who might not buy books otherwise. I fought this notion, struggling with my absurd need to defend it, until I witnessed a reading surge that begged to be evaluated. Kids were spending hours in line for books! And they did it with so much joy, critics began turning pages to see what all the steam was about. But guess what? Someone who has lost that particular vision will NOT see it. And that's okay, because they are not meant to be dissected this way; they are meant to entertain. When we refute books, we call connections people share with them sub-par to our own finely-honed judgment. Talk about being holier-than-thou!! So yes, while I myself am guilty of searching for grammar mistakes, I have decided to step aside and let them be. They do, after all, tell a story that millions want to read. And sure, maybe many talented writers could have done it so much more eloquently. But the truth of the matter is, they simply didn't.
From the standpoint of a book lover, of course I like the sentiment that it's great when non-readers find a book enjoyable. As a writer, however, I can't stop thinking about how hard some of us work to polish our books to perfection, while books that aren't quite so put together fly off the bookshelves. What do you readers think? Should there be a choice between more readers and more quality books? |
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Some more comments. There were so many I can't include them all!
I happen to believe that ALL writing is subjective, and what one person considers poor writing another may think a masterpiece. Obviously grammar and punctuation need to be intact, but style is a matter of preference. I haven't read the book in question -- yet-- but I took a look at the first few pages and didn't find the beginning of it to be so badly written. Personally I hate a book with a lot of description and personal thoughts, and find that to be quite boring. I want to read a STORY, not what some character thinks about this or that. Unfortunately that seems to be the norm of what publishers want nowadays. No wonder I find so many books unreadable. -Dara Russell
I am in total agreement. That is why I do not read the vamp books written today. If they are not of the quality writing of Feehan or Rule forget it.
I have not read Twilight for the same reason. I couldn't get through the first chapter. BORING. I am trying to be a good writer. I want some kind of promise that something interesting is going to happen in the coming chapters.
I love your newsletter -Quick-Quill 
The title itself caught my eye; yes, I do think fifty shades of grey is poor. But what I liked about your newsletter is that you talked about writing better and correctly especially for a genre not taken seriously - even I don't take it seriously - but I did take your newsletter seriously. Great job at getting a reader's attention (claps her hands) -Lunarmirror
Hi! I love it that you are gutsy enough to give your opinion regardless of the fact that you know many of the readers will not agree. I personally haven't read the book. However, with all the people who have spoken up with opinions I trust (such as yourself), I really doubt I will be. I do think it's wonderful the conversations about not only romance and erotica, but self-publishing that it's caused.  Keep up the great editorials! Oh and I love the idea of having an embedded poll at the end of your newsletter. I just might have to steal that.  -Brooke 
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Romance/Love: August 01, 2012 Issue [#5168]
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