Nice people thread part 5 - nicely does it

chewmylegoff

tomterm8 wrote: »

No, actually, I still wouldn't trust it. Dan Brown is actually a very good writer, and his book is very good. I've learned alot by studying him. You are not in his target market: his targe market is 'light reading' or the people who used to buy pulps.

He's very successful which I guess is all that matters if you're trying to make money out of it, but his writing is awful. Anyone who believes that you can't polish a turd should read Digital Fortress.

chewmylegoff

Although to be honest you're right I am not his target audience because all I read is post apocalyptic fiction or non fiction!

vivatifosi

It's funny, people who work in libraries tend to read more than the average person. As a result most of the libraries I've worked in tend to have staff reading groups, however we can never agree what we want to read as we all have different tastes. We try to read a bit of everything though.

I don't really like fiction much as I mostly read non-fiction. However I do like 20th century novellas (don't take much effort); Robert Harris (rip-roaring yarns) and some Alan Bennett (funny). I don't like Dickens (too gritty and depressing), Dean Koontz (too masculine), Tess Gerritsen (beautifully written but take too long to get to the point); Ian Rankin (just didn't like full stop); MC Beaton (I don't like Agatha Raisin).... Others might love these. Horses for courses. If they get people reading it can only be a good thing.

I've just finished reading a political history of the Middle East and I'm reading my way through the Tim Moore travelogues which are very funny. I can't read more than one "heavy" book in a row because my brain falls over.

michaels

I could read it for the easy reading plotline but it is the leaden prose that makes it a chore.

I have done something recently I haven't done for years, read a book on the train, even tho it is only Bill Bryson I am really enjoying it.

vivatifosi

Bryson is fab! Which one are you reading?

chewmylegoff

Bill Bryson.

I went to a shop and I liked it very much. I went to a supermarket and I liked it very much. I went to the park and I liked it very much. I posted a letter and I liked it very much. Ad infinitum.

I read one of his books which was ok, but I couldn't make it through the second one it really started to grate on me. Probably because it wasn't about nuclear holocaust.

GDB2222

tomterm8 wrote: »

I'm in a kind of weird place right now. The kind of writing I like is not very profitable, but the erotica I did to practice naughty things IS very profitable. The weird thing is I think in six months if I was just to write erotica I could be making an absolutly huge amount of extra money.

As in hundreds of pounds a day, every day.

I don't really want to do it, though.

If you stopped writing, the income stream would continue?

michaels

Lost continent - may have read it before . When I graduated I spent 3 months driving / backpacking US including a driveaway from DC to Seattle. I would love to do another driving tour of the US and Canada but can't see it being kids compatible

vivatifosi wrote: »

Bryson is fab! Which one are you reading?

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

Lost continent - may have read it before . When I graduated I spent 3 months driving / backpacking US including a driveaway from DC to Seattle. I would love to do another driving tour of the US and Canada but can't see it being kids compatible

You would probably need DS to be a bit older, but you could have a great time. Visiting the national parks would be amazing as a kid and there must be suitable activities at them. You could start off in Seattle, drive down to San Fran and take the kids on a streetcar, over to Alcatraz, see the seals at the pier, go inland to Yosemite, across to Utah, down to Las Vegas and stay at something kid friendly like the MGM Grand, doing a side trip to the Grand Canyon; across to Monument Valley (get them to watch some Westerns before you go) and Sedona, back to LA for a trip to Disneyland. Lovely...

tomterm8

GDB2222 wrote: »

If you stopped writing, the income stream would continue?

To an extent: it would slow down a lot. The nature of erotica is that you get collectors. So you write a short story and it appears on the new releases section. If they like it they will buy more or less everything you've written that is similar.

Say you have a back catalogue of 100 stories that adds up to a lot of money.

If you stop writing there is much less chance of getting those initial views.

BUT, once the back catalogue is finished you are looking at maybe 8 hours a week to slowly grow your income.