Are Valentine's Day books lining Cheryl's she-shed?
I checked my Amazon author rankings the other day, and discovered that in August they sold a copy of an anthology I'm in, My Funny Valentine.
In August.
We sell some copies of that anthology every year--in late January and early February. I mean, it's a humor book about Valentine's Day, so that's when you'd expect to move a few.
But August?
Maybe it's like those TV channels that feature Christmas related movies in July. They're just trying to ... well, I don't know what they're trying to do. Remind true holiday fanatics of their favorite time of year, I suppose. I wonder why I don't watch summer movies in January? Maybe I'll give it a try next winter.
Meanwhile, why should I care about the reasons? I don't care of people buy my books to insulate their she sheds, as long as they buy them.
"You stuffed too many flammable books into your She Shed, Cheryl."
But it made me wonder about something. What do you, the reader, think of holiday themed fiction? Who'd be interested, for instance, in reading a Christmas themed novel written by someone, say me? Asking for a friend.
This blog does not recommend or condone using books as insulation.
(You can find both Mark's books, and material to replace Cheryl's she-shed, on the Amazon that's not burning.)
Well, I dunno... making a holiday related story easily looks like the author wants to make a quick buck by jumping on the band wagon. Which is probably true in most cases.
If I'd be a old cynic, I could say go on and do it. Because it reduces the frustration if you christmas book doesn't sell on christmas, instead of all year. Thank god I'm not. :)
Actually, that's the reason why I haven't written a Christmas themed novel: Because it doesn't sell all year round. But when I worked for the newspaper I wrote a Christmas short story every season--because the truth is, I do actually like the idea of holiday stories. I learned long ago that trying to jump on a writing band wagon is like trying to vote a month after the election: It's just too late.
Well, if you think its a good idea, go for it. But for a christmas story its perhaps too late for this year - not long, and the chocolate Santas appear in the supermarkets.
I know you sure dont need advice from me, but I've been always thinking that you may be better off writing the stuff you really want to write, regardless of what you think might sell best or what people want to read.
I guess thats how artists do it. I doubt that Tolstoy thought "Lets write a terribly complicated drama and misery story thats 800 pages long, sure everybody wants to buy that!", before he wrote War and Peace.
Oh no, I wasn't suggesting I was going to write it this year--I'm way too busy for that to be finished in time. And I absolutely only write what interests me--I wouldn't write a Christmas story or any other story if it wasn't an idea that interests me. That's why I'm working now on a mystery with ghosts in it, written from a dog's point of view. No way would I tackle that if I didn't want to see it through.