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May 18 07 7:24 AM

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I write literary fiction, and very often I think, "How many people do actually read literary fiction?" It is important for me to know that because I do want people to read what I write.

There are so many exciting genres like science fiction, mystery, horror, romance etc. which grab the reader's attention and sustains it. I don't mean to say that literary fiction doesn't, but it is much more subtle and is closely connected with real life.

I think every writer will be interested in knowing how many people like the genre in which he/she is writing and why. That will definitely help the writer in innovating techniques which can actually increase the number of readers and improve his/her chances of getting published.

Okay. I read literary fiction because I learn a lot about life, culture, people, their behavior, their emotions, contradictions from it. I like to study human behavior and also understand life in a better manner. Literary novels and poems have given me wisdom and knowledge, which i can use in real life towards better understanding of life and people.
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#1 [url]

May 18 07 6:24 PM

I think the best way estimate how much your genre is read is to go to your local bookstore, and see how many shelves they have given it. If you're desire is to get as much readership as possible, then write in the genre that has the most shelf-space allocated to it.

There is danger in jumping genre simply for the reason that it's more popular. Great writing comes from deep within - what you are passionate about. Your best work will likely be in the genre you tend to gravitate toward.

Would you rather produce mediocre work that may not ever make the shelves at all, or produce a gem, that a select group of people will love?

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#2 [url]

May 18 07 11:45 PM

I think right now, Romance is the genre with the most readers. Each market has it's niche and core readership...some larger than others.

An excellent story in any genere will find a publisher eventually (or odds are an excellent story will) and thus will find some readership.

I read mostly SF, Fantasy and Military Fiction and non-fiction. I write mostly SF and Fantasy.

R-Tech

Flank Hawk and Blood Sword: My Fantasy Novels published by Gryphonwood Press
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#3 [url]

May 19 07 12:12 PM

I have no intention to jump genres. Even if I had, I couldn't do it, and I know that a brilliant story finds its publishers and readers. It's just that I am curious to know which genre people like to read so that I know where my genre stands. Maybe a useful innovation will spring a new stream.

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iaceu

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#5 [url]

May 20 07 11:53 AM

I read fantasy and SF. I have never been a fantasy fan, until the last couple of years, but now I am. I'm sure my preferences will continue to expand over time.

iaceu

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#6 [url]

May 20 07 3:27 PM

As of late, I have been reading mostly literary/historical fiction (especially Classics like The Scarlet Pimpernel, Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Don Quixote-- is it just me, or were authors so much better back then?), but I still harbor my ever-living love of fantasy. I enjoy SF sometimes, but it really depends (and the SF that I do like is often actually Science Fantasy).

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#7 [url]

May 21 07 1:18 PM

I ready more or less anything I can get my hands on, but have a preference for fantasy, fairytales (or are those part of fantasy) and action adventure novels. I write mainly fantasy and a bit of childrens lit.


QUOTE
is it just me, or were authors so much better back then


I think published authors were not better or worse, but all the crappy books are forgotten and the good ones have become classics, so 50 or 100 year old books that are being read today probably give an incomplete view of literature at a certain period. (try reading some of the earliest SF, most of it is very bad...)
However, I do think that more people today are writing and trying to get published then there were 50 years ago, so a lot more junk that isn't published is written I think.

Rod

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#8 [url]

May 21 07 2:35 PM

That's probably true.

QUOTE
(try reading some of the earliest SF, most of it is very bad...)

Ha, yeah, that's why I read old literary fiction and not early SF....

"Headless is the new black!"
- Fashion advice by Robespierre

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fiction

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#9 [url]

Jul 3 07 2:51 PM

QUOTE
(try reading some of the earliest SF, most of it is very bad...)


Actually it's worse than bad. It's appalling in most cases. All females are pretty, yet useless accessories for males (or obstacles for males to jump over like heroes when the annoying female twists an ankle at an importune moment). Characters are made from flimsy cardboard. And the plots are paper-thin.

But some of the premises behind the boring info-dumps and the crappy dialogue between cardboard characters are really quite ingenius.

I tend to struggle through quite a bit of early SF for the little pearls of genius hidden amid the drivel. I think some of the imagination back then was a little broader, more adventurous.

Bring some of that creativity and uniqueness back - but add the modern writing styles, I say

Lee

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#10 [url]

Jul 3 07 2:59 PM

I like reading almost everything, since I want to have a wide knowledge of reading/writing genres. But I mostly like to read fantasy, science fiction and romance novels.

The road of life has many detours...

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8281220

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#11 [url]

Jul 4 07 1:59 PM

My two cents.

Fantasy, Sci Fi, Crime, Thrillers, Erotica, Military and horror. But then I really enjoy English lit like Shakespeare, poetry by Owen and short stories by the great unknown in any genre.

Ok I read anything and everything as long as its good and not all the so called classics are good - in any genre.

BT

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." - Stephen King

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#12 [url]

Jul 5 07 5:09 AM

QUOTE
is it just me, or were authors so much better back then?),

I agree with you. I read Waverly a year ago, and it was hard to "shift gears" and read English written in its full complexity and beauty. After I had adjusted to reading that style of writing, I found a deep satisfaction in reading Sir Walter Scott's prose that I don't find in today's authors. Today's authors write for today's readers -- and that means a simplified, "MTV-generation"-type construction that takes little thought from the reader.

I like mysteries (Rex Stout), suspense (Dean Koontz) and some westerns (Elmer Kelton, Louis L'Amour and some Elmore Leonard). I once liked historical fiction, but find many of today's historical novels have an artificial feel that is distancing, so I don't read historical fiction any more.

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