![[Logo]](/images/101ReasonsLogo.png "101 Reasons to Stop Writing")
It’s time to leverage the synergies of the Web 2.0 experience to conduct some bleeding-edge market research into exactly why so many writers suck so bad they make their own pronouns cry. To wit, I’m going to run the occasional poll, asking questions that will probe the most encrusted orifices of your craptacularity.
The first such question is: Did you buy any books by debut authors last year?
Innocent it may seem, but discerning readers may, um, discern the hidden implication. If you can’t, read Reason #1 for a pedantic explanation, then stop writing.
Unfortunately, due to limitations in Blogger, I can’t insert the poll in a convenient form within this post, and even if I could it wouldn’t display in RSS feed readers. So if you please, come to the blog and cast your vote. Choose the answer which best reflects your purchasing habits, which may or may not be the most funny.
(If you have any problems voting, let me know in the comments, so I can chuckle at your shitty browser, then use a different poll provider next time.)
Results and careful analysis to follow, if enough of you can drag yourselves away from your unfinished manuscripts to vote.
Update: Results
(Vote if you haven’t already. Polls are fun.)
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Debuts? Actually, I bought two in ‘06, but I won’t say which because I couldn’t even bring myself to finish them. No, it wasn’t author intimidation. I couldn’t stand being stuck in a rat’s head, and I really didn’t care that much about some guy’s teddy bear, oops. Both started nice, but couldn’t keep it going, and as an aspiring writer I was sure I knew what they were doing wrong. Yeah, right. Not sure I should be such a Monday morning author. But I thought the problems were obvious, nice premise to both, but, fuck, I can do that all day long. A good premise is not a story.
So why didn’t they stop writing?
None of the above.
I just buy what I want to read, and don’t fuss with the name on the spine.
So many new writers, so few worth spending my money on. But, I do have to say I pulled a couple good ones out of the hat this last year….and a couple bad ones.
Yes, I bought two debut novels last year, both genre fiction. I also bought debut works in the nonfiction genre.
That said, my wife and I heavily rely upon the Seattle Public Library for our literary fixes, debut or otherwise. We just don’t have the money to buy any book that grabs our interest.
I did buy a few of the first books of now-established authors. Does that count?
In all honesty, I rarely buy new books by first authors. Mostly because they usually suck.
Of course, there will be masses of people waiting in line to purchase MY first book, after I finish it and get it published. But that’s because it’s MINE, and for that reason, among many others, it’s better than anyone else’s.