[process] When is "good" actually "good enough"?
In my recent post on marketing difficult fiction,
green_knight challenged my assertion that:
In part, they said:
Which is an excellent clarification. "Good" in this context isn't an absolute or objective value, because marketability is part of good. And marketability isn't just a function of what's popular. The topic is far more complex than that, and frankly, beyond my competence. When it comes to publishing theory, I am in the cheap seats of the peanut gallery. Even from my distant perch, I see issues which include:
I can't even tell you what I'm missing from the list. The underlying point is that "good", or more to the point, "good enough", is a moving target which very much depends on the instincts, experience and passion of both the editor and publisher.
There isn't an editor or agent out there who would leave good work on the table simply because it didn't fit this year's expectations.
In part, they said:
Maybe 'good' above should read 'exceptional'? For a truly exceptional book there will probably always room in the market, but 'good enough to be published on a topic the editor is buying at the moment' isn't 'good enough to be bought when the topic/style are unpopular.'
Which is an excellent clarification. "Good" in this context isn't an absolute or objective value, because marketability is part of good. And marketability isn't just a function of what's popular. The topic is far more complex than that, and frankly, beyond my competence. When it comes to publishing theory, I am in the cheap seats of the peanut gallery. Even from my distant perch, I see issues which include:
- Prose quality
- Story quality
- Theme
- Length
- Auctorial career phase/path
- Genre/subgenre/lack of identifiable genre
I can't even tell you what I'm missing from the list. The underlying point is that "good", or more to the point, "good enough", is a moving target which very much depends on the instincts, experience and passion of both the editor and publisher.