Bimbo Publishing

Publishing industry commentator and writer, Jai Clare, coined the phrase Bimbo Publishing on her blog "The Cusp of Something" to refer to books by people who don’t write for people who don’t read sold by the truckload at places that don’t sell books - ie celebrity books sold at supermarkets. Read the whole post at http://jaiclare.com/blog/2006/05/13/real-writers-against-bimbo-publishing/

Many "real" writers - ie those who love reading and writing and literature - would surely froth at the mouth at the vast advances paid to the "bimbo" authors while "true" literary gems are advanced laughably small sums. Whenever writers get together, we always moan about the publishing industry - and there are many blogs by writers baring the heartache and torment of their attempts to get their books published. I like the post by the writer who calls himself the Miss Havisham of writing - he sits alone and waits for the letter to come accepting his manuscript but receives only rejection after rejection. Read his post at http://markpettus.blogspot.com/2006/05/great-expectations.html

But maybe the fault lies with us, the writers. The personality type that turns naturally to writing is someone who prefers to observe than participate, who analyses way too much and who is generally insecure and withdrawn - or maybe that’s just me? No, seriously, it takes a certain type of person to choose to spend months and even years on end alone with imaginary characters in an imaginary world. Our greatest moment of genius may occur when we are sitting very still, alone. Who is there to see it and do the Mexican wave at our triumphs? Compare that to a moment of genius on a football field or singing an aria live on stage or throwing a tantrum on a reality TV show, watched by millions around the world. All those millions of potential book buyers….

The reason the "bimbos" get those vast advances is because their books are virtually pre-sold. It takes a certain talent to claw your way to celebrity stardom or to be the top of your sport - showmanship talents that we writerly types may not naturally have. Their readers are fans of the person not the book - they want a piece of that celebrity and they read Hello magazine for the same reason: to get a glimpse into that person’s life. The trouble about being a "real" writer is that the life of our imagination can sometimes be more exciting than our "real" life!

So, I wonder, is there a case for making writing more of a spectator sport? Would there be an audience for a Big Brother house comprised only of writers? Would Writer Idol - where writers appear on stage to write and read their novels - be entertaining enough? Will there be a media-hungry writer one day who will write his/ her novel in a glass cage suspended over the Thames…?

PS. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse: I was on my way home from work last week and in London Bridge station was a young man trying to give away a stack of books. Commuters were rushing past him and he had a look of desperation about him. I thought it was one of those promotions where you get a copy of the latest romance novel with Bella magazine or whatever. But as I got closer I heard him saying, "It’s a novel my friend wrote. All I ask is a 1p donation."

My heart breaks…

pic courtesy of purpleslog (flickr)