Lesson #5: The Difference Between Commercial and Literary Fiction
Or: Why I No Longer Go to the Harlem Book Fair.
A couple of years ago, there was a panel at the Harlem Book Fair called "Black Male Writers: Continuing the Legacy of Ellison, Baldwin and Wright, or Just Hanging on the Coattails of the Sistahs?" With a title like that, there was really no chance it wasn't going to be an hour and half of pure stupid, and of course it was. The guests (and I don't blame them for the title) were E. Lynn Harris, Brian Keith Jackson, Kenji Jasper, Nelson George, and Omar Tyree. I showed up a bit late, scammed my way into the already full hall, and caught the tail end.
Omar spent the majority of the time trying to talk over everybody else on the panel, talking about how his books were "new American Classics," bragging that he took one month to write them and eleven to promote them, and pushing his new book imprint and other snake oil products. An audience member indignantly wanted to know why the "so-called" literary writers didn't go on tour constantly like the more commercial ones did (implying they were uppity), and Brian responded that the goal of the literary writers was to make money off academic speaking engagements, endowed chairs and college reading lists.
The panel ended with Nelson George saying to the room jokingly, "There's no difference between commercial and literary fiction, because Sumner Redstone gets paid from it either way."
Now, I like Brian, and I think he was angling his answer so that the audience member could understand how the lit fiction writer manages a livelihood. And I have an immense amount of respect for Nelson George: Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos was like a bible to me, and I was heavily influenced by his concept of post-soul culture. But let us be intellectually honest about this topic, if only to honor the legacies of the literary giants mentioned. Or, to use the vernacular popular fiction is so fond of, All y'all need to stop lying.
The truth:
The purpose of commercial fiction is to write a bestselling novel.
The purpose of literary fiction is to write truth.
Why are these two intents so different? Because you don't give people truth if your goal is to get money from them. If you want to cash in, you tell them what you think they want to hear, what will entertain them, what will confirm their views of the world. You try not to piss them off, avoid anything too difficult or uncomfortable that will make them turn away. You don't try to do something new, you just try to do a new version of a proven seller.
In literary fiction, you say what you want to say. You don't think about the market, or at least not while you're writing. You hope that if what you do is good, that that will be enough to find it some kind of audience. Therefor, instead of focusing on publication and marketing, you focus on trying to become a better writer.
Now, if you want to be a bestseller, you go for it. But if you make it, don't then start trying to front like you're a literary writer, trying to lower the standards of the canon so you can fit your work in. Just be happy with the bed you made, the hefty advances, the huge print runs, the mass appeal.
On the other side, you literary writers, you get the prestige, the respect, the nice reviews and the chance that your work will be read by generations to come. So stop whinging about how nobody reads your books, or about how small your advances are. What the hell did you expect? If you want to support yourself, get a job. And die happy that you've tried to put truth on the page, a reward in itself.
Best,
Mat Johnson
www.niggerati.com
A couple of years ago, there was a panel at the Harlem Book Fair called "Black Male Writers: Continuing the Legacy of Ellison, Baldwin and Wright, or Just Hanging on the Coattails of the Sistahs?" With a title like that, there was really no chance it wasn't going to be an hour and half of pure stupid, and of course it was. The guests (and I don't blame them for the title) were E. Lynn Harris, Brian Keith Jackson, Kenji Jasper, Nelson George, and Omar Tyree. I showed up a bit late, scammed my way into the already full hall, and caught the tail end.
Omar spent the majority of the time trying to talk over everybody else on the panel, talking about how his books were "new American Classics," bragging that he took one month to write them and eleven to promote them, and pushing his new book imprint and other snake oil products. An audience member indignantly wanted to know why the "so-called" literary writers didn't go on tour constantly like the more commercial ones did (implying they were uppity), and Brian responded that the goal of the literary writers was to make money off academic speaking engagements, endowed chairs and college reading lists.
The panel ended with Nelson George saying to the room jokingly, "There's no difference between commercial and literary fiction, because Sumner Redstone gets paid from it either way."
Now, I like Brian, and I think he was angling his answer so that the audience member could understand how the lit fiction writer manages a livelihood. And I have an immense amount of respect for Nelson George: Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos was like a bible to me, and I was heavily influenced by his concept of post-soul culture. But let us be intellectually honest about this topic, if only to honor the legacies of the literary giants mentioned. Or, to use the vernacular popular fiction is so fond of, All y'all need to stop lying.
The truth:
The purpose of commercial fiction is to write a bestselling novel.
The purpose of literary fiction is to write truth.
Why are these two intents so different? Because you don't give people truth if your goal is to get money from them. If you want to cash in, you tell them what you think they want to hear, what will entertain them, what will confirm their views of the world. You try not to piss them off, avoid anything too difficult or uncomfortable that will make them turn away. You don't try to do something new, you just try to do a new version of a proven seller.
In literary fiction, you say what you want to say. You don't think about the market, or at least not while you're writing. You hope that if what you do is good, that that will be enough to find it some kind of audience. Therefor, instead of focusing on publication and marketing, you focus on trying to become a better writer.
Now, if you want to be a bestseller, you go for it. But if you make it, don't then start trying to front like you're a literary writer, trying to lower the standards of the canon so you can fit your work in. Just be happy with the bed you made, the hefty advances, the huge print runs, the mass appeal.
On the other side, you literary writers, you get the prestige, the respect, the nice reviews and the chance that your work will be read by generations to come. So stop whinging about how nobody reads your books, or about how small your advances are. What the hell did you expect? If you want to support yourself, get a job. And die happy that you've tried to put truth on the page, a reward in itself.
Best,
Mat Johnson
www.niggerati.com
Labels: on African American Lit
posted by Mat Johnson at 8:18 AM
4 Comments:
so, given the make-up of the panel (for the most part) and the nature of the comments you reported for us, Mat, is the answer to the question Black Male Writers: Continuing the Legacy of Ellison, Baldwin and Wright, or Just Hanging on the Coattails of the Sistahs?, NEITHER ONE (assuming that the "Sistahs" are the likes of Morrison and Walker, and not the you-know-whos)? ~jbb
I think in the end the panel concluded that if they were writing today, Native Son would have been called "He From Here," Giovanni's Room would have been called "Da Down Low Bro"and Invisible Man would have been titled "I Can't See dat Nigga fo' Nothin'"
OH SNAP! You just make me spit out my juice. This is hilarious. And I think you might be telling the truth. I'm gonna go re-read the "My Pafology" section of ERASURE now. ~jbb
THANK YOU! I cannot tell you how much it irks me how so few people seem capable of comprehending the difference between literary and commercial fiction... or even that there is one!
Just because a novel sells millions of copies does not mean that it has any literary merit just as, on the flip side, if a novel only manages moderate sales, it is somehow a failure of the craft.
Honestly, I think stupid people are just full of themselves. When they come across something they like, of course, it means it must be the greatest thing written. Few seem capable of maintaining any objectivity anymore.
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