This week’s poll was suggested by Tiffany, a reader who posed the question;
Would you rather write a novel you were really proud of that achieved no measure of commercial success or write a novel you knew was crappy but that made you a ton of money?
I think this is something all writers think about from time to time. Sometimes, the work we’re most proud of is a book that goes silently into the night, making nary a blip on publishing’s radar. Some of my very favorite books to read are ones that others have never heard of, books I’ve found in the bargain bin or stumbled across on some obscue shelf, only to read them and think, “This is GOOD.”
All of which is to say that a commercially successful book doesn’t always equal a GOOD one.
I know the answer to this question for myself, but I’m not going to tell until you guys have weighed in! So how about it? Which would you rather write?
<3
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3 replies on “Friday Poll; Self-Satisfaction vs. Success”
I’d rather be proud of something then have a book out there that doesn’t make any sense. A good book requires research of the time period,characters lives and their development. What’s the point of having a book that’s crappy but is making money after awhile the sucess is going to go down. You want to be a respectful author and have good books so people coming back for more of what you have to offer. You also don’t want bad reviews after awhile.
I totally agree.
My first thought was: “Oh, I’d rather have successful novel!”. But then I changed my mind, because if I would have to live with the novel I’d written, I’d rather it be one I’m proud of. 🙂