The $1.00 Bin
By Jane • May 15th, 2006 • Category: Misc • •Dear Ms. MaryJanice Davidson:
So I was at the Half Price Bookstore yesterday and was browsing through the $1.00 bin. There was a romance book there proclaiming to be by New York Times Bestselling Author so and so (see I can’t even remember her name today). I looked at the copyright date: 1980s. Hadn’t ever heard of the author. She obviously still isn’t a) writing or b) writing books on the NYT list. I hope she saved up some royalty money from those heydays because she certainly isn’t still making money on the writing gig today.
Moral of the story. Don’t be so bloody cocky (I don’t think I need to say which comment, but just in case: 109 posted on 05/14 at 12:00 PM by MaryJanice Davidson). This effen stupid reader who can’t read will still be buying books and pretending to read in 10 years. Will you still be pretending to write?
Best regards,
Jane
Jane is a long time romance reader whose passion is, you guessed it, reading. Jane also does not like to talk about herself in the third person, but apparently this is the way that this biography thing works (although in a true biography, someone else would be writing this blurb). Anyway, currently Jane loves urban fantasy authors Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews. She's really excited about this year's crop of historicals including Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady and Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements and the upcoming Loretta Chase Her Scandalous Ways.
She's looking for a good contemporary author. Email her with a recommendation!
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Romance readers are tired of having to defend their choice of reading material to the general public. I don’t think we should be under attack by romance authors as well.
Jane,
Your posts get better by the day.
Thanks for the wonderful laugh.
…Fi
MJD does it again huh? Maili so shouldn’t have apologised, it just gave her an excuse to pipe up.
I think it’s a case of communication breakdown as I think MJD thought I confused PC’s rant with hers, which I didn’t. I was referring to PC’s supposedly track record, hence the apology.
Oh, well, I think she was itching to say something as it seems that she thrives on being a Big Bad-Ass Author. Hey, if that gives her a thrill, by all means let her have it. :)
Well, it’s a darn good thing I’ve already had more than enough of her work.
Jane, as always, great post!
Maili, bad Kitty for apologising!
Jane, it would be interesting to see how well MJD is still doing in 10 years time, and you’re right, we’ll still be reading, but will her books still be selling?
People forget that unless you’re Nora Roberts, what goes up, must come down.
I saw a few Diana Palmer books in a 50p book bin this weekend, and now I wonder how well she’s still selling. Can’t stand her books myself, but I guess she has her fans still.
I don’t think MJD will still be selling in 10years unless she can advance as an author. Her work is stagnating. I loved the first two Betsy books but the 3-4 sounded redundant. There was no new territory to be advanced in any of the subsequent stories. I don’t even know what number we are on with that series. I can’t say I want to read Betsy and her smart mouth for 10 more years!
I think it’s book 4 or 5, and that’s how I feel too. Her books haven’t changed at all.
They’ve gotten a bit better from her e-pub days, but that’s it.
The rant that just wont die. It’s amazing, it could have been left alone, but noooooo, it gets started back up.
I’ve never read PC Cast or MJD, I’ll still give PC a try, but MJD certainly doesn’t seem to need my money.
Oh, good one. It’s never a smart move to piss off consumers. I think I’ll donate my one and only copy of her book to the dollar bin, too.
[...] No, I don’t think it is all about the reader. But I tend to think that books are more like cars than they are like Van Goghs. To some degree, books are interchangeable. There are several books out there that I feel could be written by the same person or several persons. Some books are homogeneous with no distinct voice. Some books are mere commodities and should be judged accordingly. And some books are art that rise above the masses and place themselves in the pantheon of classics where generations of readers will take them off the shelf and read them. Not every book deserves recognition as art. Some will always be part of the $1.00 bin. [...]
oh wow - I read the first 2 and honestly she wasn’t as funny as I hoped. I dithered on buying book 3 but her online comments lately have put me further over on the no-buy side.
My mother told me never to speak if I didn’t have anything nice to say. If you don’t like something don’t partiipate. Don’t buy it. But don’t be nasty. Karma will kiss you in the ass.
Oh my dear god. My mother totally failed at her job because I don’t think she taught me that. I’m going to kick her ass this weekend when I see her.
I happen to like MJD and Betsy’s smart mouth. I will continue to buy her books even if I am the only one buying them in ten years.