Stephenie Meyer, E.L. James - and The Vampires of Wincolmlee

Yes people, I am still alive.  Life just got in the way a little, that's all.  Anyway, it's been a Summer of sport in England, and we know we always have a lot to shout about on that score.  What it really means is that many more Brits are glued to their TV screens rather than their computers - to be summarily disappointed at what appears to be similarly losing performances year in, year out.  The Olympics start very soon, so there's plenty yet to get excited about.

Or should we just read a good book?

What does that mean, anyway?  What constitutes a 'good' book?  Is it the quality of the prose?  A fantastic plot?  Characters who leap off the page and almost slap you in the face?  I'm coming to the conclusion it's really none of these attributes essentially.  If you manage to hit the mark of demand, a rather mediocre effort can still become a best seller.  And clearly has.  And that's not necessarily my opinion of any of the writers mentioned here, so let's make the point quite clear before the discussion starts.  It's quite common knowledge that Stephen King has allegedly stated an opinion about Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight books.  It's something along the lines of 'she can't write worth a darn.'  Well, I suppose those words are quite polite, really.  But let's look at the facts.  Stephen King, in my opinion, is a genius storyteller.  But that didn't happen overnight.  The skills he has accrued have come with years of practice; devotion to a passion that has largely consumed a great percentage of his life, in time and effort.  You'd expect King to be good by now.  Saying that, King, for me, did his best work early in his career, when he was actually redefining the genre with books like Salem's Lot and The Shining.  Now, let's take Ms Meyers rise to glory.  She has openly admitted she had no particular desire at the outset to be a professional writer, and was equally candid about the fact she had never written any creative prose of any great length before Twilight appeared.  Consequently, a rather more 'raw' style of writing is to be expected.  But I believe inconsistencies of logic, rather than mere sentence structure, can often mark out the experienced wordsmith from the mere apprentice.  A long piece of fiction soon puts out many varied story threads, and only a master can weave those threads into a coherent, satisfying tapestry.  It is so easy to have worked hard on a manuscript, only to find some way down the line you have left some important issue out - or put something extra in where it should not be.

I have also begun to read similar derogatory comments about the quality of the writing in the erotic 'Fifty Shades of Grey' trilogy, by E.L. James, which as you will probably know by now, is taking the book world by storm.  Is this success an encouraging sign - or simply damning of the world of serious literature?  I have taken a look at the prose in both cases discussed and I don't imagine either would hit the Booker short list anytime soon.  However, the fact remains, both these authors are incredibly successful.  They are earning pot loads of money, from what some critics would shamelessly describe as 'pedestrian' prose.  I for one, see this as a great hope.

The advent of easy self publishing has not merely moved the goalposts for the would be author, but rather removed them completely, to the point in which anyone with a modicum of talent and staying power has a chance to get their slice of the market share.  And it seems once you hit a niche, you never look back.  Although, there is one other self published author I know of (who I won't name here) seems to have kind of disappeared off the map.  This after a huge media fanfare a few years ago.  There had been talk of movie deals and mega bucks - until somebody kind of realised the work maybe wasn't quite as revolutionary as first thought.  I scanned reviews for the said book, and found to my dismay, a plethora of one star reviews and scathing comments.  The author in question has continued to write, with some success - I'm pleased to say - and made some serious money to boot.  I think I would have been rather discouraged by the same amount of poor feedback.  But I suppose that's a risk all authors must face - if they want to be read.

And the same goes for me.

I have just released the first part of a five instalment horror novel called "Vampires of Wincolmlee".  Of course, for those who know not the City of Hull, nestling quietly on the east coast of England, that title probably means nothing.  It is essentially my love letter to the people of a city that has taken so much negative press in recent years.  I suppose it's also a fan letter to Stephen King, who though I don't know personally, I feel has somehow 'coached' me down the years, to the point where I'm actually now practising the craft.  And my work is at last out there.  Thank heaven for Kindle, eh?

The path to writing success has widened - and changed.  Getting your work into a public forum has become the easy part.  Now, would be authors have to think more about marketing strategies.  This is the dilemma I now face.  It occurs to me though, if I can get the majority of people who own Kindle readers in Hull alone to buy my book, I am going to be a very satisfied man.  It's all about self promotion and momentum; something I am sure Ms Meyer and Ms James know all about.

So, where will "Vampires" be in a year's time?  Well, who knows?  But this much is sure; there has never been a better opportunity for those who wish to tell and sell stories . . .

So go write.