Disclaimer: this is kind of a rant, but it struck a chord in me. I should probably also preface this by saying that this is the first adult's book that I've read since October. I usually don't like novels for adults.
That said, I found Steve Hely's novel, How I Became a Famous Novelist, smart and spot-on - in most aspects.
The part where the protagonist cruises the bookstore and makes a list of everything he needs to include in his literary hodgepodge (ie. must have murder, cool clubs, music, etc.) reminds me of some of the IP brainstorms I've participated in. I had flashbacks of Acquisitions meetings when the editorial assistant friend Lucy brought out her "new title assessment" sheet. Hely also touched on a lot of the fear surrounding the publishing industry nowadays: not knowing what will sell or what is good, the competition of movies/video games, whether the industry is dying, etc.
Those parts were spot-on. I think Hely must've spent a lot of time around book people when his travelogue came out. But the best part of the novel is how it gets you to think through your own opinions. (I think this happens, because he covers so much ground.)
I thought of these:
1) The novel isn't dead. The story is what's in trouble.
Many adult plots can be summed up as follows: "Something bad happens. Agonize. Agonize. Agonize. Someone has an epiphany that kind of makes it better."
No wonder people go to the movies or turn on the television. We can all agonize enough on our own, thanks; we don't need to read 200+ pages where someone else does it.
I have to say that children's authors are a lot more sensible on this issue. I've already said that the stories in kid lit are much, much better, and that's part of what attracted me to the world of children's books. You can't interest a kid by waxing on about literary merit. They care more about the characters and what happens to them.
2) As long as there's story, there's room for both sides - the page-turners you read like eating popcorn and the more literary books that take a stab at describing the human condition.
The very commercial books of the world will keep kids reading with fantastic thrillers, and in twenty years, a woman will give When You Reach Me to her daughter, saying it's one of her favorite books of all time - the same way my mother gave me A Wrinkle in Time and I will give my (way, way future) daughter Ella Enchanted.
I had these opinions before I came to work in publishing, and I still believe them even after leaving New York. That means they're solid.
