Off the back of the recent revelation regarding JK Rowling, this article looks at why it can be hard for established authors to write in other genres and why it can be hard for writers in general to get published in these hard times.
News that J K Rowling penned the detective novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, sent that book straight to the top of the charts this week.
Until then it had been well received by critics but sold only modestly – I saw figures like 1500 copies in hard-cover. Now it’s getting a second print run of 300,000.
As I posted earlier in the week, writers get stereotyped all too often by what they’re known for – which is apparently meant to constitute all they can do. But, of course, authors can do much, much more. The problem is the way many are imprisoned by stereotype. Rowling’s not alone in seeking escape by anonymity; one media focus since the revelation has been on the number of other famous authors – like Stephen King – who have penned brilliant novels outside ‘their’ genre, under pseudonyms.
The other…
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