The literary week that was...

        It's been one of those weeks where small events force you to question literary things near and dear to you. I've come to realise that I'm an Analogue Man in a Digital Age. It goes like this....

        I heard that a welter of novels now listed on Amazon are mostly or fully AI-generated. So I checked. 

        Yep, a "flood". But the review of them contains such words as "trashy" and "mundane" and "badly constructed", and even though Amazon insists now on an AI content statement, they do not disclose how many there are. But Google AI says it's "thousands", and goes on to say that in January this year 1,100 arrived in a single day, and one dickhead with no real talent (sorry, my words) put up over 200 in a year, so their Kindle Direct Publishing branch has had to cap it to no more than 3 a day from any one "author".

        Now is that - what? - crap to the nth degree?? Yep, sure is.

        Next thing, I had a (small, local, new) publisher knock-back on my last novel (which was created with no digital help). Regardless of how old, how experienced, or how thick your skin has become, that "Unfortunately, at this time... blah blah blah..." (they all use the same rejection statement), and then  words of encouragement, always slumps you for a while.

        They suggested they were always looking for "something different" and with a "local content". Mine is surely both of those. But they never (it's a Publisher Rule) say WHY it's not what they're looking for.

        I know how to put a novel together, had my share of accolades, so can only think it's the style and/or the setting and/or the subject. And the Time. Most of it is in the late 1950s, although goes on into the mid 1980s, and finished "Today". So, a touch of sour grapes on my part, always is, but they only last about an hour.

        So I checked the makeup of the publisher, realised it's two local 25-28 year old women, and fair enough, my novel is not the sort of thing that market wants. That's when I knew that I don't actually have a market. Most publishers want (in my opinion) stuff like you see pumped out endlessly on Netflix. Popular stuff. Modern stuff. Zippy zappy stuff.

        I got about a third way into best selling "Boy Swallows Universe", too much gratuitous violence and drug and shit, so chucked it over the side, thinking - "Geez, he's written this with Netflix in mind", and sure enough, it's now a 7 part mini series on Netflix. But it was given to me with rave recommendations by two women, one middleaged and one mid-20s. So, my Ghost is out of date.

        But the sole purpose of writing is to be read. Writing is not like building a dragster or making a doll's house, both of which instantly fulfill their objective - do the quarter in 7.2 or make a grand-daughter happy. But writing has to be read. Otherwise it has no point. And the more readers the better.  Hopefully with positive reviews. Hence mass publication and marketing.

        Now being seriously ancient, I have to adjust to my reality, that IF I go on writing (and I surely will as I don't know how to stop and dear God I do so love doing it), I have to accept what small ways of putting it out there I have at my disposal.

        Ah, I feel better already. Yeah, right!

        That's all, thanks for indulging me, I needed to rant on a bit.

            Cheers.....

                    Trev

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