Rant: Putting a Series Out of Its Misery

I haven't done a good rant on Mysterious Matters for a while (I think - my wife tells me I do them often enough at home) but today I'm good and worked up about two sides of a particular phenomenon:

Side A: Author writes same book (or nearly the same book) 15, 20 times.  The first time it's great; the second time it's good; the third time it's fair; then numbers 4-20 rehash 1-3 endlessly.

Side B: Readers who enjoyed 1 and 2, were disappointed in 3, and have downright hated numbers 4-20 jump onto Amazon to buy #21 the day it's published.

I know I'm on shaky ground here. As a businessman, I can't even begin to tell you how valuable a successful series is. It's great for the author, great for the house, great for the editor. For all the aspiring writers out there, it's important for you to know that the money generated by those mega-series is what funds a publisher's willingness to take a chance on an unknown.  And being published alongside them isn't a bad thing, either; sales reps will get buyers' attention with Famous Series and bring you along for the ride (we hope, we hope).

And there are series that somehow manage to keep it fresh and exciting book after book. The fans of J.D. Robb whom I've spoken with have all told me pretty much the same thing: They love Eve Dallas, but they love watching the relationship between Eve and Roark develop with each book. Though she does have a formula, Mary Higgins Clark still manages to pull tricks out of her sleeve and keep it fresh. And I'm simply impervious to any criticism of Alexander McCall Smith; he could write a book in which Mmas Ramotswe and Makutsi watch the paint dry, and I'll be the first to one-click it on Amazon.

BUT!  I have grown so very weary of some writers whose series and characters have become tired, boring, or - even worse - annoying. I do have to read these books occasionally (part of the job) and I always open to the first page with more of a sense of obligation than one of anticipation. And in the last few weeks I've read some really poor books by longtime best-sellers.  As I always do, I then turn to Amazon to see what people are saying and - lo and behold - dozens or hundreds of 1- and 2-star reviews, many of which can be summarized as, "So-and-so hasn't written a good book in 10 years.  Why do I keep buying them?  Why did I buy this when I should have been warned by all the negative reviews?"

I suppose we can say that hope springs eternal that a favorite writer will somehow get his or her mojo back. Though I haven't seen it happen often, I suppose it's possible. So, let me get on with the rant and then offer a suggestion.

TIRED AUTHOR #1 has really written the same book at least a dozen times. Early on, the characters were fresh and sparkly; now they seem like old Vaudevillians desperate for a laugh. Plots have become inane, and our lead makes the same mistakes in every book, thus proving that our protagonist is perhaps the stupidest person on earth. Reading the latest installment I had to ask myself what facet of the reading public I am missing - How is it that a society that can put Jonathan Franzen on the best-seller list can also keep Tired Author #1 in business? 

TIRED AUTHOR #2 has multiple series, most of which have really tanked over the last ten years. Characters that were carefully drawn in earlier books - and much beloved of readers - have started doing things that are antithetical to their earlier personalities, making me (and other readers, I'm sure) wonder if the Pod People have some replaced these previously well-drawn characters with empty shells that go through the motions. Amazon reviews order the unsuspecting to please, please begin reading Tired Author #2 with installments 1 and 2 of each series instead of installments 11 and 12. 

TIRED AUTHOR #3 isn't tired at all; I might go so far as to say that TA3 has a level of energy and output that would awe Joyce Carol Oates. The books are ground out by what appears to be a mill - get major publicity - and skyrocket up the best-seller lists even as Joe/Jane Q. Public is decrying how awful they are. I was quite a fan of TA3 in the early books. Now I feel like I'm reading the equivalent of a cheap cancer-causing plastic toy manufactured in China for mass consumption.

Now that I've got that off my chest, here's my suggestion, Dear Readers: The next time you go to buy the new book by an author whom you've grown weary of - a purchase dictated more by habit than by logic - I ask you to do some searching around Amazon for a different book by an author you've not heard of. Read the summary and the 3-star reviews (which are often the most honest), and if it sounds like something you'd like - please buy it instead. There are many, many, many hardworking, fabulous writers out there who deserve to be read, who aren't resting on their laurels.  Spread the word at the workplace - on listservs - on airplanes - that modern crime fiction has a lot more to offer than Tired Authors 1, 2, and 3.

Comments

[Maxine]

I despair about this, from a reader's perspective. Years ago I quite liked a James Patterson but he's simply ludicrous now, I haven't read him for ages. But "his" books always go straight to no 1. Similarly Patricia Cornwell, Johnathan Kellerman, Tess Gerritsen all wrote intelligent crime fiction for a few books but now are simply awful rehashes. Yet they continue to get their new titles on top of charts - someone commented that P Cornwell's latest in PB in the UK is top of Amazon charts even though there are 30 one-star reviews on the site.
Yet there are so many very good books being published that don't make the "no 1" slot, but are so much better than this dross. I don't understand it.

(BTW I liked the first few J D Robb books but gave up on those too, as the formula was too formulaic for me.)

[Linda Adams]

There are quite a few series that I would purchase regularly as soon as the books came out. Now I've stopped buying them because the books are too tired and, in some cases, even show the author doesn't like the characters any more.

[Laura K Curtis]

Janet Evanovich, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, even J.D. Robb have all gone that way for me.

But they're all easily replaceable with really good, solid series that remain interesting and different book after book. Authors I'll read book after book: Margaret Maron, John Connolly, Kathy Reichs.

Usually my buying goes like this: buy immediately when it comes out, start going to the library instead when the series gets a bit stale, give up entirely after a few unsatisfactory books.

There's not enough time in the day for me to get through the things I *want* to read, let alone all the crud that's ceased to interest me.

[Laura Marcella]

You're absolutely right that instead of wasting our time, energy & money on a tired author's tired series we should try out someone new! There are many amazing writers out there who deserve big sales and glowing recognition.

[Marc Vun Kannon]

I've seen many the same thing happen in the SF/F world.
http://authorguy.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/when-do-you-stop/

[Bobbi Mumm]

Many series have lost me after three or four books. Too many to list. The series authors that I keep buying are Katherine Hall Page, M.C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin), Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher) and Diane Mott Davis.