Comments on: From the Vault: Literary v Commercial

By: liganofthedisomus

liganofthedisomus — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:51:58 +0000

It seems like the fact that "category fiction" can sometimes rise to literary heights, while "literary fiction" can employ a category vehicle, is really telling us that we're drawing our line in the wrong place.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't draw that line at all. It just means we shouldn't dismiss a piece of fiction because it has a sword, a vampire, a spaceship, a cowboy, or a detective in it. And, we shouldn't praise fiction simply because it lacks those elements and reads like a magnetic poetry set.

The line between the truly literary and the merely escapist crosses subject/setting categories, and what we currently label as "literary" is simply one category among the many. We should relabel the works in that category, and use the term "literary" as an indicator of merit and quality regardless of the species and occupation of the MC.

By: Jessie Mac

Jessie Mac — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 23:19:04 +0000

I don't know anyone in the industry so would never get a conversation where I could smack someone 'upside the head' - that was funny.

Thanks for this, Jim.

From the comments, it reminds me how valuable some old posts are and need to go archiving at some point.

By: Anne R. Allen

Anne R. Allen — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:15:10 +0000

Glad to see this repost, too. And I think it's important to point out that "Madame Bovary" was the "Valley of the Dolls" of its time. The boundaries between literary and commercial are permeable, and often blur with time.

By: Meagan Spooner

Meagan Spooner — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:10:39 +0000

I am so glad this got reposted, for those of us who are newer blog followers. I think every writer of genre fiction has faced something like this at least once, no matter what stage of the writing/publication process they're at. This kind of prejudice and snobbery is what kept me from pursuing a creative writing degree (and later was the big reason I decided not to go for an MFA) because it was so prevalent in my college program. It doesn't bother me too much coming from the average layperson, because I can't expect them to know, but it does irritate me when teachers come out with that stuff.

Thanks for this post!

By: Phoebe

Phoebe — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:19:50 +0000

Thanks for reposting this. Still definitely relevant! As a former MFA poet who's currently working on a YA paranormal romance, I've seen these attitudes pitifully frequently. In fact, I had a conversation with a former classmate a few nights ago where he said something along the lines of: "At first I thought it was a joke that you were writing a novel about a merman. But then you wouldn't drop it!" Then he added some stuff about how it's smart of me to "go commercial" and try to tap into "hot markets." And how maybe he should try to write for teenagers--despite the fact that he's completely unfamiliar with their reading tastes.

Over the years, I've learned to be a little less angry about that kind of comment. A little. But it hasn't been easy.