Anyway, i digress, the point is that in order to sell books or promote discussion and publicity it sometimes helps to be CONTROVERSIAL. look at some of the biggest books we know, 1984, Lolita, A Clockwork Orange; even the sodding Da-Vinci code relied on it's controversy for its publicity. Besides, you should have all known that nice ol' me couldn't be horrible even if i wanted to be. I'm just too much of a kind soul with big ideas.
P.S thanks for being an unknowing guinea pig Luke.
Shwmae.
Shwmae.
9 comments:
I'm sorry I didn't defend you, Luke! To be honest I hadn't read it, but if I had...well there would be a lot of blog blood around here right now! Probably.
Anyways, to the main point of this entry, are you saying then that everyone should try and make their books controversial just to make them successful? Were the books you named intentionally made to be controversial or do you think they just were?
Said post was discussed in our house, so even if you didn't get material evidence, we were outraged at you behind your back. It's all about word of mouth, baby.
i unfortunately know ur hoousemates...so for me it was just funny i could picture it and everything
Do NOT put Lolita and The Da-Bullshit Code in the same sentence! Nabokov just turned in his grave.
I think you were out of line. If I had been the so-called 'guinea-pig' in this situation, I would feel pretty hurt, to be honest. I know I'm going to be judged now, but blah. Controversy has sod-all to do with it. Controversy usually has a point. This is just childish. Unless Gareth can disprove that...
Luckily, I've only just read the whole thing just now. I think if I hadn't missed the all the in between posts up until now, my confidence in web-blogging would have been crushed and you would have seen a few more messages frantically trying to apologise.
If you do feel even a little bit like you posted though Gareth, I am really sorry. The last thing I meant to do was patronise you. I was just trying to make you feel better about life, as it really sucks and we need each other sometimes. Sounds like something out of High School Musical doesn't it?
Anyway, I'm glad I could be your guinea pig. Actually, that's a pet name in more than one way.
i'll respond to the rest tomorrow, but for now...
How can you be judged if you hide behind your anonymity number 4. Hmmmmmm. And Luke, I can't really comment on whether it's like high school musical as i watched the first 5 minutes and gagged.
Over to you Mark.
Gareth:
Number 4 was me, Anita. Forgot to sign it...anonymity unintentional. I'm not afraid to stand up for people, or myself! Well done Luke for being so mature. You don't have anything to apologise for!
Righto, in response:
Joe, i think that the authors of the books i mentioned definitely knew that they were being controversial when they published their works, and although this isn't the same thing as sitting down and thinking, 'lets write a controversial book to make me millions' i think that this is something which would definitely be in the writer's minds when they wrote the piece. I mean, how can you write something about a pedophile grooming his wife's daughter or a book quashing the Christian religion without realising that it will be controversial. And with this knowledge they must have realised that this could boost their profiles.
Think about it, there's nothing that whips me up into a frenzy quite like reading a book that has been banned, Why has it been banned? What rules did it break? Am i being a little bit naughty even reading it at all?
Anita, You say that controversy usually has a point and my point was clearly to show that exact thing. I was being controversial to try and show that being controversial will cause a bit of uproar and get people interested in what is written. For example, (and apologies again for tarnishing ur name Luke) if i was to release a book called Luke Saunders is a wanker how many of you would go out to buy it, or protest against it's publication, or in other words increase it's sales or publicity.
And luke, Apologies not needed buddy, even if i did feel bad (Which i would like to stress i didn't) then i'd just repress the thoughts and use them to impress my therapist.
And whatever you do don't write something really controversial in an attempt to become famous as there are probably as many people put in prison or victimised, (think Salman Rushdie) as there are people who make it big.
Feel free to ask any more questions. I'm here all week.
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