and the plot thickens

If this were a novel, it would be the part where the detective (turned on to the case-- in more ways than one-- by the mysterious blond who swept into his office) discovers that the case has more facets, and goes deeper, than he anticipated. (Granted, he wasn't thinking much about the case when he took it on, was he? Men.)

A few things have come to my attention recently. The first is that writing reviews for this blog is harder than I expected. More than a few times, I've been all set to write a review, but then when I look up the novel on Google, I discover that it's already a bestseller.

These books are all excellent novels that I adore, and they totally deserve glowing reviews, as well as their bestselling status. I'm happy for the authors, and excited that I can look forward to reading more of their writing in the future.

What scares me, though, is the fact that I don't keep up with the bestseller list. That's not how I read. I read what catches my interest, strikes my fancy; I read books that look good, that I think I'll like. How do I find these books? Sometimes they're suggested by friends, sometimes it's author loyalty, and sometimes it's the new book table in the YA section of the library, but mostly it's browsing in bookstores. I can spend a happy hour in a bookstore, doing nothing but reading inside covers.

So what this means is that these books that I picked up randomly off a shelf, these books that were suggested to me by no one, that just caught my eye in a bookstore, are bestsellers. Because none of them are phenomenons (there was no point when I thought, "Hey, I should review Harry Potter..."), I assumed that they were written by mid-list authors.

(I know, I know-- a detective should never assume. But come on, what would our story be if the detective didn't assume that the mysterious blond was telling the truth about her predicament?)

(A little less gory, as it turns out. Dame can wield a knife.)

The fact that these books were bestsellers means that the pulling of mid-list authors has been going on for a long time (considering some of the books I was thinking about reviewing I first read years ago). Today, it's already a lot harder to discover new books in a chain bookstore, because a lot of the options come from the bestseller list.

And again, those books should be there. Everyone should be able to walk into a Borders or Barnes and Noble and pick up the number one best-selling book.

But that's not all they should be able to pick up. There should be the opportunity to discover new books, and I feel like I have not received this opportunity to the fullest, which is especially crushing because there are so many amazing mid-list books out there, and so many just waiting to be written (and perhaps by myself someday, knock on wood!)

It's not all the economy and chain bookstore vs. Wal-Mart, though that is certainly a factor today (for more info on that, see my first post). There are other issues that put the mid-list author at risk.

Note: The opinions expressed in the links are those of their authors. I provide them as other insights into the plight of the mid-list author.

Here's an article from 2000 (yes, ten years ago) that talks about how chain bookstore marketing policies affect mid-list authors.

Here's an article that discusses the impact eBooks could have on mid-list authors.

Here's an article by an anonymous author that discusses the publishing side of it.

With so many threats to the mid-list author (including that mysterious blond...), it's more important than ever to try to garner interest in order to save our favorite mid-list authors and books. Additionally, if it can proven that a mid-list author isn't necessarily a risky financial venture, it might be easier for new authors to get that first book out, or that more difficult second book.

I'm going to keep posting reviews of my favorite mid-list books on this blog, and if you have a review for a mid-list book you love, send it to me at doingitwrite@gmail.com. Any mid-list book, any genre-- this isn't just about saving the books I love, or the literary characters I have crushes on. Additionally, at the end of each month I'll post a list of all the books ever reviewed on this blog, so that new and old readers alike can easily see a list of great mid-list books, and click on the link to read a review, without sifting through the entire blog. Finally, if I can swing it, I might have a surprise for you. I can't take credit for the idea, but more on that later.

For now...

-Spread the word about your favorite mid-list books/authors in any way possible (word of mouth, twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc).

-Write an original review of a mid-list book you love and send it to doingitwrite@gmail.com-- I'll post it!

-Write to your favorite mid-list authors. Let them know you love their stuff (authors love this-- I know both from responses I've gotten to fan emails, and from being a writer myself). Also, see if they're doing anything to promote their books, and jump on board!

-Follow blogs and social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc) that review/promote books, particularly mid-list authors-- you may discover a new author whose work you can't live without!(note: my twitter = http://twitter.com/doingitwrite)

-Really browse around in bookstores, both chain and independent. You never know what you might find.