50 Shades of Gray #1 Selling Kindle Book of All Time

The Daily Mail ^ | 6-26-12 | Deborah Arthurs

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

That’s all I know. Tried Googling without any luck.

[stuartcr]

I looked at wikipedia and couldn’t find anything. The link you showed is some pretty difficult reading. Seems like a lot has to be assumed or at least believed in the same way as the author.

[jboot]

Sorry to upset your daughter. Someone downthread called fanfic "training wheels" and I think that was an apt analogy. It's a good learning tool. That said, it is definitely just a starting point. Your daughter's own creations will be far more fulfilling once she discovers them and allows them to stand on their own.

One of my most valuable writing exercises was to convert my "best" fanfic into an original work for submission to a serious "young authors" sci-fi anthology. It turned out to be very instructive as to the merit of my work, or more correctly to the lack thereof. (As opposed to the quality, with which merit should not be confused.) My story was not selected for publication, which did not come as a surprise.

[JenB]

Yeah, fan art can be pretty fanservicey... I think I’ve seen some of those Sailor Jupiter pictures...

The thing about fanfic is you can attract a bigger audience than someone writing equally crappy original fiction. Which is a big motivator. But anyone who doesn’t get past that stage will never get any better. I feel sorry for the woman who wrote this 50 Shades book. She’s made lots of money, but she’ll never be a good writer.

[jboot]

I agree with you. The built-in audience for fan productions is a big inducement commecially, though I can't help but wonder how that works legally. Twilight is a pretty lucrative trademark in itself. I'm old enough to remember when Carl Macek's lawyer did the rounds of sci-fi conventions slapping C&D orders on anyone drawing Robotech characters, even if the art wasn't for sale. There were some talented kids who packed it up after that. I always hoped that they found an original outlet.

[cherry]

some men LIKE to fantasize that what they want is what women want...

its sociopathy...its narcissism...its projection....

like the men who always claim that the woman "wanted it" , after punching her out and raping her...

like OJ simpson....who claimed that it was his tiny , petite ex wife who actually was the batterer...

[PapaBear3625]

Explain the high sales numbers of "Grey" among women, if the buyers are not into that kind of fantasy?

I'm not saying ALL women are into that. I'm saying that a sufficient number of women are into that to create a lucrative market for "Grey" and the "bodice ripper" genre of women's novels. Look as far back as the hugely popular 1936 novel "Gone With The Wind", with the dark, dominating protagonist Rhett Butler, which was predominantly bought by women.

[PapaBear3625]

Sorry to upset your daughter. Someone downthread called fanfic "training wheels" and I think that was an apt analogy. It's a good learning tool. That said, it is definitely just a starting point. Your daughter's own creations will be far more fulfilling once she discovers them and allows them to stand on their own.

I agree. Some writer or other once said "The way to learn to write is to WRITE!". The way for DFG's daughter to find her voice and her style is by doing lots of writing, and seeing what works.

[PapaBear3625]

I would also add that just because someone fantasizes about something, or likes reading or watching a movie about something, does not necessarily mean that they want to actually experience it in real life, not under their control. Just because people like watching a movie about Jason slashing up the neighborhood doesn't mean they would want to experience it for real.

Even in the book, the woman is only PLAY ACTING at being submissive. She retains the option of, at any time, saying "OK, this isn't fun any more, I'm going home and don't want to see you any more, bye".