From the “Brilliant Marketing if You can Pull it Off” department, Party Girl by Anna David was treated to a very innovative promotional spot – a viral video using actresses hired from Craig’s List to film two spots of a party girl having her social faux pas revealed in front of many. Seems the videos were a hit online.
And from the “What the Hell?!” department: those same videos have been removed from YouTube for terms of use violations. It’s hard to be, you know, a viral video, if you’re not on the site that houses the videos. Confounding me even more, it’s actually rather difficult to FIND the videos, as they’re not prominently on Anna David’s website, nor are they linked from the main page of the official book site either. The videos, they are not so much “viral” as “vacant.”
And from the “Hmm, Something to Think About” department, more from that same author. Already creating a buzz online for her frustrations at having her book labeled as “chick lit,” – to quote David, “I wrote a book about the most important and profound experience I’d ever had—getting and staying sober—and it’s being categorized among books about wearing Manolo Blahniks while trying to land a guy?” – the author can be found in many online venues talking about whether there is any non-offensive term for fiction written for, or by, women.
From GalleyCat: David says, “My friend had a funny idea; she suggested releasing two version of the book─one, Party Girl, with the cover as is, then another called Redemption with an all-black cover. She thought it would be interesting to see how differently people react.”
I talked about the “are they or aren’t they?” question of genre before, and this seems to be more of the same: can there be a designation for fiction of this type that’s not derogatory and sexist? The word “fiction” is almost too broad (hardee har har) now to successfully encompass all the subgenres within it. If the categories of fiction had to be redrawn in your dream bookstore, how would you do it?
By color of the spine. That way I can have fabulous decorative motifs for each area.
*heh*
We should rethink the way we look at books. Now writers who are women are treated as the anomaly. Their fiction is automatically labeled “women’s fiction,” and then put in a sub-category. If you’re funny and you’re a writer, you get “chick lit” regardless of the content or literary quality.
But women write the majority of books and are the majority of readers. Why shouldn’t categories reflect reality? We should call any author of the male persuasion an author of “men’s fiction.” Men’s books could go in categories like “Nitwit Lit” (hapless characters who can’t commit); “Dick Lit” (characters who are jerks); “Flip Lit” (men’s humor); “Trip Lit” (any kind of adventure); “Ripped Lit” (addiction stories); and “Acquit Lit” (legal thrillers); “Misfit Lit” (man as alienated soul); “Pinch-Hit Lit” (sports stories); and “Cock-Pit Lit” (war sagas). “Grit Lit” will cover the current trend of post-apocalyptic stories by men.
All fiction by women will be shelved in general fiction.
Marta,
Love it! Excellent idea.
“Dick Lit”
I want to write that! Can it be men who like dicks, that are dicks, and named after dicks, written by dicks?
I like it!
“…written by dicks?”
How do you write with a dick?
No, wait, don’t answer that. I’m sure it involves pee and a snowbank.
Name: Dick Dickison
With a name like that I can writes the dick lit.
Yeah, I survived high school, the Navy and several bar fights.
My dad was Rick and he could be a dick.
I’m a sick Dick.
Nitwit Lit has given me a fit of the giggle here, because i have already come up with several nominations.
I recognize that the idea behind these sub-genres is to help me find my book faster, but it seems most people who organize their books at home use things like the alphabet.
Although I do have one friend who divided her books into books anyone can see that I have read, and the other go on the bedroom bookshelf. And I have a friend who organizes by color, so, okay, I guess the alphabet is just a starting point, but it seems that everyone agrees on the alphabet.
Marta, that’s brilliant!
I still rebel at the idea that chick lit is all about women wearing designer clothes. In my mind, the mother (or possibly older, degenerate sister) of all chick lit is still Bridget Jones, who wouldn’t know a designer if one smacked her in the face, and spent most of the book worrying about losing those last few pounds.
‘Chic-lit’ is about those Sex and the City women who obsess about matching Manolos with Kate Spades. ‘Chick-lit’ is about women trying to not to go insane in a modern world.
I think it’s become a lot like romance: if you admit to it, then come on in. If you’re too afraid to admit to it, then have fun with your paranoia. I’ll be over here with my hot-pink cover, having fun.
(my verification word? nearly24. Well, not quite. Not quite)
My dream bookstore has 3 sections (all poolside, with loverly masseurs serving exotic drinks):
1. Books in which nothing happens.
2. Books that have a plot and are crappily written.
3. Books that have a plot and are well written.
Seek and ye shall find:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&ChannelID=122993643
The two party girl videos are on the Party Girl Myspace page.
Enjoy,
Janet/Cricket
No, wait, don’t answer that. I’m sure it involves pee and a snowbank.
If you have to ask, you’re not Canadian.
And we’re all going about this the wrong way.
OF COURSE there’s a name for smart, non-genre fiction written by women.
BitchLit.
Well hell, I think this is a real problem….seriously. I mean, other then searching by favorite authors, how do ya’ know what you’re getting? I understand the people who don’t want things put under chick lit, but then what? If not women’s fiction, then what?
If I get a book about getting sober when I’m looking for a paranormal romance then I’m seriously pissed. If I want a light romance and get—love this, always wanted to say it—“chick porn”, then I’m pissed.
Would you put Lori Foster and Robyn Carr and Lora Leigh and J.D. Robb and Christine Feehan under the same “category” if readers want to try a new or different style or type of reading?
So other then dick-lit, where do you look for what you’re looking for at the moment, except clumped together under romance?
I would like a section that was “Fiction with inane protagonists making stupid decisions in predictable plots”
That would successfully weed out a good number of books in Chick-lit, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror, Romance and Mystery that I wish I could just avoid.
I think “Good” and “Crappy” would suffice…but, then, I’d have to do all the sorting. And I’m having trouble enough bilocating.
Marta, you’re a genius!
Both Marta and Charlene are brilliant!
Charlene wrote: “OF COURSE there’s a name for smart, non-genre fiction written by women. BitchLit.”
I was laughing about this and told the husband. “It’s the perfect name,” I said. So I registered the domain. http://www.bitchlit.com (Goo.gle wouldn’t let me register the name, but I went through another host.)
I suppose it would help if I knew how to design a website. Any suggestions of what I should put on it?
LOVE LOVE LOVE bitchlit.com! Love “men’s fiction.” God, that’s just genius in its sweetest form.
Now, what it put on bitchlit.com…
Could you narrow your categories to paranormal bitch lit, fantasy bitch lit, straight bitch lit (I mean general fiction, naturally, not heterosexual fiction—if there’s even such a thing), etc? Throw in a few interesting links to the various authors, a nice place to shop, Smart Bitches (of course), maybe wine.com (how interesting would it be to have book/wine pairings? Wouldn’t the Kushiel series be devine with a deep dark cab sauv?) and kaboom! You’ve got yourself a kicking website.
Would “straight” bitch lit not be lesbian lovin?
Shaunee, thanks for the suggestions on my new bitchlit.com site. Now all I have to do is sign up for a web design class at the local adult school.
The suggestion of wine/book pairings is genius.
All bitchlit would reflect an outspoken, funny and decidedly female point of view. I think the sub-categories could be:
Witch-Bitchlit – paranormal
Which-Bitchlit – mysteries
Switch-Bitchlit – cross genre
Hitch-Bitchlit – romances
Snitch-Bitchlit – crime thrillers
Kitsch-Bitchlit – satire
Itch-Bitchlit – literary novels about the dissatisfaction with society and the meaninglessness of life
Enrich-Bitchlit – fiction written expressly to appeal to Oprah
“Shaunee, thanks for the suggestions on my new bitchlit.com site. Now all I have to do is sign up for a web design class at the local adult school.”
Perhaps the Smart Bitches would hold a contest for web designers… Best bitchlit.com web master/mistress would receive a bottle o’ vino and bitchlit.com t-shirt, or something.
*SCREAMS with laughter*
MARTA! Quit goofing around over here and coming up with those freakin’ brilliant ideas for bitchlit
Aren’t you supposed to be getting Milagro
into
out of trouble again?
BevL(QB)
Marta, you are on a roll, LOLOL!
I have a WitchBitchlit out right now. Surprisingly, I haven’t been dinged yet for writing a less-than-admirable heroine. We’ll see how long my luck lasts.
Yes, Bev, thank you for reminding me that I’m supposed to be writing fiction not hanging out here. (And thanks for the totally bitchin reviews of my books on your site today.) Candy and Sarah have some evil power over me and keep dragging me to their damn site. It’s like one of those David Cronenberg films about sick compulsions, only with horrifying romance book covers.
Wait Marta, does that mean you’re not really going to do bitchlit.com? Please do bitchlit.com.
I think the best idea ever was the one expressed by the author of the book. Market books in several genres.
I know that I head to a certain section if I’m in the mood for some romance (I go to fantasy/sci-fi, manga and romance. Nowhere near general fiction because it’s too… general. I used to visit YA but the stories are usually too short. And some *coughMegCabotcough* get too repetitive.) Speaking of that, really pleased when I popped into a Borders at Angel in London and found the romance section chock-full of U.S. imports. I got to witness the unbelievable covers all gathered together for myself. You could not believe the happiness for seeing something other than M&B(Harlequin to you), Georgette Heyer, Coulter and such limited selections on romance shelves.