Do You Re-invent Tyhe Wheel With Every Story?

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

Recently I bought and read a novel by a German author I just "discovered."

I scored the book 4 stars inspite of its flaws and blemishes. The translator did a magnificent job. Almost all the authors efforts are in German. But his 2nd novel sux. Different translator, too.

Why can't authors leave well enough alone?

 

[sr71plt]

Unless the books were self-published, the publisher, not the author, provided the translator and is responsible for the result.

 

[gunhilltrain]

" 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself." I'm pretty sure he did actually keep track.

Do you mean why did he publish a second novel? I guess because writing is his job, his career. Some novelists have a "sophomore slump" with their second book, especially if the first is a big hit.

 

[oggbashan]

Somerset Maugham's first novel was a great success.

His second? Thousands of copies were remaindered and sold off cheaply.

Some other authors have followed that pattern by writing a good first work and a poor second before getting into their stride.

Georgette Heyer tried to stop reprinting of some of her early novels because she thought they were so bad.

Consistency is for machines. Creativity can be patchy.

 

[SamScribble]

Many authors struggle with their second book – especially if their first has been critically or popularly acclaimed. A well-respected editor once told me that second books tend to be the ones where the editor really earns his or her money.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Many authors struggle with their second book – especially if their first has been critically or popularly acclaimed. A well-respected editor once told me that second books tend to be the ones where the editor really earns his or her money.

It seems natural that many authors will spend years of their lives preparing to write their first book, then put everything they've got into it. Then, if it's a success, they are expected to do it all again, as well, or better than the first time, as quickly as they can. It shouldn't be a surprise if they struggle.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Georgette Heyer tried to stop reprinting of some of her early novels because she thought they were so bad.

Even her worst were good though. I think her first was The Black Moth which she wrote when she was 17 and I've always enjoyed that one.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It seems natural that many authors will spend years of their lives preparing to write their first book, then put everything they've got into it. Then, if it's a success, they are expected to do it all again, as well, or better than the first time, as quickly as they can. It shouldn't be a surprise if they struggle.

Joseph Heller is a great example. He blew the world away with Catch 22, and it was decades before his next book. Which was not so good.

Hubert Selby with Last Exit to Brooklyn is another example.

John Kennedy Toole is the saddest. He committed suicide because he couldn't get A Confederacy of Dunces published, which subsequently was recognised as one of the Twentieth Century's great pieces of literature.

 

[ausfet]

Not intentionally, but judging by the feedback I've received, there are certain stories of mine that don't 'match' the others.

Similarly, when I'm reading I find there are authors who I enjoy 100% of the time, some 50%, and some have just one or two stories that I LOVE but the rest of their work does absolutely nothing for me either intellectually or sexually.

 

[Jada59]

I have written a few novels. None published and I didn't try to publish them. But entirely different stories.

I have read books in series though, sometimes even true stories that made me wish I hadn't bought them. Why? The author spent so much time rehashing what was in the prior book or books, there wasn't too much new material. I suppose they did this for the benefit of those who did not read the prior book or books, but I found it to be dull and boring, especially if no time had elapsed between reading that one and the one prior.

 

[Requiax]

Recently I bought and read a novel by a German author I just "discovered."

I scored the book 4 stars inspite of its flaws and blemishes. The translator did a magnificent job. Almost all the authors efforts are in German. But his 2nd novel sux. Different translator, too.

Why can't authors leave well enough alone?

Do you mean that you disliked the second novel because rather than do what worked well the first time, the author tried to do something different, and it didn’t work?

Cos that’s kind of how I’m interpreting “reinventing the wheel” (i.e taking something which has been perfected already and making entirely unnecessary changes).

 

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

The first book is an erotic whodunit set in Berlin as the Nazis and communists are at war every where. It starts with vice cops raiding a porn studio followed by a running gunfight across the neighborhood. The actions never catches its breath. The romance subplot goes no where but is good for a long while. The cop killing plot is pretty good. The whole thing is intelligent and plausible, and couldn't see the end coming.

I can't tell you what the other book is about.

The first is easy to follow, the other never makes sense.

 

[Kojak01]

I'm not sure if I understand your post correctly but I try to write a different story every time and not just change names and locations.

Just because something worked out fine the last time, I don't write the same thing in a different colour ('the same thing in green' as we say in German), rather the opposite. But that doesn't mean that I change everything. It's highly unlikely that I suddenly start writing in a genre that doesn't interest me, so I'll keep writing different variants of romances.