| Re: Is worldbuilding pointless?
He's successful, Ian, because he stopped turning out original work and devotes himself to novelizations or collaborations in established franchises. He works very fast -- which tends to appeal to people who own franchises, because they like to see their authors turn out lots and lots of books -- when I knew him, he used to brag that he never revised at all. Not a page, not a word. I don't know if that was an exaggeration. Anyway, it does suggest that quality isn't a big consideration with him.
So, yes, he is a very, very good example of one way you can achieve success without worrying too much about quality, or even originality (since the main thing that is bringing in the readers, the world or the characters, isn't even his). He's a nice guy, loves what he does, makes a nice living while keeping his publishers happy, pleases at least some of his readers -- but I doubt that even the people with a great many of his books on their shelves would argue that he's a great writer. Most, if not all, are buying the name of whichever franchise he is writing in, not his name. |