Publishing needs a superstar
AND NO, COLLEEN HOOVER IS NOT A SUPERSTAR
I still have my copy of The Alchemist with a heartfelt note written on the first page by my eleventh grade teacher. I read that book over and over and felt so connected to the story that I didn’t even want to tell anyone about the book because I thought they’d somehow ruin the power this book claimed over me.
But as I started moving around in the world, I realized that I wasn’t the only one who connected to Paulo Coelho’s classic. In fact, people who I knew for a fact barely read anything knew about this book. I could mention the book in any crowd and people typically knew what I was talking about. The Alchemist transcended publishing and was a pop culture staple.
Right now, I believe publishing needs another Alchemist.
Why do I say that? I’m about to tell you, but first, let me define what I mean by superstar.
I titled this piece Publishing needs another superstar. What I really should’ve titled it is publishing needs another superstar book. The publishing world is unique in that our books become stars and not the authors. Authors make all the money and reap the benefits, but it’s not like music or the movies where actual people become just as famous as the music or movies they make. I think most people would walk past Paulo Coelho on the street without a second glance. But those same people have likely heard about The Alchemist, and with over 150 million books sold, there’s a fairly good chance they’ve read it.
I could only find one exception to this rule and that’s Stephen King. His name recognition is greater than any one book he’s written. In my research, I couldn’t find another current author where this was the case (I’m not counting Shakespeare). J.K. Rowling is close, but I still believe that more people know Harry Potter than Rowling herself.
So what do I mean when I say “superstar?” I mean someone or something who’s cultural impact far transcends publishing and can be referred to and known in general pop culture conversation. I was watching Lord Of The Rings last night and remembered that it’s one of my friend’s favourite movies. When I told him it was a book (he’s not a reader), he was shocked. That’s what happens when a book becomes a superstar.
And right now, publishing needs a superstar. It needs something to excite the industry and pull people towards it. I know what you’re thinking: Colleen Hoover, right? She just had six books in the top ten in the summer of 2022 — at the same time. She’s sold roughly 20 million books. Isn’t she a superstar?
No, not yet. Colleen Hoover is popular, but I don’t think she’s quite on the superstar level just yet. What I mean is that she, nor any one of her books, have yet transcended far enough outside of publishing for me to give her that title. It Ends With Us, Hoover’s most popular title, is just now being adapted into film (I believe Blake Lively is the star). In two years, I might have a different perspective. A movie or two might be out and popular culture might be more familiar with Hoover herself. Maybe she’ll be on the cover of Forbes or People. Maybe one of her books will become a verb like Mean Girls. She’s definitely on her way, but I don’t think she’s entered common pop culture lexicon just yet.
A good proxy for Hoover would be E.L James 50 Shades of Grey. That movie was released four years after the first book was published and helped the series become the best selling novel of the decade. Moms and grandmothers were talking about how raunchy the books were, girlfriends were experimenting with foreplay they read within the chapters, critics complained that the writing was horrible. I worked at Indigo (book chain in Canada) when 50 Shades was popular and we had an entire wall dedicated to the series (we literally had to top that thing up every day). The movies were sold out and the conversations around sex and relationships were everywhere. As a matter of fact, if you google 50 Shades, you’ll see much more about the movie and the movie’s stars than you would about the book, and the book has sold about 40 million copies.
That’s the type of excitement publishing needs right now. We need something for people to rally around, message their friends about; we need people to say that it’s overhyped but still read every word and post about it daily. We need fans of the book critiquing who producers cast as the star. We need Reddit groups discussing why this new book has captured the attention of a generation.
We need a superstar.
And I say this for several reasons. First, and most importantly, superstars help young people read. Judy Blume raised a generation (as did JK Rowling bless her soul LOL), so did Stan Lee just like Tolkien before him. These authors inspired, comforted, educated, and consoled young readers en masse.
The way books are being politicized today; the way they’re being banned from schools across North America at a time when young people need stories to help give them context to a world they are more exposed to than ever before; superstars walk young people into worlds they might not experience otherwise. We need that — young people need that — more than ever.
That’s the first reason. The other reason is more about general survival. As publishing becomes more entwined with popular culture, we need to find ways to stand out. We need to ensure that our industry is just as exciting, just as thrilling, and can cause a stir that transcends the book blogs. We need superstars to say hey, look over here. Look at what we’re creating in this world. That is the job of the superstar.
Because I fear that if we don’t find ways to shine lights on publishing, it will get lost in the fray of “content” and “entertainment.” Our audiobooks, now on Spotify, will be undercut by music and podcasts. There won’t be enough reason for new readers to hit the bookstores to discover new titles and authors who aren’t superstars.
Listen, this isn’t a doom and gloom piece. I’m not saying the publishing industry is going to die. But I understand pop culture. I’ve studied what it takes to capture its attention. Superstars attract the eyes that the rest of the industry uses to survive. And while I believe it’s essential that all authors focus on building their own platforms and readerships, I believe just as forcefully that superstars and superstar books are what draws readers and non-readers (meaning reading isn’t something they do regularly) to the industry.
Superstars play an important role, a vital one, and I want to see publishing continue to thrive.
They've been around since the 19th century. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, for example, were enormously popular, and their influence is still very strongly felt.
Hi Kern, new subscriber here. Excellent post, I really enjoyed it. My opinion on what makes a superstar in the terms you described is that it's an extremely rare mix, a secret recipe that no one really knows. I believe the key ingredients of what some great candidates share, are the obvious things like readability for a mass audience, strong skills in all aspects of writing, and producing almost universal appeal/relatable content in popular genres.
The difference maker ingredient, again in my opinion only, is sheer volume of work and prolific writing skills over a significant number of years (decades). Stephen King fits that perfectly just as you pointed out. He's not a once in a generation talent, he spans multiple generations. He has achieved staying power. If you're old like me or 14 years old, you know the name and will likely read him. The last count I saw totaled some 65 Novels and Novellas (including Richard Bachman books). Volume isn't everything and some were better than others as with any writer, but if a writer somehow attains the almost impossible level of having better name recognition than their book titles then they better manage to be around for a long while, regardless of how many bestsellers they might have in relatively short amount of time.