When Authors should LEM their own characters

[DiapDealer]

13th? First 10 or 12? Number 9? Isn't it just possible that readers are simply tiring of the same old sh!t after that many books with the same characters/settings? I know I do at about the 3-4 book mark... even with authors I really, really like.

Readers share a big chunk of the responsibility here too. Just because authors are writing series that run to double-digit installments, doesn't mean fans have to continue buying them. If interest wanes and dollars start running thin, they'll wrap up and start something new. If you keep buying, however, there's no reason for them to stop riding the gravy train for all it's worth.

[Andrew H.]

I knew some guys in a mildly successful rock band. They had a few hits, but got really really tired of being asked to play them all the time, year after years.

So I kind of think that there's some of that going on. Several years ago, I read the first few installments of Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series. But then I pretty much lost interest all at once; Warshawski no longer seemed interesting and a lot of the same sort of stock situations came up in all of the books.

Paretsky could write when she wanted to, so my theory was just that she had no more to say about the character, but felt obligated (either contractually or monetarily) to keep pumping them out. (I haven't read her in a while, and according to wiki she took a 5 year break in the 90's, so maybe she got her mojo back).

[Fluribus]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Readers share a big chunk of the responsibility here too. Just because authors are writing series that run to double-digit installments, doesn't mean fans have to continue buying them. If interest wanes and dollars start running thin, they'll wrap up and start something new. If you keep buying, however, there's no reason for them to stop riding the gravy train for all it's worth.

In the end, their fans would probably be doing them a favor.

[FatDog]

Isn't it just possible that readers are simply tiring of the same old sh!t after that many books with the same characters/settings?

No. I grabbed early versions of 2 of the authors books and found the characters more human and interesting, the descriptions more colorful, much tighter plots. I enjoyed the early books after reading latest works that disappointed. It's almost like the later books are written by a different author. I suspect what really happens is the early books were gone over by copy-editors or proof-readers and things were tightened up. (This is the one good thing about re-buying my library for the ereader.)

[DiapDealer]

Isn't it just possible...

No.

Don't be so ambiguous.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

13th? First 10 or 12? Number 9? Isn't it just possible that readers are simply tiring of the same old sh!t after that many books with the same characters/settings? I know I do at about the 3-4 book mark... even with authors I really, really like.

That's certainly a relevant observation for me. RIP Feist and Wurts. I loved you for a while there, but then you just kept dribbling on about something I had lost interest in.

[Lloyd Simcoe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Never heard the term "LEM" so had to open the thread to see wtf it was about.

I was disappointed that the thread was not about the Apollo "Lunar Excursion Module".

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Lloyd Simcoe

I was disappointed that the thread was not about the Apollo "Lunar Excursion Module".

Yes, I should have said 'as applied to writing'.... now if it had of said 'spacing your characters' ....

[HarryT]

For those of us who grew up watching the Apollo landings, "LEM" will probably always have that meaning.

I really see no need to make up silly words like that for the concept of disliking a book.

[FatDog]

The other genesis of "Lem" came from Veronica Belmont on the "Sword and Laser" podcast and YouTube show. They were reading "Solaris" by Stanislaw Lem and Veronica could just not get through it. "LEM" became a verb for a book you just stopped reading in the middle. I prefer "LEMming" for things that jump over a cliff or a book that is so awful you should toss it into the ocean.

I am enjoying re-reading the early Kathy Reichs, Glen Cook and even early James Patterson. So it does not seem to be author or 'genre exhaustion'.

This is why I posted the question. I want to know if anybody else has experienced this with favorite 'franchise authors' or if it was just me.

[Hellmark]

I stopped reading the charlaine Harris books for that reason. The only book series i have enjoyed all the way through were planned fully from start to finish. Harry Potter and Dresden Files come to mind. Those have a known lifespan. We know in advance the Xth book will be the final. When things are open ended, that's when things get formulaic

[4691mls]

I can understand that after a while, an author might run out of ideas. If they can see that happening, I would prefer they go ahead and wrap up the series and tie up any loose ends, so we can say goodbye to the characters while we still like them.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I can understand that after a while, an author might run out of ideas. If they can see that happening, I would prefer they go ahead and wrap up the series and tie up any loose ends, so we can say goodbye to the characters while we still like them.

This is reasonable, but I wonder how many authors have read or watched "Misery", and are a bit nervous now about breaking it off with some readers.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by rkomar

This is reasonable, but I wonder how many authors have read or watched "Misery", and are a bit nervous now about breaking it off with some readers.

Michael Connelly's series have been successful with no diminishing quality. I think part of that success has been the characters who pop up each in other's series. It's fascinating to see Harry Bosch appear in a novel mostly about Mickey Haller or Terry McCaleb. Connelly has created a rich and stark world where we see each beloved series protagonist through the eyes of other leading characters.

As much as I love James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux and hate to see him ever leave us, I think that series would have benefited by Connelly's treatment.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Michael Connelly's series have been successful with no diminishing quality. I think part of that success has been the characters who pop up each in other's series. It's fascinating to see Harry Bosch appear in a novel mostly about Mickey Haller or Terry McCaleb. Connelly has created a rich and stark world where we see each beloved series protagonist through the eyes of other leading characters.

Jeffrey Deaver is another author who does that. Characters who are the protagonist in one series of novels show up as minor characters in others. As you say, it adds to the "richness" of the fictional world. I've never read a novel by Deaver that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.