Midlist Authors

[JSWolf]

The thing is, some of those I've listed as midlist have some better book(s) then those that are not midlist based on sales. So do we really want to use sales as a basis for midlist? Heck, 50 Shades of Gray (on of the worst books ever) sold very very well. I'd say it is not as good as the worst book from all of the above listed authors.

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I would imagine that virtually all of us fit that qualification. Does that mean we're all midlist authors?

I suppose if you're a published author, then by my standards, yes. I know you're trying to be sarcastic but...



I think it's easier to see the distinction between the top tier and the mid tier though. Again, in contemporary fantasy and sci-fi you have the clear-cut top tier of J.K. Rowling, Stephen King (if you want to call him fantasy, some people do), Stephanie Myers, Jim Butcher, George R.R. Martin, Pat Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercombie, Peter F. Hamilton, David Weber... All these writers have huge book deals and hit either the NYT or Sunday Times top 20 (usually the top 10).

I think it's a lot murkier once you try to draw a distinction between writers like Alastair Reynolds, Tobias Buckell, R. Scott Bakker, and Matthew Stover... some of whom are very successful and sell a lot of books but have never had a best seller (like Reynolds) and others who make a living, but don't sell a ton of books.

I don't think there really is a way to decide between midlist and below midlist. Is Jim C. Hines midlist? He's certainly a name in the field, but he only makes about $60,000 a year off of his writing, certainly not enough to justify quitting his day job.

What about Jeff A. Carver? He's been publishing forever, but never had a best seller. He pretty much remains unknown outside of hardcore SF fans... are his sales low enough to somehow fall below the "midlist" designation though?


****I'm talking entirely about sales, BTW, not quality.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by mgbino

I don't think there really is a way to decide between midlist and below midlist. Is Jim C. Hines midlist? He's certainly a name in the field, but he only makes about $60,000 a year off of his writing, certainly not enough to justify quitting his day job.

If I made 60000/yr from writing, I would definitely quit my day job

Then again, I don't have much of a day job

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by taosaur

If I made 60000/yr from writing, I would definitely quit my day job

Then again, I don't have much of a day job

I did have a day job (mostly retired now) and my yearly income was just a bit over 60000/year. If I could write *and* I was making that kind of money, I would have walked away from the day job in a minute.

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I did have a day job (mostly retired now) and my yearly income was just a bit over 60000/year. If I could write *and* I was making that kind of money, I would have walked away from the day job in a minute.

I guess it depends where you live... but I actually meant that Jim Hines wouldn't quit his day job because I believe he has a pretty lucrative job... not because 60k isn't a livable wage.

I'm pretty sure Gene Wolfe made way more an an engineer than as a writer, and he's arguably one of the greatest genre writers of all time.

[jehane]

Pretty sure that midlist refers to sales, not quality (which some people should remember is different to personal taste). I would say that being recognised outside of your genre would take you out of the midlist, as would having tv or movie versions of your work. So Le Guin, Butcher and EL James would not be midlist.

[mgbino]

Originally Posted by jehane

Pretty sure that midlist refers to sales, not quality (which some people should remember is different to personal taste). I would say that being recognised outside of your genre would take you out of the midlist, as would having tv or movie versions of your work. So Le Guin, Butcher and EL James would not be midlist.

No way in hell Butcher and James are midlist (I'm not sure how well Le Guin actually sells, but I'd imagine she is also not midlist). Butcher's books hit #1 on the NYT Best Seller list and James has probably sold more books in the past couple years than anyone that isn't Stephanie Myers.