Tell us what you really think

Imagine Jacket Copy HQ as you will: an industrious nest of desk-chained journalists, a coffee-saturated, pajama-clad blogger alone in a dark apartment, a sunny patio filled with witty literati, observed by a blogger sipping chilled rose. Maybe we are all of those things, maybe we are none. But however you think of us, we'd like to know what you want from us.

This is a blog, after all, and the comments are always open. Yesterday a commenter, frustrated by our paying heed to Carrie Fisher, wrote:

don't you feel that you are contributing to the decline in quality literature by only spotlighting on high-profile authors and big-name deals while ignoring grassroots writers and struggling authors? I think your blog could be put to better use, and really make a difference in literature, if you gave more attention to unknown authors who are struggling to have their work know.

Longtime readers of Jacket Copy might protest that this blog gives much attention to new authors and small and independent presses. As a blogger here, I'd like to think we do. But maybe we should give more attention to them. Maybe that's what you want.

To be perfectly honest, our traffic numbers show that a lot of you do want to read about Carrie Fisher. Do you want more about celebrity authors like her? (Not that there are many like her.) Do you want more short things, like clever lists? Or more longer things, like reviews? Do you want more videos? More attention paid to writers no longer with us, more focus on the academy, more highbrow literature, more chick lit, more literature in translation, more YA, more sci-fi, more publishing business, more short fiction, more nonfiction, more on L.A. events, or maybe less?

Phew. I can't even list all the directions we might go. Where would you point us? The comments, as always, are ready and waiting.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Ray Bradbury at the 2008 West Hollywood Book Fair. Credit: Carolyn Kellogg

Comments

[Matt King]

Carolyn,

Traffic isn't a good way to judge. Posts about well-known people will always get more hits than obscurities. Kinda goes without saying.

Point is, people can want both and reading culture is served well by both. It would seem very strange for a books blog to not champion lesser known writers and equally strange to ignore big-name people in the news.

[Mike Mc]

What I like most about Jacket Copy is the frequency of the posts. Would I like to see a bit more about "literature?" Sure, I guess. But I love the fact that I can check back here two or three times a day (even, occasionally, on Sunday) and find a new post. Thanks, guys.

[L Correa]

Make sure to cover the high-profile stuff of course, but I have to agree with the commenter, I would really love to know about the lesser-known publishers and their authors, especially if they're LA-based.

[Cassie]

More genre fiction! There just aren't enough places that take genre fiction seriously these days, and it's incredibly sad. There are some wonderful authors who've written wonderful stories that no one's ever heard of, because it's "genre" fiction and they only browse the "literature" section of the bookstore. (cough*snobs*cough)

That said, I work for an academic press, so I wouldn't take it amiss if there were more reviews of books from indie and academic houses!

Thanks for the feedback opportunity, and keep up the good work Carolyn.

[Stephanie]

I love what you guys already do, but help finding new authors (yes, even in genre fiction) would be great. Quality writing goes beyond simply literary fiction vs. genre fiction. The writing quality in some genre fiction is atrocious, but there is also some writing that is sublime. Continued focus on those solid and often unknown writers in all categories would be appreciated. It's really hard to pick a good book out of the noise, and direction is always appreciated.

But I should also say, that I enjoy the posts about authors past, such as the recent post about Chu referencing Faulkner.

[Hannah]

Thank you for paying attention to my comment.
I was voicing the frustration of talented authors who have created exceptional books yet are being totally ignored by the mainstream press and big publishing houses.
Sure, celeb authors should get the spotlight, not just because they have alredy established themselves but because they bring traffic to your site.
But as someone else said above, a more obvious balance would be appreciated by readers and new authors alike.
Thank you.