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I enjoy Cartesian models. The bell curve is one of the more useful ones because it shows that there's a spectrum of possibilities. In the ideal, the passion/pop curve would coincide, like when a breakthrough novel comes along. Few and far between is the norm, though, because passionate interests are readily contraindicated by popular interests.
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posted
My big question about this model, which the blog post doesn't discuss at all, is what is the evidence for the existence of the valley? How do we know the two curves don't overlap?
And does the fiction market have a similar valley? Take OSC - his books are sold in airport book marts, which I would have thought puts him close to the pop sweet spot. But Ender's Game is something of a cult classic even among SF purists.
posted
The curves do and don't overlap for any given art form. As represented on the blog, the curves are an idealized rendition of a projected global consensus. Take any particular novel and track its placement in passion/pop circles, say, any Harry Potter novel, and the graph will vary.
From Dan Poytner of Para Publishing;
2005: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The book's record first printing is 10.8 million copies; the audio will have a record first printing of 635,000 copies. Two weeks prior to the release date of July 16, B&N.com had sold more than 750,000 copies; Amazon.com has sold more than 725,000 through yesterday--Shelf Awareness, July 5, 2005, http://www.Shelf-Awareness.com
"Harry Potter Bestsellers Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: 25.1 million Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: 22 million Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: 16.7 million Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: 16.3 million The books have been published in 55 languages and distributed in more than 200 countries. --The Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2003" http://bookstatistics.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm
posted
When it comes to fiction, I think the "passion" curve sort of corresponds to literary stuff, and while some science fiction is becoming more "literary," it isn't at all close to the "sweet spot" for those who are passionate about the "art/authenticity" of fiction.
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Great post. I think that is one of the things I struggle with. I want to be true to my own story/passion, but at the same time, I am well aware of how much bigger that pop curve is. Do I go with the more "pop" choice sometimes because of that. Yup.
I worry that that means I will end up in the void between the two curves.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
