Authorship is Gone . . .Gone with the Wind!
Published November 18th, 2007 | 
Yes, I know I recently ranted about the death of genuine authorship in a recent blog. But a story I read in the paper this morning just brought the subject back to mind and I just HAD to say something about it.
It seems that St. Martin’s Press and the estate lawyers of late Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell, have seen fit to commission yet another quasi-sequel to the classic, award-winning original. The first, Scarlett, was penned by Romance author, Alexandria Ripley. It was generally panned but sold quite well — which was the point. This time, however, they’ve hired an author of historical novels, Daniel McCraig, to pen a book centering on Rhett Butler called Rhett Butler’s People.
I understand why St. Martin’s Press and the Mitchell estate would do this — money. But other than making money, why would another author participate? Why would an author capable of original material want to sip from the well of another writer’s legacy. It does nothing good for that writer’s reputation and (other than making money) doesn’t do anything positive for Mitchell’s legacy. These sequels are not needed. This isn’t writing — it’s marketing.
This book will probably be a bestseller. I hope I’m wrong. I’m hoping readers are smarter than this. I hope they ignore this book and let it be remaindered off. Because as long as publishers can make money pulling this crap, they will continue to do it.
2 Responses to Authorship is Gone . . .Gone with the Wind!
This book was horrible. It didn’t follow the timeline or character portrayal that Margaret Mitchell first established. I was disappointed and angered by the author’s disregard for the story Margaret Mitchell created. He was historically acurate, but that is all. All in all, a bad book and a disappointing read.
Kelli, does it really surprise you that the book was bad? Doesn’t surprise me and I didn’t have to spend money on it to know it would be a bad book. These kinds of books never are any good. It also doesn’t surprise me that this book is, in fact, a bestseller (picture heavy sigh w/eyes rolling back in head). Never underestimate the power of brand marketing and the gullibility of the reading public.