Is writing a light read or "chick lit" a good option for an aspiring literary fiction author?
I live in India and here light reads and "chick lit" have made a great impression. The youth are picking up such books like petrol on fire. Even non-readers are giving reading these genres a try. Titles like these have helped the publishing industry here to grow more than 100% in the last few years.
Is it a good idea someone who wishes to become a literary fiction writer to write such a book; does it fix his/her genre? Is it going to demean his standing as a literary writer from the readers' point of view? Does he or she come to be characterized as a Light read or "chick lit" writer who cannot write in another genre, especially literary fiction?
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1 answer
If you write something "lightweight," and then something "heavy" or "serious" afterwards, the readers of your "light" book might give the "serious" one a try sooner than someone who never heard of you, because they like your previous work. So you're establishing a built-in audience. Can't see a downside there.
As far as the critics, it's their job to read the books to review them. If the reviewer can't be arsed to get past your name on the cover because your previous book was Burning But Age-Appropriately Chaste Desire in the Desert, the reviewer should be fired for refusal to work.
Write what you want to write. If it's good, word will get out. Don't worry about being pigeonholed.
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