How many American Idol contestants can you name? I’ve been watching AI from the get-go, so
I’ll go first.
- Kelly Clarkson
- Carrie Underwood
- Clay Aiken
- David Cook
- Jennifer Hudson
- Phillip Phillips
- Jordin Sparks
Well…that’s it. American
Idol has been on…what? Twelve
seasons? And I can remember only eight
contestants. I know I liked a lot more
than eight. Yet, I can’t think of their
names. I remember the female country
singer in last season’s AI—I really liked her, but darn if I can remember her
name. She had it all—talent, charisma,
beauty, and a rockin’ country voice—but I can’t remember her name. (I know I could look it up on the internet,
but that just proves my point—I shouldn’t have
to.) This must be so disheartening
for all those talented singers who make it to the AI top ten, and then after
the tour is over, they vanish back into obscurity. Oh, sure, some of them go on to become
household names—Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson and…well,
that’s about it. But even some of the
most talented winners of AI—David Cook, for one, kind of disappear after their
initial, if moderate, success. Why, I
wonder?
I have my suspicions, and this is
where American Idol and the
publishing business have something in common.
The winner of American Idol gets
a record contract and big-name producers like Jimmy Iovine get them in the
studios, and with their star-making know-how, try to turn them into the next
Britney Spears or Justin Bieber, even if it bleeds every bit of originality out
of them. Because they don’t care about
originality. They only care about the
big bucks. They want these young artists
to fit into a box, following a proven formula that will churn out mega-billion
dollar sales. Unfortunately, it rarely
works. Why? Because these kids, talented as they may be,
when trying to emulate a Britney or a Justin, turn out to be nothing but a pale
imitation. And in a blink of an eyelash,
they’ve faded into obscurity. Once the
record sales dwindle, I suspect the initial interest from Hollywood
As you know, I’m sure, I’ve been
out of the New York
Times Best-Seller List. That’s why you hear about a first-time author’s
book going into a bidding war and ending up getting six and seven-figure
offers. It happens more frequently than
you would think. It didn’t happen to me,
alas, but I did get a pretty good advance for my first novel, BORDER CROSSINGS,
that came out in hardcover, retailing for $25.99. I remember thinking at the time: Who on earth is going to pay $25.99 for a
book by an author they’ve never heard of?
Turns out I had reason to be concerned. Not many people did pay $25.99 for the book.
And although I went on to sell my publisher another three books, the
death knell for my career was already sounding.
Sales were low, excitement was diminishing, my editor left for a job
with a different publisher—and eventually, no one at my publishing house had
ever heard of me.
Something similar happened to a friend
of mine. She was already published in
category romance, but when she wrote a big women’s fiction novel, her savvy
agent got several publishers interested, and although it didn’t sell at
auction, one publisher offered her a six-figure deal. She was headed for the big-time. The publisher promised they’d get behind her,
and promote the book with ads, book tours and a huge New York City New
York
Sound familiar? I wonder how many AI contestants totally give
up on their dream after their brief brush with fame? It all comes down to two different animals—artists
and corporate business. Artists just
want to create their art, and corporate business wants to back artists who make
them money. And if they don’t, it’s
goodbye and on to the next. (Because there is always a hungry “next.”) Sometimes, everything comes together and
an artist gets to make their art—the art they want to make, and the money flows in. Those are the lucky ones. The rest of us? We turn to self-publishing and
self-recording, and sharing our art wherever and with whomever we can. And who knows? Maybe in the long run, we’re the ones who are
happier. (Although I’m betting Nora Roberts is pretty darn happy.)
So…if you loved some of those
artists on AI who didn’t make it big, search them out and buy their self-produced
CDs. And while you’re at it, support
your local indie authors. J For us, every little sale counts.
