The Girl Ghetto: Harlan Coben

Mega bestselling author Harlan Coben is the first author to win the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony Award and his works are published in thirty languages. After writing seven books in the critically acclaimed Myron Bolitar series, which debuted in 1995, Harlan turned his attention to stand alone thrillers such as JUST ONE LOOK, TELL NO ONE, NO SECOND CHANCE, GONE FOR GOOD and THE INNOCENT, which just came out in Dutton hardcover. He lives in New Jersey with his wife a pediatrician and their four children.

Suffice it to say Harlan is more than our featured guest male blogger.

He’s our Guest Stud.

And he was kind enough to participate in our “girl ghetto” roundtable.

TLC: Do you see a "girl ghetto" in crime fiction, with hard-boiled books by men garnering more critical attention and publisher push? If you do, do you think it is reader-driven, author-driven or purely industry-driven, like the movie biz where male action stars consistently get more press and bigger bucks?

HARLAN: Long rambling attempt at an answer because I’m not sure I even agree with the premises in the question. First off, it may work both ways. I remember in the early nineties, when I started writing the Myron Bolitar series, I was advised to make Myron female because, with the popularity of Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky and the like, male protagonists were out of fashion.

I also remember attending an EyeCon in 1995 and hearing about so many male private eye series – some wonderful writers who’d been published for a long time – being dropped. Quick – name five ongoing popular male private eye series. Not so easy, eh? I’m also not sure what you mean by hard-boiled. I certainly wouldn’t call my stuff hard-boiled. In fact, maybe you can give me a long list of hard-boiled men who garner a ton of critical attention and publisher push. I can think of two, maybe three.

“Pushes” are reader-driven, author-driven and industry-driven and in some ways, those three are the same thing. Publishers are interested in making money and breaking out authors. I don’t think they care much if they are male or female. The book with the biggest push I’ve seen this year is THE HISTORIAN, written by a woman. That’s not to say that readers and publishers don’t have preconceived gender notions, but in the end, if publishers think an author has enormous sales potential, they push. If they don’t, they don’t. Doesn’t mean they push the right book or author. But that’s their thinking.

TLC: Do you think male readers want a different type of story than women (i.e., gun-toting loner vs. something more relationship-oriented and emotional), or is it all about perception?

HARLAN: I think female readers may be more open than male readers. A female reader will be more apt to read, say, a Tom Clancy than a man would be to read a Danielle Steel. The female audience is also larger. That said, I hate generalizations, so maybe I should just ignore this.

TLC: Are the Edgars, and even Bouchercon, more like a "boys' club," with female authors who don't write hard-boiled books getting overlooked/taken less seriously?

HARLAN: I’m not a female, so maybe it’s hard for me to see this. I also think that everyone feels slighted, especially by the Edgars. The PIs felt like they weren’t being respected ergo the Shamus. The cozies weren’t getting enough nods, so we have the Agathas. Those who wrote historical fiction were getting ripped off, same with thriller writers and… you get my point. This is NOT to suggest that these groups formed solely or even mostly because of this, but I do think there is usually some feeling of disenfranchisement. That’s human nature. I also think you are onto something when you include the “female authors who don’t write hard-boiled” as perceived outsiders. That is, it may be about style, not gender. SJ Rozan and Laura Lippman have won as many awards as any in the so-called “boys club.” They write darker books. And for a true litmus test, look at Lawrence Block. My bet is, his Matt Scudder series garner more critical acclaim than his lighter Bernie books. So maybe that’s where we should be looking – light vs dark, rather than male vs female. By the way, this light vs dark issue affects everything – movies, art, mainstream fiction. How many comedies win Oscars, for example? How many lighter books with the Pulitzer?

TLC: Do women writers whine too much about inequality when the focus should be on producing good books, not on Otto Penzler's cozy-bashing tirades? (Sarah Weinman has mentioned in her blog that women writing hard-boiled don't "go for broke" like the men do--is she right?)

HARLAN: I haven’t heard too much whining, but anything, ANYTHING, that hurts the focus on your writing is bad. Period. End of discussion. As for Sarah’s comments, which are always well thought out, I’d need to read the whole statement and see who she means before I could agree or disagree. One other random thought: I don’t see many groups of men forming websites like yours or Tart Noir or Nuns, Mothers and Others. I’m friendly with many male writers. We don’t bond together in that way. I’m not sure why. I think what you’re doing is great, I really do, but now I wonder if it’s a healthy thing or if it plays into the idea of a “girl ghetto,” to use your phrase. I haven’t thought it through, but I throw it out.

TLC: Does it sometimes take a series writer getting out of that box and into stand-alones before he/she 'earns' the respect amongst peers and reviewers, not to mention readers in the form of bigger sales? What changes did you notice when you made that leap successfully?

HARLAN: I can only speak for myself on this issue. Moving to stand-alones definitely helped my sales. I don’t think that’s much of a secret. TELL NO ONE, the first Myron departure, sold astronomically better than any book in the series. I could name a couple of other authors – Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly – who had similar results, though Mike’s most recent book, his first NY Times #1 bestseller, featured his series creation. But then check out the recent bestseller lists – John Sanford, Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Diane Mott Davidson, Lee Child…they all write series. For every author who has been successful leaving a series, I can probably name ten like the above who stayed and had equal or greater success. So the answer, as you might suspect, is not so easy.

TLC: How does your family life affect your writing experience? Your wife is a pediatrician, right? No slouch job there. Does that mean you are a stay-at-home dad?

HARLAN: We share duties. She is currently working two days a week. We have four kids. The oldest is eleven, the youngest almost four. This keeps up both ridiculously busy. The negative is obvious – it makes it hard to find time to write – but there are positives too. For example, when I have the time, I really need to focus and write.

TLC: Are your "bloody balls" covers for the Myron books really the worst covers you've ever seen? Do you like your stand-alone covers better with all those cut-outs?

HARLAN: I have seen few covers as bad as the bleeding balls. My opinion on covers has always been irrelevant – it’s what a person browsing a bookstore thinks. I think the new ones draw their eye better.

TLC: Finally, everybody is eager to jump into the latest trend, ideally cresting the wave. Do you think writers can predict trends and write them? Or are we stuck writing what our style will allow? What do you predict might be the biggest trend?

HARLAN: Finally, something I have a definite opinion on! I think jumping on trends is ALWAYS a mistake and usually idiotic. First off, by the time you write the book it takes a year. It takes a year to get published… end of trend. Your work will appear derivative.

Second, I don’t believe in looking at the market. I believe in writing the absolute best story that you can. The rest should simply follow. I know that a lot of rejection letters will say, “We really liked this, but what we’re looking for now is a series with (fill in the blank).” I don’t believe those editors. I think they are the literary equivalent of, “Your call is very important to us.” If the story works for them, REALLY works, keeps them up all night frantically turning pages, then it doesn’t matter if they aren’t buying books like that right now. THE HISTORIAN is about Dracula. If they didn’t love it, they would write, “Well, Dracula doesn’t sell.” Alexander McCall Smith (another one who succeeded with a series) writes about old women in Botswana – I can just imagine how much publishers wanted that kinda story! And Walter Moseley wrote about a black man in Watts in the late 1940s. Talk about a limited market.

So write what you love and what you believe in. Write a story that’s going to make me want to stay up all night. Don’t worry if it needs better forensics or cross-dressers.

What a nice way to end your post, Harlan. I guess it comes down to Mom's advice - be true to yourself. Thank You. And remember, that's K-O-Z-A-K for all expenses at Bouchercon. Harley insists!

Comments

[nancy]

Can I just say that Harlan Coben is cuter than just about anybody except maybe Paul McCartney in his youth? I feel like I need a poster for my bedroom wall or something. (And frankly, my husband might agree to it. For different reasons, of course.)
Squealing fan,
Nancy

[David J. Montgomery]

Wonderful comments, Harlan. I think your last point sums it all up very well. The best advice any author can get is: write the very best book you can. If you do that, no matter what else happens, you will have accomplished something meaningful.

[Harley]

I suspect I was drunk when I offered to buy--what was it, drinks? hotel rooms?--for everyone who blogs, comments, or simply reads us. But if Sarah says I said it, it must be true.
Plus, it's one way to meet Harlan Coben.
See you at Bouchercon!

[Susan McB]

Geez, Harley, I'd been testing you to see if you were reading the blog pieces this past week, but you didn't notice until Sarah put up the last one? I'd say that calls for dinner on you, for sure. But, really, you only have to take me...okay, and David and Sarah and Laura...all right, and Harlan, too. Plus, everyone who's commented on this series. That makes, what? A couple dozen. Maybe we'll just take the party to your suite afterall. (Okay, I know you don't have a suite, but it sounds good, doesn't it?)

[Letha A.]

Fascinating discussion this past week. Kudos to the hard work of those who pulled it together.

Is there a female ghetto in the mystery genre? Maybe, but I think Harlan nicely summed up the real issue: Write the very best book you can, and the market will find you.

Does this comment put me on the list for a drink in Harley's suite at Bouchercon? ;-)

[Carstairs38]

If only I were going to B-con.

[Mary]

Cool, dinner with Harley ;-)

Getting back to Harlan's comments, I'm totally with him when it comes to comparing lighter mysteries with comedies and the Oscars. Its much harder for a comedic film to garner the sort of Oscar buzz that a more dramatic film would. I think the same is true in the book world.

[Leann]

Great discussion ladies and I totally agree with Harlan on writing what you write best, what makes you get lost in the process. The publisher will find the market they think you belong in, surprise you with cover art you never envisioned and leave you shaking your head. I may be in the ghetto, but I'm too green to know it. Just like I didn't know I was writing chicklit. I'm still not sure about all this but I'm learning. For now, I just write what I love ... a book with a plot that challenges me as a writer.