Literary and Commericial

I am drawn to literary writing, words pieced together like a beautiful piece of music or a delicate quilt. But literary writing is a hard sell even though many of the most famous pieces of award winning literature feature literary writing.

Commercial writing is, by definition, easier to place, easier to market, and easier to read. I think I've discovered the difference. Commercial writing pulls you through. It leaves you wanting to find out what happens next. It draws you to read the next page, the next chapter, just ten more minutes until you reach a satisfying end and pick up another book.

Literary writing invites you to soak in the comfort of its words. It doesn't pull you along with story, but encourages you to read a paragraph a second time, perhaps a third, so you can suck the juice out of each turn of phrase. It's satisfying, but exhausting.

I'm learning to appreciate the craft involved in good commercial writing. Jodi Picoult, Alexander McCall Smith, and J.K. Rowling invite me to read the next chapter... and the next book.