How Books Should be Treated

An important part of the publication process, apart from the prospect of big sales and an author's cult following leading to the making of a brand, is the topic being discussed in the literary tradition. While novels tackle commercially viable plots with extreme skill, a portion of the readers look for something else, apart from the entertainment derived from commercial fiction.

It is very little concern for a majority of the readers to care for literary value, other than the way the story was told. The way the plot unfolds in a thriller or suspense makes the book un-put-down-able as characters begin to fight the adversity they face in pursuit of a heroic role, usually emphasized with relatable antagonist characteristics. As the stakes slowly rises, the conflict begins to peak and as it reaches the climax, the fiction becomes a focal point of discussion.

But literary value in commercial fiction is not the way the literary elements were carefully treated, but how sales figures generare the revenue. A book needs a certain audience, and often times, this audience of the book determines its publication value. The success of the book then is not dictated by sales figures, nor driven by marketing brilliance. A critic may write praises to her heart's content about a character who reflects the cruelty inflicted on a woman's dignity, the book may gain a level of confidence but still not become commercially viable.

In all of these considerations, the topic of the book becomes crucial in a way, just as the prose, style, and tone present the whole façade of the author's literary effort. As much as the writer stick to his level of expression, and the way the book was conceived, edited, and illustrated, books are treated with certain level of biases or expections. 

It is not in our faculty to determine the success of a literary venture with our own certain set of criteria. Every book is not the same, and its literary value is very different depending on the lens that view it. The story may be destined for greatness, in being a vehicle for sophistication and academic rigor, or it can be a commercially successful bestseller.

The way something is treated really determines its trajectory, and its reception may never be the same in every desk it may land on. Critically, it may be an achievement that reflects certain career highlights. Or it can stay in the New York Times Bestselling List in a considerable long period of time.

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