something that bums me out

Last night at Borders, I was going through the YA section looking at all the new hardcover titles. Hate to say it, but I do three things during this process: (1) judge books by their covers (including blurbage and imprint), (2) read opening paragraphs (or more, if I really love something), then (3) flip to the acknowledgments to see who represents said author.

Last night, I found quite a few new books I didn't fall in love with. A couple gems, I loved. But we all have different taste, so fair's fair. Anyway, what bummed me out was that three (3!!!) of the mediocre reads, in their acknowledgments, the author credited their editor with providing the original idea for the title.

Now, one of my good friends and mentors does spec writing, and all have to say about that is more power to her! She takes lackluster concepts to spectacular places. But when a single-title book starts as someone else's idea, I think the storytelling suffers. It's like it's fake from the get-go. The author's voice may still be there, but there's something huge missing. Like the book has no soul. I'll get off my soap box now, since as someone trying to break into the market for the first time, I'm probably just jealous. But still. As a reader, I'm not buying it.