Why do people not read science fiction?

Carol Pinchefsky at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show has some thoughts.

It’s an interesting article all the way through, and I think she hits on some interesting possibilities, but I found it hard to finish, having run across this little fact part of the way down the page:

The reasons are varied but inarguable — science fiction holds only a 6% market share, according to research done by the Romance Writers of America in 2005.

Still, I pressed on to the end, only to read this:

Is having your book marketed as “science fiction” a bad thing? “Only from a sales standpoint,” says Marley.

Sigh. And with those bits of information in hand, I return to revising my new science fiction novel…

Permanent link to this article: https://edwardwillett.com/2006/11/why-do-people-not-read-science-fiction/

3 comments

    • Edward Willett on November 29, 2006 at 4:46 am
    • Reply

    I should have mentioned I’m right-handed, too. And I also loved Kiln People.

    I don’t know about the sciene thing, though: I didn’t start reading science fiction because I loved science, I think I learned to love science by reading science fiction.

    I started reading science fiction because I had two older brothers who read it. ‘Twas they that led me astray, I fear…

    • Ian H. on November 28, 2006 at 3:21 pm
    • Reply

    Hey, I’m right-handed and I loved Kiln People. I also teach science, so maybe there’s a correlation between the amount of science knowledge a person has in the real world and the level of scientific discourse they’re willing to tolerate in their fiction.

    • M. D. Benoit on November 28, 2006 at 11:44 am
    • Reply

    “Oh, why don’t you give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it.” (Princess Bride)

    I agree with Carol Pinchefsky that many readers are in fact reading SF and not calling it that.

    What killed SF literature, IMO, are the movies. Now when people think SF, they think special effects, and nerdy fans dressed in their favorite character’s costume.

    Sigh. Now I’ll also go back to writing my latest SF Mystery novel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Easy AdSense Pro by Unreal