New Edge Authors Launch Ditz Lit Backlash

Boston, MA, January 17, 2013 --(PR.com)-- With the current success of Fifty Shades of Grey following on the huge sales of The Hunger Games and the Twilight series, the New Edge Authors group is hoping that some readers are ready for a Ditz Lit backlash. Currently consisting of six members, the New Edge Authors group sponsors the website, http://thecontemporaryedge.com, which is devoted exclusively to the genre of contemporary fiction.

As part of their effort to stem the tide of the Ditz Lit phenomenon, the group recently started a "Ditz Lit Backlash" Facebook page. Their hope is that the page will serve as a rallying point for those who share their dismay over the way that the Bestseller Mentality has come to dominate the business of fiction.

"In our analysis, the Ditz Lit formula for bestsellerdom breaks down into two main parts: (1) write to the emotional level of a fourteen-year-old; (2) apply huge amounts of marketing to the book," says Richard Buzzell, founder of the New Edge Authors. He thinks that the success of this formula is having the effect of encouraging clones of already successful books while discouraging any attempts at innovation. He sees the end result for readers becoming less real choice in the types of novels available, and some real questions as to whether the general I.Q. of literature is being driven down.

Buzzell's group thinks that the monolithic market required for creating bestsellers works against both producers and consumers of fiction. They feel that they'd be better served by a fragmented market that allows more for specialized interests. According to Buzzell, "This puts us at odds with the publishing industry which uses its advertising muscle to keep the mainstream market intact as much as possible. It's a battle that the publishers are winning at this point, but one that promises to be a long drawn-out guerilla-style campaign."

"Eventually we'd like to see the book market broken up so that it supports more niche artists, the way the music industry does," Buzzell says. His inspiration is the band Insane Clown Posse, who have totally eschewed any mass appeal. Instead they've been able to attract the interest of a limited but significant-sized audience who love the Posse's music. This kind of support provides them with a creative freedom not afforded to writers pursuing a bestseller formula. "Writers have always had to choose whether to pander to the basest interests of readers, or to try to provide something of an inspirational nature," Buzzell says. His small group of authors is hoping that they can win some support for making the pandering option a little less attractive.