How happy I am that SUBJECT: RE: is now on sale, I was also disappointed when I saw that the publisher has put a stamp that says ‘Chicklit Asli Buatan Indonesia’ on the cover, without my knowledge.
I’ve got to make it clear that I have nothing against chicklit, I do love Bridget Jones’ Diary and Shopaholic Series, but this book is definitely couldn’t fall into this genre.
This is a definition of chicklit from The Free Dictionary:
“Chick lit is a slightly uncomplimentary term used to denote popular fiction written for and marketed to young women, especially single young women in their 20s, working in the business world. It was spurred on (if not exactly created) in the mid-1990s by the appearance of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary, Melissa Banks's The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, and The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krause. The genre tends to feature lonely young women in urban settings, often working in the publishing industry; it may also be considered a subdivision of the romance genre. The favored style is hip, stylish, bold, self-analytical, and slightly irreverent. Sexuality may be a primary or secondary theme but is always present, and often is presented as adventuresome, as in Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City and the television series it spawned.”
And this one is from BookReporter:
"Chick Lit focuses on twentysomething and thirtysomething women who are dealing with that time in life when a woman looks for the perfect guy, apartment, job or, yes, shoe. Along the way these women question everything from the way they were raised to the the quality of their lives. The characters typically are either self-deprecating or overly analytical. At its best the writing is witty, bold and slightly irreverent."
On the other hand, SUBJECT: RE: features 2 characters, a man and a woman, in a very much the same portion. The woman herself is not single anymore and even has a kid. The writing style is never meant to be hip nor witty. Most of all, the story is not dealing on everyday life but more on the deeper issue of life.
We can refer to the paperback comments to see what the readers think about this book and I have received many comments that this book is far too serious to be taken as a chicklit.
When confronted, my publisher argued that the stamp is merely a marketing gimmick to put my book on the front display in bookstores. I have to say: What the fuck? I really believe that we should put books under their right genres, not to differentiate them, but to make it easier for readers to find their reading materials.
Putting a book under the wrong genre is a big mistake in marketing strategy. With the chiklit stamp on its cover, my book has lost some of its target reader. The ones who bought it -hoping for a light reading- might get disappointed upon its content. This is why I refused hard that my book be put under this genre.
We finally agreed that the next printings wouldn’t have the chicklit stamp on the cover, and I’m free to make an explanation whenever I want. But still, I have to admit that I’m really really disappointed.
Comments?
PS:
I don’t agree either that the words memek, kontol, ngewi, fuck, and fucking should be censored by the publisher. I mean, this book is talking about 2 adults having a sexual affair and even have a picture of condom in it, why should we be afraid to say (or read) those words?
But the publisher explained that the censorship is necessary to make sure that my book won’t get rejected by some bookstores. Under this circumstances, I should make myself agree to the censorship.
15 comments:
ha? jadi genre nya apa dunk?..
kalo chiklit mah gue gak jadi beli :D
--yah kalo lewat penerbit kaya'nya mesti rela kena sensor sana sini khan? :P
Exactly my point.
Gue juga heran kenapa mrk bisa memasukkan ini ke chicklit, dgn content dan paperback comments spt itu. Ini kan justru membuat buku ini tidak sampai ke pasar yang tepat.
Kalo mau dicari genre-nya apa, gue rasa 'fiction' aja udah cukup. Atau mungkin 'contemporary fiction'?
And these publisher supposedly knows about books? Huh. Ridiculous.
Your book definitely does not fall into the chicklit category. And soo... did your book got censored? REally?
Aniway, I should say sorry in advance but I don't think I can make it to your launching. Sukses ya sama launching nya. It sounds so fun!
And yeah, can't wait to get a hold of your book once I got home.
to be honest, saya hampir gak jadi beli pas ngeliat stempel chicklit itu. saya pikir, "ah kalo ciklit sih minjem aja deh, gak terlalu penting buat jadi koleksi" :-P tapi krn sempet ngebaca cuplikan2 koment dan chapter yg cukup menarik dari blog ini, akhirnya beli juga. penasaran.
nice writing, great thoughts. rasanya buku ini gue-bgt, in some way. and, a beautiful ending, sebuah buku tanpa they-live-happily-ever-after ending (gak tau kenapa ya, saya kok lebih suka cerita yg gak happy ending?) ;-)
anyway, congrats for the book ya Novita!
I have just bought your book yesterday, and when I saw that you have a blog right here, I immediately got online and checked it out. However, After I read the last bit of your entry there, gua jadi bingung sebenernya gua boleh baca ini buku ato gak. You see, I'm still 15, and I do know about sexual affairs and stuff, tapi kalo soal baca buku tentang sexual affairs, I'm still not sure.
I read other people's comments on this book, and I actually want to read it, even if I might have to wait 1-2 years. But it would be so much better kalo gua bisa baca skarang :P
You can reply to me through e-mail... cherre@gmail.com or maybe answer me on your next post. Thanks ya!
Dear cherre@gmail...
thanks so much for buying my book.
You see, this is the impact of putting a book in the wrong genre; that my book is bought by people who might not interested or be ready to read it.
As whether you should read it or not, I don't think I'm the right person to decide. I read everything since I was very young, and I never regretted it. But still, I can't give an advice on this matter. Maybe you could check with your parents or someone you consider an adult?
All I can say is, there are no explicit sexual details on this book. But the matter discussed in the book is a pretty dark view on life.
I hope my answer is satisfatorily enough. Thank you again :)
As both a writer and a marketer, I believe there is a synergy between the writer's point of view (some may say idealism, others say egoism, pick your own) and marketing.
In your case, the publisher pushes the marketing till it appears as the bad guy here. Hopefully, there will be better understanding and communication between you two afterwards.
so, bakal elo recall semua stok atau nunggu cetakan dua nih?
great thoughts, nice writing. rasanya kok agak2 gue-banget ya, in some ways. the unhappiness thing (or is it called ungratefullness?), the baby thing, the affair thing, the suicide thing. it's so me :-)
and i really love how the story ends. congrats atas bukunya ya Novita, a brilliant piece of unhappiness :-)
btw, maybe every writing piece yg ditulis oleh perempuan dan (dianggap) mendukung semangat 'being single & happy' pada akhirnya akan didefinisikan sbg chicklit?
nice book, really, udah lama ngga ngebaca bacaan 'berat' kaya gitu =)
jeng, saya blom baca bukunya, tapi kalau baca komentar orang2 sepertinya cukup menarik. nanti saya usahakan ngintip saat kunjungan saya ke toko buku berikutnya. soal chick-lit labeling saga ini saya pikir, pasti deh ada missing link nya sehingga mereka menaruh label itu di cover buku ini. djenar juga pakai kata2 "saru" yang seperti kita ktahui bersama buku nya lolos2 aja dan nggak ditempeli label chick-lit. mungkin aja lho jeng, positioning djenar memang lebih jelas dibanding positioning buku SUBJECT:RE ini. cuma sekali lagi, saya kan blom baca, jadi mendingan saya baca dulu deh. n jangan2 desain cover [termasuk warna dan bentuknya] juga mempengaruhi orang2 sembarangan itu untuk menempeli label yang sifatnya dirasa degradable itu tadi. kamu sendiri [seperti yang saya baca di blog ini] merasa bahwa WARNA sangat pengaruh ke pada sgala inderawi kamu. ga mau makanan warna merah, cuma mau pake produk perawatan tubuh warna hijau, de el el, jadi seharusnya sih, saya pikir, kamu lebih sensitif soal warna2 en komposisi itu tadi. asosiatif, jeng. mungkin masalah asosiatif juga menjadi pertimbangan. desain cover buku ini rasanya lebih menarik untuk para kaum chick-lit alias chick-liters yang mungkin dirasa perlu dilindungi dari kata2 "saru" itu tadi. kaum manis manja yang tidak biasa dikasari n hidup dalam dunia yang sungguh manipulatif n munafik. mungkin aja kalau desain cover lebih "serius" ato lebih menunjukkan ketidakchicklitan-nya, mungkin lho, mungkin aja positioningnya lebih jelas. soalnya terus terang aja jeng, saya juga pas lihat covernya saya udah asosiatif itu tadi. pasti nee chicklit2 hore itu. begitu. ato bisa juga sih, taktik dagang aja untuk menjebak chick-liter "terjebak" baca buku ini. sementara kaum yang biasa baca ayu n djenar malah terlewat karena asosiatif itu tadee. dan jangan lupa, konsumen jakarta [ato indonesia] masih perlu diarah2kan genrenya. masih cari2 bentuk dan memang sasaran empuk pedagang. tempel label.beres. blom konsumen yang NO LOGO-nya Naomi. gitu loh jeng. cheers.
Hmm, aku udah liat buku itu. Kayaknya menarik (setidaknya itu terlihat dari judulnya). Aku setuju ama yang sebelumnya, kalau -mungkin- SUBJECT: RE dikategorikan chicklit karena sampulnya itu lho..emang rada-rada chicklit. coba tukar sampulnya ama yang rada2 serem..biar chick or apalah itu bisa dicancel. ok, sukses ya!
mra & Anonymous:
thanks banget untuk analisa panjangnya (mra) dan usul ganti covernya. Sebenarnya aku memang sedang memikirkan hal itu.
Cover yang sekarang ini adl perpaduan antara keinginanku akan cover yang minimalis dan hanya bermain tipografi dengan penerbit yang tetap ingin warna2 cerah. Aku sih cukup suka dengan desain ini walaupun warnanya cerah, aku merasa kesannya modern dan minimalis.
Masalah timbul karena rupanya mereka tetap tidak percaya diri dengan cover minimalis ini dan langsung menaruh cap chiklit itu. Jadinya kan tanggung, mau minimalis kok tetap aja berusaha memancing target yang salah dengan cap chicklit.
Kalau soal sensor... agak bingung juga. Kalau aku menggunakan kata penis dan vagina seperti djenar, dan bukannya kontol dan memek, mungkin nggak akan disensor? Entahlah.
Sekarang aku sedang mencoba bernegosiasi untuk mengganti cover dengan yang lebih 'seram'. memang benar juga sih, untuk sekarang, konsumen Indonesia masih perlu digiring-giring dengan umpan-umpan tertentu yah.
Thanks again for spending your time :)
Halo, nama saya Dhei. Saya baca mail anda di resensibuku@...
Sebenarnya saya jg blm baca bukunya, tapi sudah sempet liat bolak-balik covernya. Kalau baca testi orang-orang, ada kesan bahwa isi ceritanya 'gelap' (bukan ala chicklit yg terkesan ringan').
jujur aja, waktu ngeliat kode chicklit, saya jd males baca. mungkin karena saya senang cerita yg berat2. Saya malah berpikir kalau buku ini tadinya mirip CL luar yg tentang cewek yg kerja traveling ke seluruh dunia (saya lupa judulnya).
menurut saya, kalau memang mau mewakilkan bahwa ceritanya rada gelap, pilihan warna covernya jg harus diganti. Soalnya kalau dilihat begitu saja, pilihan warna dan tipografinya mewakili rasa 'light' dan 'muda'. Warna biru tua lebih memberi rasa 'deep'. Typografinya bisa pakai yg rada runcing-runcing seperti pada typografi=nya "The Matrix" -- masih keliatan dunia komputernya dan hurufnya kelihatan lebih tegas.
PS: kalau gak suka sama sistemnya, kenapa gak jual ala underground aja?
itu dulu deh, komen + sarannya. gak berani speak soal isi, soalnya belom baca :)
good luck ya, neng!
hmm...yang bikin gue ngotot untuk ke Gramedia at 8.00 pm after mae 10-months-old babe get asleep, karena temen gue bilang, ada novel yang authornya keberatan di stempel chicklit asli buatan Indonesia.:)
malam minggu kemaren gagal ke gramedia, ngga diijinin ama mae hubbie, anyway, tadi siang, gue nitipin mae babe ke tantenya dan ngibrit ke gramedia Bintaro plaza to get this book.
Finished read it in couple of hours (congrats to me,who rarely finished reading a book---hehehe).
I think this's a-must-read-book.
Setuju ama tami (kayaknya dia temen gue deh, yang judul blog-nya JuST ME bukan???), kalo chicklit mah...minjem aja, tapi emang warnanya juga sih mbak...
Bagus...bagus...bagus,can't wait to read your book again.
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