Why are the novels less popular than the episodes/movies?

[Therin of Andor]

I'm sure the fact that the episodes are free to watch has something to do with it.

Exactly. An example from the days of my local Star Trek club, circa 1985-90. I had organised a deal with the local comic shop to take supplies of newly arrived Trek novels and comics to each monthly meeting. Although the meetings would regularly have 30 to 60 avid Star Trek fan members, I'd only ever be able to sell four to six copies. Some people would already have special orders in at a different shop, and some preferred to wait three months and buy sea-freighted, cheaper copies, while others would either:

1. complain loudly that they couldn't afford to buy them
2. ask to borrow them for free, or
3. state that because they weren't "canon" the stories weren't "real", so they could happily ignore them.

 

[Brit]

Simply put, most of the people who read Trek novels are the ones that are devoted Trek fans as opposed to having a casual passing interest in it. Since it's only a small percentage overall that are devoted, it's a small percentage that read Trek novels.

No I don't think this is true, especially seeing what Therin has posted above. I think school's required reading lists have much more to do with it than the loyalty to a fandom.

Most of us that read do so because we found the right books for us at the right time. I love science fiction, but you wouldn't have found any of it in the literature classes I took in the early 60's. What I did have was a Mom that took me to the library and actually showed me where all the science fiction books were located.

 

[NCC-1701-B]

For me mainly, I hate jumping in in the middle of a story, and I wouldn't know where to start. Also it's nigh on impossible to find a trek book for sale in the UK. I see maybe 5 books in waterstones, but they've all been there for months and months. I do like to read, I just struggle to find the motivation to start a book. But when I do actually start, I enjoy it.

 

[beamMe]

For me mainly, I hate jumping in in the middle of a story, and I wouldn't know where to start. Also it's nigh on impossible to find a trek book for sale in the UK. I see maybe 5 books in waterstones, but they've all been there for months and months. I do like to read, I just struggle to find the motivation to start a book. But when I do actually start, I enjoy it.

I've always liked to read. But since I've switched to reading only ebooks I read more.
Perhaps an ebook-reader and ebooks would help you find your motivation faster.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I have quite a few TrekLit books, but my personal library is far, far from complete, and it will never be anything other than a cross section of what's been published over the decades. In contrast, I've watched every episode and film at least once.

I've also checked out some TrekLit books from the library, but our library's selection of TrekLit is quite limited, and I've managed to pick up some at used book stores, both of which cut back on the expense of enjoying the books.

Related to the cost issue in my personal case is my judgment that buying all the books isn't worth it. Some of the quality in TrekLit is just not what I'm looking for. In other cases, I've been very happy with my experience.

 

[Greg Cox]

Honestly, I think we're overthinking this. It's 2012. TV and movies are simply more popular than books these days. When was the last time you saw a tie-in author on the cover of PEOPLE or ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Honestly, I think we're overthinking this. It's 2012. TV and movies are simply more popular than books these days. When was the last time you saw a tie-in author on the cover of PEOPLE or ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY?

Was William Shatner ever on those covers?

I always overthink everything! Sorry.

 

[Greg Cox]

Honestly, I think we're overthinking this. It's 2012. TV and movies are simply more popular than books these days. When was the last time you saw a tie-in author on the cover of PEOPLE or ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY?

Was William Shatner ever on those covers?

I always overthink everything! Sorry.

Possibly. But I'm guessing those articles weren't about TEKWAR!

And, seriously, when was the last time you saw someone teasing the latest Trek novel on CONAN O'BRIAN? Or billboards and TV commercials and million dollar publicity campaigns for the latest TOS novel? Or a reporter on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT breathlessly hyping the new Vanguard book?

That's not the world we live in.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

No, that's true.

(He may be more famous for TekWar, but for the record, I was citing William Shatner as a co-author of Star Trek tie-in novels.)

 

[cb31]

Yeah. Honestly, I think most grade school and high school English classes probably do more harm then good when it comes to trying to get kids interested in reading. By forcing kids to read stuff that they have no interest in all they are doing is making reading an unpleasant experience that they aren't going to want to continue having without being forced to.
I love reading because in my free time I read stuff I wanted to read. If all I read was the stuff I was forced to read in school, I would probably hate it.

I agree...the only time I remember liking something I read in an English class was the one section we did on Poe! The rest of it was so-called classics that you needed to be older than my parents to really enjoy reading!

If we had to read classic literature why couldn't it have been Edgar Rice Burroughs or H.G. Wells?!

 

[Greg Cox]

No, that's true.

(He may be more famous for TekWar, but for the record, I was citing William Shatner as a co-author of Star Trek tie-in novels.)

Oh, I know. I just thought TEKWAR made a better punchline!

 

[NKemp3]

Honestly, I think we're overthinking this. It's 2012. TV and movies are simply more popular than books these days. When was the last time you saw a tie-in author on the cover of PEOPLE or ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY?

You're right. It is 2012. And film studios are cashing in by turning books into successful franchises.

You see...these days no one is creating original icons like Luke Skywalkers or Indiana Jones for the big screen. Instead studios are relying on taking established characters, storylines and creations from novels and comic books and making big screen adaptations out of them. Lazy Hollywood is seeking out material that already has an established fanbase and turning that material into movies. So, in reality, books and comics are more important to the film industry than ever before. That is simply a fact.

Star Trek situation is more tricky because it has been a TV show, then novels, then a cartoon, then more novels, then a series of films, then new TV shows with new characters, and of course more novels. ST is already established. It is already iconic. It is a household name. So instead of relying on novels, TPTB can simply recycle those household name characters and give them new storylines for the big screen. That is what JJ is doing...unfortunately (I hate the idea of making Kirk and Spock like James Bond and Batman by having new actors play them every fifteen years or so). So there isn't any rush for new novels.

That being said it is possible down the road that if some great or fresh writer came around and produced a series of successful Trek novels with mostly new characters, that Paramount or some other movie studio would want to adapt it for the big screen. It may not be as likely because Trek, like Star Wars, has a stigma associated with it (or should I say associated with its fanbase). Adults may not mind being seen reading in public a scifi book geared towards a younger audience like "The Hunger Games" and teenagers wouldn't mind being seen with that book either. But a Star Trek book? That brings with it a more societal ridicule. Something major would have to be done, a truly great work would have to be produced for that attitude to go away. Nonetheless the point I'm trying to make is that novels (along with comics) still play a major role in our society and within our enterianment industry. Readers and studio execs are still looking for great stories.

 

[Christopher]

(I hate the idea of making Kirk and Spock like James Bond and Batman by having new actors play them every fifteen years or so).

Whereas I hate the idea of having them fall into obscurity because nobody plays them anymore.

 

[Greg Cox]

It's probably worth noting that this has nothing to do with STAR TREK. The same realities apply to BUFFY novels, CSI novels, GLEE novels, etc. (Yes, there are GLEE novels.)

Nor is this a really a modern thing. I sincerely doubt that the GET SMART and PARTRIDGE FAMILY novels I read as a kid were read by more than a miniscule fraction of the millions of viewers who regularly watched the shows. And I don't recall DARK SHADOWS paperbacks burning up the bestseller lists back in the seventies, even though the show was huge ratings hit.

(I'm not a hundred-percent certain, but I believe the first sf novel to ever make the New York Times Bestseller List was Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.)

 

[NKemp3]

(I hate the idea of making Kirk and Spock like James Bond and Batman by having new actors play them every fifteen years or so).

Whereas I hate the idea of having them fall into obscurity because nobody plays them anymore.

But if the Star Trek brand still continues because of new shows and new characters isn't that what is most important? Besides...don't all good things come to an end eventually? I guess I'm in the minority because I am one of those who has been sick of the endless reboots of superhero films for quite awhile.

 

[Greg Cox]

(I hate the idea of making Kirk and Spock like James Bond and Batman by having new actors play them every fifteen years or so).

Whereas I hate the idea of having them fall into obscurity because nobody plays them anymore.

But if the Star Trek brand still continues because of new shows and new characters isn't that what is most important? Besides...don't all good things come to an end eventually? I guess I'm in the minority because I am one of those who has been sick of the endless reboots of superhero films for quite awhile.

Well, this is kind of OT, and has been hashed out ad nauseum in the movie threads, but, as I've written before, if we can keep rebooting James Bond and Tarzan and Dracula, why not Kirk and Spock or even the TNG gang eventually?

Heck, people are constantly staging new versions of "Carmen" or "Macbeth" and nobody seems to mind.

 

[Starbreaker]

People ask me all the time "You read for fun?" Ten years ago, if people saw me carrying around a Star Trek paperback, I would be made fun. Then, I'd be made fun of for reading any other kind of science fiction book. Now that Twilight, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc. are popular for kids, it doesn't seem as bad. Even Star Trek seems to be popular among a lot of young adults now. That "Star Trek stigma" seems to be greatly reduced.

However, Star Trek fandom is still mostly a small group of a couple of million people. In order to buy the books, you're going to have to really love Star Trek, enjoy reading, have time to read, etc. And then, the people who actually want to go onto message boards and talk about Trek novels is going to be a small fraction of the already small percentage.

 

[Greg Cox]

Indeed. The world is full of people who enjoy watching STAR TREK on TV or at the movies, but who don't go to conventions, argue about Trek on-line, learn how to speak Klingon, or (sigh!) know when my next TOS novel is coming out . . . .

(My best friend growing up was a huge fan of comic books, science fiction movies, The Man from UNCLE, anime, and such, but had absolutely no interest in taking part in organized fandom. It just wasn't her thing.)

 

[Allyn Gibson]

And, seriously, when was the last time you saw someone teasing the latest Trek novel on CONAN O'BRIAN? Or billboards and TV commercials and million dollar publicity campaigns for the latest TOS novel? Or a reporter on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT breathlessly hyping the new Vanguard book?

That's not the world we live in.

Cripes. Now I wonder if fandom could induce Craig Ferguson to book a Doctor Who novelist. That's the exactly the kind of thing he'd do.

 

[Christopher]

But if the Star Trek brand still continues because of new shows and new characters isn't that what is most important?

But will it? Even with all the later shows that have come along with their own distinctive casts, it's still TOS that's the most popular and iconic incarnation of the franchise (though TNG comes close). Look at the diminishing returns the later series had in terms of ratings and popularity. And TOS books and comics are still the strongest sellers compared to other series, which is why IDW and TokyoPop didn't even bother to license anything other than TOS and TNG (well, IDW did put out one DS9 miniseries, but it sold poorly and they haven't done another).

So why fight it out of some misguided purism? If audiences continue to be interested in TOS, why not give them what they want and keep TOS around as a living, breathing franchise? After all, for plenty of fans, it's not the abstract universe that appeals to them, but the particular characters.

Besides...don't all good things come to an end eventually?

Not necessarily. We still tell stories about Hercules and King Arthur and Rama and the Monkey King and the like centuries or millennia after the original tales were told. Because they kept getting retold and reinvented for new generations and new audiences. This is how human beings have always kept stories alive: by retelling them, keeping them fresh and current. Remember, for most of our existence as a species, we didn't have writing, or at least didn't have widespread literacy. The natural, original way for human beings to tell stories was orally, and in oral storytelling, the tale changes every time it's told, as the tellers add something of their own, something tailored to their audience. That's fundamental to the way that human culture transmits its lore. The idea that a story needs to be fixed and unchanging is a comparatively recent conceit developed by literate societies that see stories as something contained on paper -- or these days, on film or video or flash memory -- rather than something alive within the human mind. But even so, stories that originated on paper have been reinvented and transformed many times, as plays or radio shows or movies or TV shows or whatever, because that deeper impulse to let stories live, breathe, and evolve is still embedded in our psychology.