argument134 victors小组BY ghost33

ghost33UID: 2267869

TOPIC: ARGUMENT134 - The following was taken from a guide for aspiring writers.

"New writers usually cannot convince large, prestigious publishers that their work is marketable, so they must first publish with smaller, less well-known presses to establish a sales record. But the editors of Mystery Writers Magazine have good news for aspiring writers: the number of mystery novels published in the last two years has grown significantly, and more people read mysteries than any other type of novel. In addition, almost half of the mystery novels published last year were written by first-time novel writers. Since there is apparently an expanding market for mystery novels, all publishers will want to increase the number of mystery novels they publish. Therefore, new writers should write mystery novels to increase their chances for first-time publication with a larger, prestigious company."
WORDS: 211          TIME: 0:44:23          DATE: 2007-7-9

It seems nice news for new writers that with a mystery novel, they have a good chance to cooperate with a larger, prestigious company. However, there are good reasons for new writers to further make sure the mystery novel market will be big enough.

The mere assertion that the market for mystery novels is expanding cannot fully support the assumption that all publishers will want to increase the number of the mystery novels they publish, let alone convincing us that the larger, famous company--which is the most important aspect the new writers are curious about -- will join in the trend. Common sense tells us that large company has its own taste and style, even a stable customer. Then whether the mystery novel is compatible with the large company should be the prior issue instead of the market. But the arguer fails to provide the data about how many mystery novels have been published by large and well-known companies, which undermines his/her argument.

Another flaw is the editors’ message is too ambiguous to truly determine the state of the market. While an increase from 100 to 1000 can be described as significant, an increase from 1 to 100 is also significant. But the latter has little meaning to the new writers. More people read mystery does not necessarily mean that more people will buy mystery novels, while the new writers concern more about the sale records. People can find some mystery novels in the library to read, or borrow some books from their friends. And people often buy books which are worthy of keeping on the shelves so that they may refer to them whenever they want to, but mystery novels lose the attract once you read them, to most people. Moreover, without knowing the total number of the published mystery novel, the percentage number--half of the published--cannot strengthen the argument. Thus, lack of sound information about the market, the arguer's assumption that all new writers can have a good chance to benefit from the growing mystery novel market is unwarranted.

Still, the arguer fails to consider other types of article, besides novel, new writers can try their hands in poem, movie, and prose，drama. Only writing to the market is not good for the readers and the writers themselves. And not everyone can fully present himself in mystery novel. Regardless of the writer's own talent, such recommendation can be dangerous.

In conclusion, to better support his recommendation, the arguer should accumulate more information about the market.