Are successful authors creative geniuses or literary labourers?
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Two writers, two distinct approaches to their craft, two different legacies. Poe, the writer-inventor, who experimented with forms and styles; and Verne, the writer-entrepreneur, who reproduced one popular (and lucrative) genre, with some variation, over and over again. These are two opposite strategies that have been taken by many artists before and since. The first strategy is a form of exploration. It is a search for novelty and difference, often through trial and error. The other strategy? Exploitation, relying on an approach that has already proven itself. Thinking in terms of these strategies changes not only how we understand the writers of the past, but also the work of contemporary filmmakers, dancers, musicians, performance artists or YouTubers.
- Why such repetitiveness? Or perhaps, rather than asking ‘Why do authors write similar books?’ we’d learn more by asking ‘Why do readers agree to read similar books?’ There is abundant research in psychology showing that the consumers of films, music or literature are rather conservative in their tastes: we prefer artistic products that are similar but not identical to what we have already consumed. Having read (and liked) one detective novel, we will likely choose another detective novel, instead of trying something new. An experimental study of ‘musical tastes’ by two US marketing researchers, Morris B Holbrook and Robert Schindler, offers a possible explanation: our musical tastes crystallise between late adolescence and early adulthood, and don’t change much afterwards. If you happen to listen to indie rock in your 20s, then you’ll most likely still be listening to it in your 60s.
- Thus, exploration and exploitation aren’t mutually exclusive. They are two strategies that, in the case of successful artists, are combined in a particular sequence: first, exploration; later, exploitation. Young artists will experiment and try various styles to prove themselves. But once they find an approach that brings them recognition, they often stick to it – at least for some time – thus maximising the benefits of their success.