Why Don't Novels Sell? Editor Who Launched Kyogoku Natsuhiko Says the Key Is Written Language [Book Excerpt]
The shrinking publishing market is a global challenge. Atsushi Karaki, a legendary editor from Japan's Kodansha who launched authors like Kyogoku Natsuhiko and Mori Hiroshi, suggests the root cause of poor novel sales might lie in 'written language.' An excerpt from his new book, 'The Talent Appraiser,' argues that the 'colloquial style' established in the Meiji era is now disconnected from the linguistic sense of young people who write daily on social media. He posits that innovating this style, as authors like Nisio Isin and Ryo Asai have done, is the key to attracting new readers and securing the future of the novel.
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As an editor, I would like to share my thoughts on the future of novels. The shrinking of the publishing market is a problem faced by publishing industries worldwide. While Taiwanese readers were recently thrilled by 'A Stroll Through Taiwan' winning the International Booker Prize, causing a temporary sell-out in bookstores, the overall sales of new books are sluggish, and literary novels are selling less and less. Atsushi Karaki, a legendary editor at Japan's Kodansha who launched famous novelists like Kyogoku Natsuhiko and Mori Hiroshi, observes that the problem may lie in the 'written language' that everyone uses extensively and writes with constantly on social media platforms. Changing the language used in novels might open up new opportunities.
It is widely believed that novels no longer sell in this era. Not just novels, but the overall sales of text-based books, including non-fiction, general books, and paperbacks, are dismal. In fact, novel sales peaked in the 1990s and have been declining ever since. However, looking at the entire publishing industry, some publishers have seen sales soar and hit record highs in recent years. Most of these publishers are experiencing continuous growth in manga sales.
In contrast, why are novel sales languishing? There are countless reasons, such as the diversification of entertainment brought by smartphones, an aging readership, and changes in the economic environment. However, manga faces similar circumstances, so these external factors alone don't explain it. That's why I've continued to ponder this issue since leaving my company.
Lately, I've begun to think that the poor sales of text-based books, led by novels, might be due to the 'written language' itself. We are in a period of great transformation in the history of human communication. The written language we use today, the colloquial style (kōgotai), was established after the Genbun-itchi movement in the mid-Meiji era. This style has remained almost unchanged, leading to a widening gap with spoken language, and it seems to be reaching its limit. Perhaps the reason young people don't go to bookstores to buy books is not that they dislike the content, but that they dislike the writing style used in the books.
It's said that the main buyers of novels and other books are now people over 50. Many in this generation may believe that 'the written language we use is the correct Japanese.' However, I discovered from reading works by linguists that there is no concept of 'correct Japanese' in linguistics, as language naturally changes over time.
In fact, the field of novels has attempted innovations in written language before. The Genbun-itchi movement itself was primarily led by literature. I witnessed several major challenges as an editor. For example, in shōjo novels, Aiko Yumeno's work was astonishing—she would add hand-drawn hearts and rabbit symbols to dialogue. This is commonplace now but was groundbreaking then. I realized that whenever novels attract new readers, it is always accompanied by an evolution in writing style. Watching the popularity of Nisio Isin's works, I saw the importance of dialogue. Later, Ryo Asai's 'The Kirishima Thing' resonated with its conversational style, successfully attracting young readers of the author's generation.
It is widely believed that novels no longer sell in this era. Not just novels, but the overall sales of text-based books, including non-fiction, general books, and paperbacks, are dismal. In fact, novel sales peaked in the 1990s and have been declining ever since. However, looking at the entire publishing industry, some publishers have seen sales soar and hit record highs in recent years. Most of these publishers are experiencing continuous growth in manga sales.
In contrast, why are novel sales languishing? There are countless reasons, such as the diversification of entertainment brought by smartphones, an aging readership, and changes in the economic environment. However, manga faces similar circumstances, so these external factors alone don't explain it. That's why I've continued to ponder this issue since leaving my company.
Lately, I've begun to think that the poor sales of text-based books, led by novels, might be due to the 'written language' itself. We are in a period of great transformation in the history of human communication. The written language we use today, the colloquial style (kōgotai), was established after the Genbun-itchi movement in the mid-Meiji era. This style has remained almost unchanged, leading to a widening gap with spoken language, and it seems to be reaching its limit. Perhaps the reason young people don't go to bookstores to buy books is not that they dislike the content, but that they dislike the writing style used in the books.
It's said that the main buyers of novels and other books are now people over 50. Many in this generation may believe that 'the written language we use is the correct Japanese.' However, I discovered from reading works by linguists that there is no concept of 'correct Japanese' in linguistics, as language naturally changes over time.
In fact, the field of novels has attempted innovations in written language before. The Genbun-itchi movement itself was primarily led by literature. I witnessed several major challenges as an editor. For example, in shōjo novels, Aiko Yumeno's work was astonishing—she would add hand-drawn hearts and rabbit symbols to dialogue. This is commonplace now but was groundbreaking then. I realized that whenever novels attract new readers, it is always accompanied by an evolution in writing style. Watching the popularity of Nisio Isin's works, I saw the importance of dialogue. Later, Ryo Asai's 'The Kirishima Thing' resonated with its conversational style, successfully attracting young readers of the author's generation.
FAQ
根據本文，小說為什麼賣不好？
根據日本講談社編輯唐木厚的分析，小說賣不好的關鍵原因可能在於其使用的「書面語」。他認為，傳統小說的書寫文體（口語體）與當今年輕人在社群媒體上習慣使用的語言風格脫節，導致年輕讀者對小說敬而遠之。
唐木厚是誰？
唐木厚是日本講談社的傳奇編輯，1964年生。他曾發掘並負責京極夏彥、森博嗣等知名小說家，對日本推理小說史有著重要影響。他在新書《才華鑑定人》中分享了對出版業的觀察。
文中提到的「書面語」和「口語體」問題是什麼？
「書面語」指文字書寫的語言。日本現代書面語的基礎是在明治中期「言文一致」運動後確立的「口語體」。唐木厚認為，這個「口語體」百年來變化不大，但口頭語言和網路用語卻不斷演變，導致書本上的語言與年輕人實際使用的語言差距越來越大。
小說文體過去有哪些創新成功吸引新讀者？
文中舉出幾個例子：夢乃愛子在少女小說的對話中加入手繪圖案，這在當時是創舉；西尾維新的作品以其獨特的對話文風格大受歡迎；朝井遼的《聽說桐島退社了》則以貼近作者同世代的對話風格引起廣大共鳴。
作者認為小說的未來出路在哪裡？
唐木厚認為，小說的未來契機在於「文體的演變」。他主張，小說需要再次進行文體上的創新，以適應並吸引習慣了社群媒體等新式書面語溝通方式的年輕世代讀者。