By What Measure, Success?

You may or may not already know that I have a pet peeve with Nicholas Sparks.  Mainly, I feel like the few books of his that I've read are transparent and predictable, lacking a mature depth of both plot and character, playing on base emotions for the sheer purpose of wrangling in yet another Almighty Dollar.

I really don't feel too strongly on the topic, of course.  ;-)  Couldn't you tell?

So anyway, I hear he's writing (or has already written) his next book, The Last Song, I think it's called, with Miley Cyrus in mind for the screenplay.

Excuse me, but wha--?  Huh?  However much I dislike his books, I don't begrudge him his sucess (too much) but I mean COME ON PEOPLE!  How ridiculously commercial can you get?  When I write my next book, I might possibly consider the agents I'd like to query and what their preferences are.  No way in hell am I going to be considering who I want to play my characters in the movie version, much less actually writing the part with them in mind!

Even more sad is that I will probably go see the movie just because I like Miley Cyrus.  Yes, I'm serious.  But I won't buy the book.  I've vowed never to buy a Nicholas Sparks book.  Ever.  If Grandma buys it and wants to loan it to me, though, well that's a different story.  I'll read it, bitch and moan about how predictable and ridiculous it was, then stew with envy that I don't have such a huge fan base that I can write crap and get paid for it.  Oh well.  Such is life.