5 Sept 2018
W. Somerset Maugham once said - "There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no-one knows what they are." And amen to that!
I've been at this game for a long-ish time. So I should've been able to work it out by now - that thing about "What Do I Have To Do To Get Published?" - or to quote the great Kris - "Who Do You Screw To Get Outa This Place?" - this barren, frustrating, unpublished bloody wasteland? (Ohmygod definitely off on a rant!)Okay, I've surely seen it from most angles. I've had fiction variously published by a mainstream commercial print company, a national daily newspaper, in a niche quarterly magazine, in a glossy glitchy weekly, and out there on the e-book ether. I've done it through a Literary Agent, gone direct to publishers, used a commercial e-booker, done a DIY. Used commercial readers, used trusted friends, done more DIY. I'm no beginner. But I still don't know what the flying flick the agents and publishers are looking for! I should but I don't. And neither do they! In my opinion. They never SAY what they're looking for of course, and if you ever managed to corner one and get an honest answer, they'd say "I just know it when I see it."
This leaves you wondering if it's just a lack of quality on our part. Lack of talent. Nup, I won't wear that one either. There is SO much stuff out there in print that is - well, it's cheap twaddle. It's written to a formula for a fast-food market that doesn't want quality. And it sells enough to make the publisher a profit.
And then there's that novel that gets the full treatment and the pundits give five stars to it and you scrabble about till you find a copy and it disappoints the hell out of you. Dear God, I reckon I've only ever read two Booker winners that I loved. You want every one of them to be another "Shipping News" but they ain't! Especially Bookers. No idea why. It's like the kiss of death! Terribly terribly "literary" but terribly terribly disappointing. (Ohmygod now he's knocking the prestigious Man-Booker and he'll surely be going to hell for it!).
So, is it just sour grapes? Yep, a touch I'm sure. But I've had enough success and had enough good things said by industry heavyweights to leave me flat-footed and effing frustrated at getting past the first two hurdles every time but then get the "Sorry, but it's not quite what we are looking for at the moment" at the end. I'm no starry-eyed teenager and I know good writing. Yep, even when it's my own. So why can't I get back into mainstream print?
And while I'm on it, let's not labour the point, mainstream print publishing is what we're striving for - I mean HarperCollins, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and all those - who use real paper inside real printed covers and have massive marketing and distribution machines that make The Pentagon look like amateurs. You never see (well, we South Aussies sure don't) e-books reviewed in the Saturday lift-out. E-books are the poor cousin of the literary world no matter what Amazon may say. And I love my Kindle. Use it often. But I love a real book more. And that's what I want for all of my novels. But other than a lovely honeymoon with Simon & Schuster for a while it hasn't happened lately.
"Sorry, but it's not quite what we are looking for at the moment."
WHY not? (Give us poor sods SOMEthing!)
I can only think it's the material. I must pick the wrong subject matter. Which is what I must be warming up to - once again.
I know I've bashed this drum before, but you need to weight this one up early in your career - that thing about deciding if you are going to write what YOU want, or what THEY want. And both quite commendable stances they are too....
* If you want the best chance at publishing success, write what the market is asking for.
* If you want the greatest chance at literary satisfaction, write what YOU love to write.
* BUT, if you want both, start young, commit yourself to your craft, dig deep into your natural talent, work endlessly, and never give up. Please. Because it's YOU that I love to read.
Okay, I feel better. Actually I'm still pissed off but I won't be able to drop off to sleep tonight if I don't at least sound like I've got it out of my system. Ah, it's a cruel cruel world.
Cheers
T.R.E.
And while I'm on it, let's not labour the point, mainstream print publishing is what we're striving for - I mean HarperCollins, Macmillan, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and all those - who use real paper inside real printed covers and have massive marketing and distribution machines that make The Pentagon look like amateurs. You never see (well, we South Aussies sure don't) e-books reviewed in the Saturday lift-out. E-books are the poor cousin of the literary world no matter what Amazon may say. And I love my Kindle. Use it often. But I love a real book more. And that's what I want for all of my novels. But other than a lovely honeymoon with Simon & Schuster for a while it hasn't happened lately.
"Sorry, but it's not quite what we are looking for at the moment."
WHY not? (Give us poor sods SOMEthing!)
I can only think it's the material. I must pick the wrong subject matter. Which is what I must be warming up to - once again.
I know I've bashed this drum before, but you need to weight this one up early in your career - that thing about deciding if you are going to write what YOU want, or what THEY want. And both quite commendable stances they are too....
* If you want the best chance at publishing success, write what the market is asking for.
* If you want the greatest chance at literary satisfaction, write what YOU love to write.
* BUT, if you want both, start young, commit yourself to your craft, dig deep into your natural talent, work endlessly, and never give up. Please. Because it's YOU that I love to read.
Okay, I feel better. Actually I'm still pissed off but I won't be able to drop off to sleep tonight if I don't at least sound like I've got it out of my system. Ah, it's a cruel cruel world.
Cheers
T.R.E.