I’ve been writing books for over twenty years. It took me a long time to discover a simple truth about the world of publishing. People don’t always mean what they say. Once I discovered this I felt a lot happier.
Here are a few examples.
What they say
You’re a cult writer
What they mean
You don't sell many books
You ms is the next on my pile to read
Not sure where it is at the moment and in any case I have lots of others to look at first.
You’re a particularly British writer
Your books don’t sell abroad
Your books are accessible
You’ll never win any prizes with them
Your writing style is spare
You are not literary
You’re good at promoting your own books
You’re way down on our list for promotion
You are a dependable writer
You never surprise us
You’re a successful writer with a huge backlist.
You’ve been around a few years too long.
You are hugely popular in libraries
Waterstone’s will only take the odd copy and forget about WHSmiths
You were nominated for the Carnegie!
You didn’t make the shortlist
Your books are complex
Teenagers won’t understand them
Anyone else had these experiences?
14 comments:
Your writing is quite sophisticated.
Quit showing off!
Episodic.
No discernible plot.
Timeless.
You've got the dates wrong.
Everyone in the office absolutely adores it.
Please cut 10,000 words, at least two characters and brace yourself for the cover art.
These are great, Anne!
(And no, that's not a precursor to another one of them.)
But here's one:
We thought it was so orginal.
It won't fit on anyone's list - forget it.
or:
Of course, this is just one opinion.
HA! Seriously, forget it.
I think I've had most of yours! Pleased I'm not alone.
Spot on, Anne!
Brilliant, Anne!
Absolutely brilliant..
How about:
It's dark and gritty
= Where are the vampires?
This is super. I've had 'very fast-paced with lots of action' = your characterisation sucks
Quite right, Anne. Every one of those is spot on! Wish I could think of another but my brain is in meltdown after a day of actual WRITING!
Nice one, Anne! My brain's in meltdown after a day spent editing the SAS newsletter and on similar tasks, so can't think of any others - but these are good!
my favourite feedback from a publisher was: no publisher will publish a book with the word dead in the title.
Huh!
my debut novel is: Dead Frog on the Porch, the second in the series is: Dead Bird through the Cat Door
So there!
Just don't mention the word 'issues writer'!! I see red!
Good one Anne... mind you, isn't this kind of thing along the lines of "James Bond will never sell"?
Nobody's perfect.
Everyone in the office LOVES the cover!
Which means:
a) You are going to hate it
b) We are not going to change it
Post a Comment