Wednesday 22 June 2011

A Risky Business Savita Kalhan

You’ve written a book that you think is good. Everyone you give it to thinks it’s good too. Your agent loves it. The publishers love it. So why is there a problem?

Unless you are an established children’s writer there are places that you cannot go because the risk is deemed to be too great. I write dark, edgy fiction for teens. With my first book, The Long Weekend, I went to the edge, but not over it because I write for teenagers, yet I recall some publishers asking for it to be turned into a simple story about two boys being kidnapped for a ransom. They wanted what made the book edgy and unnerving, and dark, removed from it. But it would have left the book soulless, so I kept it the way I wanted to keep it and waited for an editor who was willing to take a risk on it. I was lucky and found one.

So I went on to writing the next book, and yes, it is darker and edgier, and, in the words of one publisher ‘Powerfully written’. But far too risky. The perpetrator of the crime is from an Asian background, so is the main character, the victim. Maybe if neither of them were the book may have stood a better chance...

So I wrote the next book, and when it was finished and submitted, and the powers that be quote how good the first published novel was, and how dark and powerful the second, rejected, manuscript was, I wonder whether they will say that this one is a very good book, well written, great story, but isn’t dark enough or edgy enough. What do you do? (apart from tear your hair out!)

You move onto writing the book after that.

There comes a time when you sit back and wonder: What exactly is it that publishers want? Will that change? Does it change all the time?

There are lots of teens out there who scour the bookshops for books without magic, sorcery, vampires, demons and zombies. Honestly, there really are. They want edgier, more real fiction and there is space for choice if whole sections of bookshops weren’t devoted to black and red covers. It’s a shame their voices aren’t being heard because the books they want have already been written for them...

Dark and edgy is all the rage, vampires have had their say, so you would think dark edgy contemporary realism would have more of a chance. And it does. But just not if it’s too dark and too edgy...

17 comments:

Anne Cassidy said...

I know this problem Savita. Fantasy writers get away with blue murder and publishers are OK with this because 'It's not real life' Writers of social realism have a narrow path to tread. The key is to find an editor who will work with your dark edgy material and help you to soften some of the edges to make it OK for your target audience. That doesn't mean you take the heart and soul out of it. Sometime less is more. Otherwise we would all just write adult fiction.

Jackie Marchant said...

How frustrating for you! I agree that teens need and want this dark edgy stuff, and that's because it reflects real life and things that can happen - they need to know about it, not be shielded from it. Unfortunately, you have to go through the gatekeepers first - and it's the retailers that form the stumbling block I think - they worry about what they put ont their shelves.

You could always tell a dark edgy story about vampires I suppose - that would make a refreshing change . . .

maryom said...

I wonder how in touch publishers, or any adult, can be about what teens want or find disturbing. I find I rarely agree with my 14 yr old daughter. We went to the Keren David/Peter Cocks event at Hay where Peter read a section of Long Reach in which a smile is too literally 'carved' onto someone's face - I found it quite disturbing, teen claimed it was 'cool' and wanted more violent stuff if she was going to read the book. But at the same time, I'll happily sit through violent scenes in films or on TV that she claims are 'gross'.
I wonder if publishers are actually thinking 'would parents like little Jane/Johnny to be reading this'? and censoring accordingly.

Gillian Philip said...

I think the problem is as Mary says - publishers have always got one eye on the parents, the teachers, the librarians. I've certainly had 'edgy contemporary' fiction turned down by some publishers - one mentioned a consensual sex scene - but I think there will always be publishers who take a chance. I haven't had nearly as much trouble from publishers as I have from schools, parents and the like. You seem to imply that your second book ran into the buffers not because of the edginess, but because of the racial element - would that be right?

I have to take issue with Anne's comment about fantasy writers getting away with blue murder! There's some very poor crime and contemporary fiction out there, and it's no closer to real life than fantasy is. Good fantasy *is* about real life - just looked at from a different perspective. Bad fantasy is as far from reality as a badly written bit of crime pulp.

Nicola Morgan said...

Savita - I have this issue at the moment. I've just finished a very edgy contemporary thriller, focusing on some real bad stuff that's actually going on (human trafficking) and my agent loves it, but we feel it's unlikely that a publisher will take the risk with it. Haven't decided whether to try the rounds of publishers, self-publish, or leave it. I want to tell the story because I believe in it, but will anyone dare publish it? I don't know.

catdownunder said...

I know any number of children who just want "an ordinary adventure story" - and they are quite prepared to read otherwise dated books to get it. Having to write for what adults perceive as being the market and knowing that children would also be happy with something else is frustrating for both writer and reader.

Nicky said...

I think that children like adults vary hugely in their taste. The problem at the moment is that because times are tight publishing the broad range of material is difficult as every publisher wants to publish THE new big thing and are looking for mega hits rather than quietly successful books. As a writer of dark fantasy/historical fantasy/ dystopian fantasy I should be sitting pretty right now but I'm not because I'm as niche as anyone else. The problem is not what it is but what it isn't and that is potentially mega best selling : )

Gillian Philip said...

Cat - that's interesting about 'ordinary adventure stories'. I'm always surprised how many kids at our tiny school library still want to read the Hardy Boys and those Alfred Hitchcock Investigators books.

Savita Kalhan said...

Anne - It's definitely true that writers of social realism have a narrower path to tread than writers of dark paranormal fantasy, particularly when that genre is all the rage. (By the way, I love real proper good fantasy fiction).
I too believe that less is more, and I think my book, The Long Weekend, illustrates that point. Now to find the right publisher for the next book...
Gillian - Yes, you're right, there was a racial element combined with the edginess in my manuscript, which made me feel that if I removed it the book might stand a fairer chance.
Catdownunder - Hear, hear, to more straightforward adventure stories, which we know kids love. Just wondering, but do publishers ever talk to kids and teens...

catdownunder said...

Gillian, I think it is a reflecion of what happens in the adult world - adults want to read "murder mysteries" and "romance" or "westerns". Some will also read "literary" novels. There are also adults who still read Biggles and the Chalet School Books.
I think it is a form of escapism - which might be why Nicola's novel will prove too dark. It is not somewhere most people would want to escape too unless it is lightened by something else. (Although I would be interested in reading it!)

Savita Kalhan said...

Jackie - I'm steering clear of vampires - for now...
Mary - I think I might have to get a copy of Long Reach just to see how disturbing the scene was. I know you don't scare easy, so it must have been on the edge!
Nicola - Good luck with the edgy contemporary thriller! There's definitely a place for it in the market, so go for it!
Nicky - Yes, everyone's looking for the next BIG thing, but the quietly successful books that aren't part of that mega hyped-up scene somehow get overlooked, and sometimes, if they are too quiet, they don't get the chance to be successful at all.

catdownunder said...

Savita, I think publishers believe they do listen. The problem is that they are also listening parents and teachers and others who say that children "should" be getting certain things...hence the child who told me she was "sick of AIDS and death and divorce". There are some parents here who have told me that if their children are going to "waste time reading then they might as well learn something while they are doing it". It is an attitude which terrifies me.

Gillian Philip said...

Hm. I'm still unconvinced that fantasy writers get away with more than writers of contemporary realism. If they do, maybe the crucial words are 'all the rage' - so publishers let things slip by because they want more and more of a certain genre and lower the bar?

But I still don't buy the distinction. To be fair, I've never read most of the 'dark romance' books, because I never got further than Twilight, but isn't the whole point of this trend that there's barely any plot but the romance? There's nothing very edgy about a sexless relationship with a vampire who won't bite people. Those books may have had their moment in the spotlight, but there are books in the contemporary-realistic genre that push the boundaries far further than dark romance does.

My objection is to the notion that publishers let fantasy writers get away with blue murder. In comparison with much popular, widely-published realism, they don't. They may let some authors get away with banal and shallow nonsense, but that's true of every genre - including 'realism'.

And I write both - so though it wouldn't be true to say I have no axe to grind, I at least have one in each hand.

Savita Kalhan said...

An axe in each hand and ready to use them? Now that image, Gillian, fills me with fear! Seth would be proud of you!
It's very true that publishers let some authors get away with banal and shallow nonsense in every genre.
It's the space devoted to the black and red covers in book shops that makes my heart sink, especially when it's often at the cost of all other genres in teen lit.

Gillian Philip said...

Well, not literally! :-)

I know what you mean about those covers - entire sections of them. It *is* soul-destroying. Let's hope that edgy is the New Black and Red - and there will soon be shelves full of those!

Anne Cassidy said...

Gillian, help! What I meant was that PUBLISHERS let fantasy writers get away with blue murder because they think 'it's not real life'. Of course fantasy novels are saying important things about real life, I know that. I should have worded it better, duh.

Bryony Allen said...

Savita,
I can understand your frustrations. During the writing of OTOLI (my latest book) I found that I had to do quite a bit of balancing in respect of wanting to tell the story the way I wished it to be as a writer against the way I knew it would probably need to be in order to to get it published. I submitted the book to a few agents and publishers and got the usual form reply for newer authors. I then sent the book to the independent publisher Piccadilly Press who liked the story but felt that I needed to change an aspect that was too edgy for them, however in saying this they also said they wouldn't be taking it further. So I heeded some of their advice and did a little editing and then tested the water so to speak on the Youwriteon.com writers critique site. I got some super comments there and felt from these that the story overall was in very good shape. I also put the story up for free at Completely Novel for a while to get some further feedback. One of the site administrators there and general site readers read the book and helped cement everything in my mind with some fantastic reviews and critique of the work. The book had been polished beyond belief by this stage. I then went on another bout of submissions which still resulted in the usual newer author knock backs but in the end the book was taken on and traditionally published by UK Independent publisher Pneuma Springs at the end of April 2011 as a paperback and e-book. So far the reviews for the book have been super. The publisher also believes in the book enough to be happy to donate some of the sales proceeds on a permanent basis to the charity Bullying UK, needless to say they have been very supportive too. Some of the reviewers state that the book was a little bit darker than they were expecting but that it works very well and still results in an engrossing, moving read. The book delivers the powerful messages I wanted it to but at the same time also it entertains the reader which is the thing I think most of us that write really want to achieve. The publisher has trusted and believed in the writing in the end to give the reader the experience that they ultimately want. Maybe the future of traditional publishing lies with the independent publishers, if only they had the marketing budgets of the bigger boys. Maybe one day eh.