I turned on Tom Dunne’s radio show as I started to write this, and what do I hear - a woman describing how she published her own book. Someone up there is trying to tell me something, most especially because I sat down to write this post to tell you about the latest and possibly last agent rejection of Broken Evolution.
It all seemed very promising; hopeful words were coming from the agent. I also got affirmative feedback this week from two impartial readers, saying things like “it’s as good as any thriller I’ve read” and “I wasn’t prepared for how good it was” and “It kept me up reading at nights wanting to see what happened next.” Even the agent was full of praise and admiration for the novel in this ultimate rejection.
Now, my best chance yet has been shot down with the excuse of … the recession. It’s an environment that has become, quite frankly, hostile to new authors. And I don’t know if I can shift any longer the feeling that I am wasting my time with this traditional route. Time for a re-think.
August 7th, 2009
I’ve been quiet again lately. Busy with work, and repairing my back after an injury, and not much writing, alas … although I did dream about my work in progress the other night, which was a weird experience. I transferred my blog to a newer, faster server too.
The book submission had been stalled for a while, waiting for agent response. This week the book, like I, rose from dormancy. A senior agent is finally giving time to read the re-drafted version. By accounts, he is quite impressed with it, but I suppose the ol’ recession bugbear will determine if they can take it on or not. Either way, I’ve been promised a response in a couple of weeks.
Finally, wheels are turning. The big ones turn slowly!
July 7th, 2009
It’s Friday. I’ve spent this week coding screens and line-editing my revised manuscript. Hopping from one to the other breaks the monotony of both. But come Friday afternoon … I run out of steam … and don’t really want to do either. I just get that “break out and do something completely different” weekend vibe.
Is the working week just long enough so that it runs out when we get to that point? Or are we just accustomed to running out of steam at the end of a working week, no matter how long it is? I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m self-employed and can determine my own working hours, but in fact, for most workers the working week is now actually 6 days long, and getting longer every year. At the start of the industrial revolution, before labour laws, 7 day working was not uncommon. So maybe we have it good, you might think. Well, consider homo erectus.
On the radio this week, I heard an author discussing his book, and found it interesting to hear that in our hunter-gather days, the working week was only two days long. Spend two days making arrows, hunting some beasts, and you have enough to feed & clothe you and family for another five days. All that free time started humanity’s artistic journey, scratching out cave paintings. We sometimes look back in embarrassment at our unenlightened cavemen ancestors. But today, Friday, I look back at his two day week and think … boy, did he have it sussed … where the hell did we go wrong in the meantime?
Have a good weekend y’all!
May 22nd, 2009
You may have noticed that I like a nice metaphor. Here comes this week’s!
I’ve been editing for the past couple of weeks. It’s true what they say - it’s easier to edit with a little bit of distance between author and novel. I’ve left it aside for a few months and it makes me more willing to make the hard decisions to cut out the unnecessary fat that gets in the way of a story. It seems to be following the 10% reduction rule of its own accord. It becomes strangely liberating in a way, once I get used to letting go of those precious phrases that don’t really belong.
However …
There is a danger. I’m intensely careful of stripping the prose back too much, to some mundane, bland, anonymous thriller style that could be the output of any ghost writer. That brings me to my metaphor. Ask any chef - a little fat gives the dish more flavor in the cooking.
Don’t trim it back too much.
May 9th, 2009
I’ve been meaning to try out the print on demand process, to see what it’s like (not for self-publication, but for an idea I have as part of my marketing plan).
Anyway, two weeks ago, I discovered a genuine excuse to try it out. I have a couple of beta readers lined up to gauge opinion on a novel. I planned on giving typescripts, but having given one out before, I know how cumbersome a ream of printouts can be for a casual reader. I also feel that casual readers would treat the manuscript more honestly as a book for review if it is actually presented to them as a book.
Aha! Now that’s a use for print on demand!
One reader was heading on holidays soon, so giving him a “holiday read” copy would be ideal (it’s probably the only time he’d find time to read it anyway!) So I chose Lulu because they can do private projects (where only the author can see and purchase them, and author retains all copyright). For safety, I retired the project after shipment. I’m sure publishers might balk at this behaviour, but - hey - I ain’t got that problem yet! This is my solution to ARCs for the unpublished! The trim sizes are a little limited, but I picked a suitably bookish one. For the cover, I left it all black with no title, no text .. nothing. I figure he’d love the kudos of reading an all-black mystery book in the airport lounge. A copyright notice figures prominently too, in case he leaves it there (that’s the disadvantage of giving less cumbersome review copies - maybe too portable!)
I can see why so many frustrated authors get sucked into POD vanity publication. It so damned seductive. Shiny black novel arrived this morning. Now, getting it to market - that’s not so easy, and not “on demand”! As a way of generating review copies though, it’s perfect, and seeing one copy in print might be a good catharsis to keep the impatient author submitting to agents just that bit longer.
A triumphant success. Just one problem - my reader left for holidays three days ago.
Yet again, “on demand” it ain’t. It takes up to five days to print, as I learned, and then there’s delivery time after that.
Oh well, maybe next holiday …
In the meantime, I’ve got a copy of my very own novel on my desk … to keep me going that bit longer.
April 21st, 2009
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