The Book Babes in the The Book Standard are usually worth reading, and this week they have a piece about the writer's lot-tery. Here they discuss what makes or breaks a book, the importance of a powerful agent, the fact that first novels seldom are, and all like that. Worth reading.
Among others, they quote Jim Lynch, whose first (published) novel is an autumn lead for Bloomsbury. He says this: 'When I finally came to peace with my novel-writing obsession was when I came to the conclusion that it is my job/goal to write a novel good enough to deserve getting on the publishing roulette wheel. That's really all a writer can do. The rest, to some degree, is up to timing, luck, connections etc. And if you start dwelling too much on what it takes to get published or reading too much into what gets published or what does well, I think it not only hurts your chances of writing something strong and original, but it also nudges you closer to the writers' ward of the nearest mental hospital.'
Well that's certainly true.
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2 comments:
Good article. It reaffirms my belief that, to be published, a writer must begin at age ten (when he has nothing to say) and hope that by age 80 (when he has much to say and no mental faculties to say it) he will succeed.
Thanks for the post.
It's so true, and I know it only too well, yet it's always good to see it on paper (monitor) and remind myself of that again.
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