Great Writing but Unsellable?
- Thread starter Nuwanda
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Thought I'd post this, words of a top UK agent on Facebook, about a ms she didn't give up on:
So, what if the had given up after a year? After 3 years? At the 43rd submission? What if it were a different agent, with less tenacity, and the author had lost confidence and trunked the novel? That would have been a probably "great" but unpublished novel. I suspect there are quite a few in that category. Sometimes luck does play a role -- luck being the right editor at the right time.
So, what if the had given up after a year? After 3 years? At the 43rd submission? What if it were a different agent, with less tenacity, and the author had lost confidence and trunked the novel? That would have been a probably "great" but unpublished novel. I suspect there are quite a few in that category. Sometimes luck does play a role -- luck being the right editor at the right time.
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I'll toss in that there's another, if rarer, category--genuinely well-written books that maybe twenty people will want to read.
It's what a friend of mine calls "burlap lingerie"--it may be skillfully made, but the market is so miniscule as to not be worth a publisher's time.
It's not enough to write a good book, you have to write a book that will sell more than a few hundred copies. Quality is important, but market appeal is pretty darn critical too. Every now and then one of those may find new life as a cult classic, but I think most of 'em just sink like stones, or never come out at all.
(I suspect a lot more books are just not very good rather than good but not sellable, but I don't want to completely discount the possibility.)
It's what a friend of mine calls "burlap lingerie"--it may be skillfully made, but the market is so miniscule as to not be worth a publisher's time.
It's not enough to write a good book, you have to write a book that will sell more than a few hundred copies. Quality is important, but market appeal is pretty darn critical too. Every now and then one of those may find new life as a cult classic, but I think most of 'em just sink like stones, or never come out at all.
(I suspect a lot more books are just not very good rather than good but not sellable, but I don't want to completely discount the possibility.)
Also, I know that whenever I send something out and get no takers for a while, I almost automatically re-read it and make changes. So I wouldn't be surprised if with many (or most) of these anecdotes where someone didn't give up and the hundredth publisher accepted it, the one hundredth editor received a much different (and better) manuscript than the first editor did.
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The agent spoke further about that novel:
"Early in my career as an agent, I submitted 4 chapters and a synopsis of a first novel by one of my clients. Publishers were puzzled by it. Although editors often ask for something different, when they are presented with something truly original, they sometimes don't know what to do with it."
The bolded text explains why there are probably many, many great but unpiblished novels.
"Early in my career as an agent, I submitted 4 chapters and a synopsis of a first novel by one of my clients. Publishers were puzzled by it. Although editors often ask for something different, when they are presented with something truly original, they sometimes don't know what to do with it."
The bolded text explains why there are probably many, many great but unpiblished novels.
This story is interesting because a beta reader recently shared chapters with me and her writing style is gorgeous. Such a gifted writer - it's like reading poetry - but as beautiful as her writing is, I find it somewhat distracting. It pulls me from the story. I don't know if I should even mention that to her - it's like saying the problem with your writing is that you write too well.
JubbyO
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I tend to shy away from poetical writing; I invest/spend my hard-earned money on characters and plot, not poetry and writing. But, if she believes in the story, then tell her to keep trying. And she could always put it out there herself.
It's worth mentioning. A poetic style is something an author should be able to tone up or down to suit the needs of the book as a whole. It's possible to say, "Look, your writing is beautiful, but sometimes it's also overkill. A little of that style goes a long way. Could you pare down some of your sentences to make it easier for readers to focus on the action and characters?"
I've read books with a striking literary style that absolutely served the story, and others with similar styles that felt overdone and distracting. It's all about the alchemy of the entire book.
This is all great stuff! I know she definitely has a strong voice and style and her characters are pretty solid. Some of the minor ones might be on the edge of flatness but it's so good to see opinions about the balance of style with plot. It certainly helps me as a beta and writer. Thank you all!
Her purpose behind that was to help build the perception of the mc. Like how we start to feel like we really know celebrities when we read too much Perez Hoilton, so by the time you meet him you've got your opinion and it may not change.
Also have you read Warren Zevon's biography or Rant by Palahniuk? She read both those after the agent dropped contact to see how others did it. (And there we were thinking the press clipping style was original) Anyway there is a certain type of telling instead of showing that doesn't generally come out in good reads.