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As an aspiring writer, I blog about whatever happens to move me at the moment -- though some posts contain serious content, my big-picture goal is to bring a little humor into an often humorless world! Welcome, y'all, and make yourself at home! Please make sure you update your bookmarks!


When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger...Epictetus





Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Really?

I recently read a book which left me wondering -- again -- how it is that some novels get published, while others do not. This particular book -- which shall remain nameless because I'm not in the critiquing business -- was not a horrid book. It was not badly written and had an interesting premise -- but it really went nowhere, had an unsatisfying ending and the numerous characters were each a stereotype -- as if the author had to get every sort of personality quirk she could think of between the pages. At the end of it -- I seldom put a book down once I've started, even if I'm not particularly enamored -- all I could say was ho-hum.

I've often read that publishers/editors know a good novel when they see one -- and, after reading only one or two chapters. Really? 

Really? 

I won't denigrate their talent at sniffing out great works -- but they sure must be missing out on a lot better stuff out there. There must be a pile of books somewhere called "great novels which will never see the light of day unless self-published".

Now, I know that not every book is going to appeal to everybody. I've read books that had glowing reviews which I could not get into at all. I've read others that were just the opposite -- not great reviews but quite enjoyable.

But, what made an editor read this above-mentioned nameless novel and say, "we've got a winner"?

Anyway, I know how it works -- a manuscript has to cross an editor's desk at the exact right moment --  no matter how good -- or bad -- the novel is -- to get noticed. And that is why many writers -- who can actually spin a good tale -- don't get published. And why some who really can't, do.
 
As a reader and a (unpublished) writer, it's very frustrating.
 
By the way, I take great pains to say that I'm an unpublished writer because some published writers seem to get their panties in a wad if someone refers to themselves as a writer/author, if they haven't been published (or been paid for it, maybe?). Maybe I just don't understand the criteria but I simply don't  get this -- if you write something, you are the author of what you have written, published or not -- is that not so? I can tell you, even unpublished, I'm neither judge nor jury on what anybody wants to call themselves.

I'd rather spend my time writing than worrying about that.



2 comments:

  1. yes to all the above,,lol.. you ARE an author. I was in Barnes and Noble just today and I had the same exact thought. "How did all these books get published", knowing that most were not 'readable' at all. It is like the music industry...controlled, controlled controlled...

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  2. I agree...I go into a bookstore and pick up countless books...read the back cover...thumb through them...and put them right back down!

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