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jemck at 09:49am on 07/01/2008
jemck at 09:49am on 07/01/2008So, Monday morning and I have the house to myself for the first time in ages. The few bits of admin that were lurking on the desk have been dealt with and now I'm thinking about the article on US/Can SF&F writers not-as-yet-published-in-the-UK that I'll be writing for Albedo One this week. Thereafter I have other reading to do and planning for the next Lescari book, along with a short story to write. I'm also planning on dusting off the modern novel and seeing what it looks like after six months break. And I really do want to find time for a handful of posts I intended last year but never found the time for. So there's a hostage to fortune.
In the meantime, now that I've recovered from the sprint to the finish for Straws in the Wind, I'm noticing other stuff. Like this article in The Independent, where Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor, makes some highly pertinent points if you reckon 2008 is the year to get your first fabulous novel in print.
He concludes
In the meantime, now that I've recovered from the sprint to the finish for Straws in the Wind, I'm noticing other stuff. Like this article in The Independent, where Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor, makes some highly pertinent points if you reckon 2008 is the year to get your first fabulous novel in print.
He concludes
Should I bother to try to publish my novel?
Yes...
* Hundreds of first novels appear each year. Some do well, and not all of their authors are young, beautiful or already famous
* No agent or publisher ever knows for certain what will work. Their doors, and minds, must stay open out of self-interest
* Beyond the traditional houses, digital media have widened the choices for DIY publishing and greatly improved its status
No...
* Serial rejection and long months of disappointment await for the vast majority of wannabe novelists
* Writing your book, and making sure that friends and family can read it, might amount to as much authorship as you really want
* Far too many published novels clog an overcrowded marketplace. Even if you made it into print, your book might well sink without trace.
So there you have it. Go and read the rest of the article if you're still keen.
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