Tag Archives: Da Vinci Code

Topical Tuesday: The Publishing Lottery

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A recent Absolute Write thread entitled “I’ve had it with this B.S.” sparked a good deal of debate over at the forums.

The original poster had no doubt gulped a spoonful of bitter and opted to spew the bad aftertaste onto the rest of the writing community. But lest we all decide to prescribe to his new brand of “genius” and thus shirk any responsibility we have for our own failure let’s look at a few of his points.

 

“The world is a big place full of wonder and fantastical ideas and they’ve [agents] reduced it to a single cart-full of dung.”- As flattering as that is to writers everywhere I tend to think there’s a lot of great stories/writing out there. Here’s the thing. Readers don’t HAVE to buy a book. They don’t go to the bookstore feeling obligated to purchase. Nobody is watching their back making sure they pick up that hardback copy of Twilight. Readers are consumers and they are purchasing novels because THEY think that the book is a good investment. They want to read it. Bestsellers don’t run around with thousands of screaming fans because someone is holding a gun to their head.

“Those who moan glowingly about their deep understanding of the written word yet don’t seem interested in anything that doesn’t involve vampires, the paranormal, or women’s lib.”- Um, is there anything saying that people who write in the paranormal genre can’t also have a deep understanding of the written word? And besides, that constitutes a corner of the market. Did DaVinci Code fall into one of those categories? How about The Gargoyle? No? Shoot.

“If I’d known that agencies only place submission criteria on their websites to lend themselves an air of credibility then I wouldn’t have wasted my time and resources sending them query letters.”- Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and say that that’s probably not the purpose of submission guidelines. People get requests (partials and fulls) from the slushpile all the time.

“Believe it or choose not to, but if you are an unpublished writer without connections you’re playing the lottery.”- This was one of his major points and I think he’s just wrong. Writers do get plucked out of the slushpile. And I’ve seen countless writers get progressively more requests from book 1 to book 2 to book 3 until finally they landed an agent. Is that luck? Of course not. The sentiment is an easy way to make yourself feel better though. If it’s just luck then the fact that manuscript could be better…well, that’s not on you, is it? Because if it’s just a lottery than whatever you do, it doesn’t matter.

I don’t know what y’all think. But, to me, that is the most depressing way to go about life ever. And then to later suggest that not seeing your success as luck means you lack humility? Ugh.

So, as a counter argument and to derive something good from the very long and aggravating discussion going on over there, let’s all remember that the harder we work, the more likelier we are to win and be thankful for that. Let’s be open to suggestions, ready for change, and prepared to walk through any doors that do open for us.

 

 To read Jay’s take on the AW thread click here.

Status: I received my 2nd offer of representation today, so I’ve spent a lot of time talking to other writers, seeing what is important to them. I’d like to thank some of the great people over at AW and the BlueBoards for being so open to helping me make the right choice for me. Y’all are awesome.

Topical Tuesday: You Never Can Trust A Writer

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Folks have made a big stink about the historical accuracy of The Da Vinci Code. I choose Dan Brown’s book because of the enormous popularity it enjoyed followed by the equally enormous criticism, but the same goes for most works of historical fiction.

So, I have to ask the question: How “true” should historical fiction be?

 

A lot of readers want to hold authors of historical fiction to a ridiculously high standard. Like they should have some moral duty to have all their facts straight and to teach us something en route.

I got news for you, people. It’s Fiction. Made-up, spun-from-brain-goo, don’t-quote-it-in-a-term-paper fiction. Funny. You wouldn’t think it. It being called “historical fiction” and all.

Yeah, that’s right. They don’t call it a novel from nothin’. Now memoirs…that’s a different donkey. But, I digress.

The goals of an author of historical fiction are much like the goals of any other old author. They want to create a convincing illusion, to help the reader to suspend disbelief. William Styron wrote a fake “historical document” at the beginning of Confessions of Nat Turner. Sort of a false author’s note of sorts. Did I slam down my Diet Coke and shake my fist at the heavens praying that they’d take away Styron’s Pulitzer? No. And believe me, I didn’t realize it was fake–author’s note, that is–right away. Once I did realize, I kind of laughed to myself and thought: Chandler 0-Willie 1. And then moved quickly on before I could add up how much Styron was really beating me by.

The point is that he suspended my disbelief. He made me believe that’s how it happened.

Sure, writers of historical fiction do research. What writer doesn’t. But are you going to unleash on an author who mixed up how many cylinders there are in a well known car?

The point of historical fiction is to convey the spirit of the times more than the facts.

Otherwise, why not go read a textbook? Because historical fiction adds the human dimension and that’s what the author must strive for. It let’s us look at the little decisions that led up to an event or how a larger decision affected the daily lives of individuals.

The point is not for the author to be a historian or a scholar.

Now, If I were an author of historical fiction I would certainly do my homework. Otherwise, as we’ve already seen, you’re gonna get those front row dork types raising their hands in your face and telling you your story is all wrong.

So, here’s the thing. All you front row handraisers, it’s cool to know your stuff, to know you’re right. But let yourself smile smugly and then continue reading because what’s most important is to remember what’s so wonderful about fiction: it’s made up.

 

 Check out Jay’s blog for a very different take on this!

Status: Not an incredibly productive day. But I am reading Breaking Dawn like my life depended on it! Working on some SCOUT stuff and waiting on the word from Scott. Again, keep your fingers crossed for me.

Book Review: The Map Thief

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First, y’all should know that I hold a special place in my heart for lawyer-authors (or author-lawyers, as they might prefer to be called). So when Heather Terrell’s book arrived on my doorstep I was excited to get started. A quick glance at the inside back cover revealed a stylish, young attorney who quite apparently writes books–in other words, everything I’d like to be.  

But, I’ve been known to be disappointed by books. High hopes dashed and, when I cracked open The Map Thief, my heart sank. This was not what I expected. For some reason–I think because Tess Gerritsen provided a blurb for Terrell’s first book–I’d decided the book would read like The Sinner or even The Bone Garden.

Not the case. Though the book is a thriller. 

After two pages, I overcame my preconceived notions and discovered something better than I’d anticipated. If you can wrap your head around this, The Map Thief is a thriller told in a fable-like manner comparable to the works of  Paulo Coelho, which in my opinion is a beautiful style and a ginormous compliment to Heather Terrell.

The narrative shifts between Beijing in 1421, Lisbon in 1496, and present day New York City. So, while the chapters set in the present day have more zing, Terrell writes the more historical sections in prose that marks the story as something of a hidden legend. 

Ok, so unique writing style? Check. But, the book has another component I love: a main character with a really cool job. 

I can’t help it. I’m a sucker for that brand of MC and Mara Coyne is no exception. She’s an attorney who starts her own firm to help restore stolen artwork to its rightful owner, often requiring her to work on the fringe of the law.

Mara’s story is satisfying, but the real magic comes as Terrell details the career of Ma Zhi, the gifted cartographer. 

You’ll love this book if you enjoyed the Da Vinci Code, The Thomas Crown Affair, or just like learning cool things while reading and thinking about history in a new way. And, though Terrell openly admits to tampering with history, the question of whether the Chinese could have been the first to discover the New World remains intriguing.

Finally, we still have half the summer left and with easy-to-digest chapters and a pace that will speed your metabolism, The Map Thief will serve as a tasty treat for a day at the beach.  

 

For a description of The Map Thief visit Heather Terrell’s website.

Or to Buy it click here:  The Map Thief: A Novel

Want to read another book review? Check out my thoughts on the House of Night series.

** Comments today count as double entries to win your copy of The Map Thief! Since Heather Terrell takes us globe-trotting across time and space, tell me about the coolest place you’ve been OR if you could go back to any time in history what would it be??

 

Status: Shipping boxes today. The Breaking Dawn party was really cute. I’ll talk about it tomorrow. Have lots of work coming up this week.

If it’s good enough for Faulkner, it’s good enough for me.

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Down about a rejection? Let’s put it in perspective.

A guy named Joseph Heller received this gem when submitting a book called Catch-22.


“I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say. It is about a group of American Army officers stationed in Italy, sleeping (but not interestingly) with each others’ wives and Italian prostitutes, and talking unintelligibly to one another. Apparently, the author intends it to be funny — possibly even satire — but it is really not funny on any intellectual level. He has two devices, both bad, which he works constantly… This, as you may imagine, constitutes a continual and unmitigated bore.”

(Oops!)

 

And an editor wrote this to H.G. Wells after reading The Time Machine:

“It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader.”

–provided by C.I. Chatelle at MediaChannel.org

 

Wanna know what Knopf, one of the biggest U.S. publishers, turned down?

Here’s the short list:
Orwell’s Animal Farm
Kerouac’s On the Road
Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl
Brown’s Da Vinci Code
Nabokov’s Lolita

An editor at Knopf noted about Sylvia Plath: “There certainly isn’t enough genuine talent for us to take notice”

–provided by David Usborne at http://www.independent .co.uk/news

 

I guess some people begged to differ?

 

Want more?

Dr. Seuss received almost 100 rejections.
Harry Potter racked up 14 publisher rejections.
A Wrinkle In Time was turned down 29 times (www.susiesmith13.tripod.com)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit was turned down so many times that Beatrix Potter first self-published! (www.susiesmith13.tripod.com)
Faulkner once received a personal rejection. It read: “If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions, but it is so diffuse that I don’t think it would be of any use. My chief objection is that you don’t have any story to tell.” (www.susiesmith13.tripod.com)  (Ouch!)

 

So, when agents say …blah, blah, blah…this is such a subjective business…they might actually mean it.

Chins up everyone. You’re in good company.