Go Fish
When you're waiting for news about your submissions, discovering this week that even Paris Hilton's chihuahua has landed a book deal is 'interesting'. Sometimes as a new writer you feel like you are a very little fish in a big pond. I've heard from a few of you that your recent rejections have been along the lines of 'great work - if only you were X celebrity'. So what do you make of all the celebrity books out there? Is it all harmless fun or is it pushing new and midlist authors out of the market? Do you think good books will get published anyway? Misssy suggested watching Stewart Lee's recent comedy show on the state of the publishing industry, and for anyone in need of a good laugh this weekend I'd second that recommendation.
Big fish - names, celebrities, brands seem like a sure bet in uncertain times. There's a hook, a USP to build sales around. Does it matter if they haven't read a book let alone written one? People are curious about people - I've read biographies about most of the authors and artists I love, enjoy a sneaky copy of Hello as much as the next person but has it all gone too far? I'd be curious to know when this whole phenomenon started. The old way of doing things was - as Marilyn sings in today's video clip - to specialise. People became famous because they were good at something. The 'special ones that all of us defer to' were exactly that - special. The song namechecks Maria Callas, Elvis, Darwin, Carnegie. When did we get so interested in ordinary?
The flip side of this is the attention a real 'writer's writer' gets for a surprise hit. 'The Time Traveller's Wife' was a brilliant book that justly achieved huge sales, a heartening example of a small publisher whose literary gem became a bestseller. Now Audrey Niffenegger has landed a $5m contract. What do you make of that? Just rewards? Or do huge deals stop publishers taking a chance on new writers? Personally, I can't wait to read 'Her Fearful Symmetry' - and any good news about a great writer is pretty heartening in this climate.
TODAY'S PROMPT: I've just read Stefan Zweig's brilliant 'Beware of Pity' for our next book club. He's now a 'forgotten' author, but at the time he was so famous and revered that readers besieged his home. It is an incredible book - so why has he fallen out of fashion? Why do you think that some books endure while others don't? Would you want the kind of adulation Zweig endured in his lifetime? Have you ever bought a celeb book - or would you buy a book 'written' by a chihuahua? Writing through the eyes of an animal is a great creative exercise - if you've never tried it, why not have a go this weekend? Some of the best children's literature is imagined from the point of view of animals - maybe you can think of a few favourites? Why not take a fresh look at the world from the perspective of your animal companions and see if you can give Tinkerbell Hilton a run for her money?
