Pushing through the publishing bottleneck: is there an ingredient X? via @Annecdotist

Pushing through the publishing bottleneck: is there an ingredient X?

1/9/2018

Yesterday, on the last day of meteorological summer, I shelved my 100th book for the year. But even a reader as voracious as I am will never find time to read all the books she might enjoy. While the superabundance is great for readers, it’s less so for writers competing for their attention and time. However big and colourful our books, we’ve only one shoal in a pond so extensive we may never see, let alone touch, its banks.

When we’re learning to write, we envisage a completed novel as the finishing line. But, for the career novelist, it’s not even the start. That embryonic need novel will multiple drafts and edits before it’s fit to be seen in public; and publishing success, whatever route you go down, takes not only hard work and talent, but luck.

The optimists, and those the publishing industry has smiled upon, insist we make our own luck. For me, although I concede you’ve got to be in it to win it, I’m not so sure. Is there a magic ingredient that will get us through the publishing bottleneck and, if so, is it possible to identify what it is? The creative writing industry thrives on the assumption that the answer’s yes to both these questions and that ingredient X can be taught.

Some argue there’s a recipe that’s particularly appealing to readers, either timelessly or shifting as politics, culture and fashions change. While I’m definitely shedding my suspicions of the hero’s journey story structure, it isn’t always right for what I want to write and read. I can see the appeal, and it’s helping with my current WIP Snowflake, but I come across lots of successful novels that don’t follow that route.

Others recommend keeping abreast of the publishing marketplace, monitoring what gets published and what sells. But while it makes perfect sense to soak up contemporary literature, an author would need more than a crystal ball to predict what’s going to excite the book world by the time her book is ready to show its face. And almost as soon as a trend is established, people want something new. But even if the current popularity of feel-good fiction lingers, there’ll still be readers who crave the dark side. If there’s one certainty in this game, it’s that not all readers want the same thing.

Genre can serve as the introduction agency between like-minded readers and writers but, once again, lots of fiction doesn’t belong in any box. Many of us can’t easily define our reading preferences until we find ourselves getting excited over a particular book. If you think you know the mystery ingredient, do let me know!

Huge thanks, as ever, for reading, and especially for those who read my new short story and left a comment on my post Should I stretch this short story to a novel? I’m sure if I really get my act together I could leave all future plotting to my blog readers and have a clear run through the bottleneck!

A bottleneck is the prompt for this week’s flash fiction challenge. My 99-word story is based on a true event (that fortunately didn’t affect me personally), and a significantly more serious one than publishing bottlenecks.

Hillsborough, April 1989

The match was a sell-out, but progress through the turnstiles deathly slow. To ease the tension outside, they opened the gates and funnelled the supporters directly into the already swollen stand. As the game kicked off, no-one heard the protests of those at the front, the screams forced from crushed lungs. While grown men cried for their mams, kids hadn’t the air to whimper. The first to scale the fence were met with truncheons. Belatedly, the ambulances pulled onto the pitch.

No goals were scored that day. But records were broken in the numbers killed at a sporting event.

I remember the shock of hearing this news on my car radio – a comedown in more than one way after a fabulous walk on the Lakeland fells. If you’re interested, you can learn more about this tragedy via this link. Almost thirty years on, the bereaved families are still denied justice.

19 Comments

D. Avery link

1/9/2018 05:06:37 pm

I do remember that tragedy; absolutely horrible. How many of our human structures and infrastructures are designed like a fishing weir.
I didn't find your post on publishing to be especially uplifting either. :)
Both are why people continue to quote and believe in luck. (I do, but not in dumb luck; luck is to be navigated and negotiated with.)

Annecdotist

2/9/2018 11:19:42 am

Thanks for that. Sorry, it’s not a particularly uplifting take on publishing, but I think Kate’s comment below particularly sums up the grim reality.

I’m pasting in my reply to your question over on the Carrot Ranch about whether things changed afterwards, as I had meant to include in my post:

At the time, supporters stood in “pens” – standing had always been the way of it but they had introduced the barriers at the front to stop people running onto the pitch, as there had been an increase in unruly behaviour. After the incident, those barriers have been removed and seating introduced which puts a limit on the numbers of punters in the area. I think it was quite a cultural change for football supporters (of which I’m not one, but I do remember the atmosphere at the few matches I attended long before this debacle) but much safer.

So it was partly the environment, but serious mistakes were also made in the policing. However, the worst of it was the denial from the authorities and attempted cover-up, including the police altering their records.

Norah Colvin link

2/9/2018 08:17:59 am

Hi Anne, What a tangled web this publishing business is. I hope you find a strong thread to pull you out of the quagmire.
Your flash tells of a horrific incident. How awful for all those people and so sad for those left behind. That they still wait for justice is beyond comprehension.

Annecdotist

2/9/2018 11:25:46 am

I think it’s easy to understand that delay in injustice when you know the authorities made serious mistakes on the day, and then tried to cover things up. There was a lot of victim blaming, partly understandable as football crowds were particularly unruly at the time – although this doesn’t account for the tragedy and, indeed, once it became clear what was happening, the supporters were quicker to help out than the police. For example, there are reports of there not being enough stretchers to transport the injured to the ambulances so football fans carried them across the pitch on advertising hoardings, while the police stood by!

Kate Evans

2/9/2018 09:35:19 am

There are two different things: writing a good piece which speaks to the author and has the potential to speak to readers; and then there is garnering readers (most often through publishing). As writers we generally think the two are somehow connected. I do not believe this is so. The first takes some talent, the practising of craft and determination. The second takes shed loads of luck and happenstance. The publishing industry is a lottery, some people are 'winners', some are not. And any published author who says otherwise is being disingenuous. As writers, all we can do is write the best we can and find enjoyment in what we write - after all we may be the sole reader of our creation.

Annecdotist

2/9/2018 11:32:06 am

Well said, Kate! I think there is a fantasy that good work will find readers because that’s what we hear from the winners of the publishing lottery (who genuinely believe it, because that’s been their experience) and it fits with our mistaken belief in a “just world”. But life isn’t fair and, while that’s no reason to give up trying to make it fairer, we can cause ourselves a lot of heartache by clinging to that delusion. Thanks for sharing your wisdom. The question is now how to keep that in mind?

Sarah Brentyn link

2/9/2018 06:12:31 pm

I agree with Kate. And I love her statement about writing the best we can and enjoying it. That's the best we can do. (I know others will disagree but, for the most part, I think that's spot on.)

Genres... Ugh. That is something I fear I'll never get "right". I spend more time searching for what genre my WIPs are in than writing. I've been told it's what I've got to do but I think I've got to stop that. Some book, as you say, may not even have a genre (or not a neat one).

Fantastic, yet horrifying, flash.

Annecdotist

3/9/2018 04:58:44 pm

Thanks, Sarah. I must remind myself that I’d rather write what I choose for a smaller number of readers than have more success with stuff I wouldn’t want to read myself! And genre – one day they’ll recognise that we’re forging a totally new one. Good luck in finding pigeonholes – or not – for yours.

Barbara Radisavljevic link

3/9/2018 09:01:24 am

I'm not a fiction writer, but I'm a prolific fiction reader and book blogger. I see books which should not have gotten past an editor (and maybe didn't) and excellent books which really defy genre. There are so many new books being published it's hard to keep up, so sometimes I don't finish books that don't make the cut. Were I to finish every book I start, I wouldn't have time to read the five-star books. I enjoy finding the gems among the plethora of books available. When I find them I promote them.

Keep striving for quality. It beats quantity every time. Give me complex and memorable characters who grapple with timeless themes. When I find authors who give me that in well-written novels I will be inclined to keep reading their new books as they are published.

Annecdotist

3/9/2018 05:04:11 pm

Thanks for dropping by, Barbara, and sharing your perspective. I agree, it’s so annoying to try to read a novel that seems as if it hasn’t been edited and has taken not that much longer to write than to read. For an author, it’s an honour to have readers like you who appreciate quality and patiently await the next book. Mine might be few in number, but it’s so encouraging to know they’re spurring me on.

Kayuk link

4/9/2018 09:55:07 pm

There are a lot of outstanding comments on this post. Like Barbara, I spend a lot of time reading and wish there were more hours in the day. Alas, though there is no hope at all that I'll finish the books I already have, I continue to accumulate more. I read almost every 'genre' and have found books to love in all of them.

However, even a book with a good plot is hard to read when it's filled with bad punctuation, poor spelling and run-on sentences lacking verbs. ARGH! Sorry, these are pet peeves of mine.

It's a pleasure to read your blog and the comments are right on.

Annecdotist

6/9/2018 11:25:26 am

Thanks, Kayuk. Glad you liked the post and the awesome comments it’s attracted. I totally agree on the grammar and punctuation etc. I take it as a given that any novel pushing through the publishing bottleneck is going to be well written and edited.

Charli Mills

5/9/2018 11:03:45 pm

Thoughtful reflection on book publishing as a bottleneck. You have garnered some good responses, too. Writing can be classified as both a craft and a product. Yes, write well and enjoy what you write -- that's craft. And hopefully as writers, we take an interest in developing our craft. However, to publish we must also see our craft as a finished product. As a product for sale it has to fit into some sort of box. After all, one doesn't go to the grocery store wandering aisles of unlabeled food. We have categories to help guide us. Authors resist genres and I agree that some might be classified as specialty food, but we still need the box to direct our purchases. Add publication, distribution, pricing, promotions, publicity and you have so much to get caught in the bottleneck of "write a book." Suddenly, craft seems much easier! And we might as well enjoy what we write because making luck is hard work. I think ingredient x is persistence, meaning that you learn what needs learning, do what needs doing, and never stop even when the bottleneck feels uncomfortable.

As for the human bottleneck at Hillsborough, that is frightening. Reading your provided links to the tragedy shows how how attitudes impact procedures. The delays are astounding! Once something like that happened, why didn't they kick in and respond? And to instead cover up responsibility. Your flash does the scene justice, but injustice continues for these families.

Annecdotist

6/9/2018 11:35:35 am

Thanks, Charli. I appreciate your distinction between craft and product (and Kate makes a similar point). Persistence and continuing recalibration are essential, as is the need to enjoy and believe in what we do, as, even with ingredient X, there are no guarantees.
I’m glad he thought my flash does justice to the tragedy. Liverpool has a strong working-class community and I think the whole city has felt insulted by the victim blaming. But at least the stadia have been made safer as a result.

Annecdotist

6/9/2018 11:49:09 am

Having just come across an author’s comments on one of my more critical reviews from about three years ago, it strikes me that packaging stories is a lot more complex than packaging foods or household products. The cover gives some indication of genre and the blurb of what’s inside, and quotes and endorsements are used to try to pull readers in. But there’s quite a gap between that and what the reading experience will be like. I know that some readers loved my novel Underneath because it wasn’t a typical thriller, while some hated it for the same reason!

Charli Mills

6/9/2018 06:41:25 pm

If only it were as easy as packaging food! I know it's not as simple, and that's a good example of how not all readers have the same taste.

Annecdotist

11/9/2018 01:08:07 pm

If only!

Norah Colvin link

9/9/2018 08:56:53 am

What a great depth of thoughtful discussion this post engendered, Anne. I thoroughly enjoyed, and learned from, everyone perspectives and comments.

Annecdotist

11/9/2018 01:09:04 pm

Thanks for coming back, Norah. it's certainly been a great discussion.