Little Books That Could
31 Oct
Do you dream of rags-to-riches?
The Publishers Weekly book trends blog recently ran a bit about Firmin, a title that was released by Coffee House Press in 2006 and is in the process of taking the entire world by storm. This story hits all the right notes: an unsolicited manuscript by a first-time author gets published up by a small press, then garners great reviews, gets buzz at Frankfurt, sells internationally, and is finally picked up by Bantam for a splashy domestic relaunch.
First, even though I haven’t read the book, I’m very happy for the author and for Coffee House. I am not here to rain on parades. But I also cringe every time I read a story like this because it plays into the lottery mentality that plagues publishing.
My beef is that not for every remarkable success story there are countless failures. My complaint is that for every remarkable success story that are countless boring and mundane success stories that are never celebrated. Books that build their audience slowly. Books that make an impact but never crack the bestseller list. Books that modestly meet, but do not, exceed expectations. All outcomes that are perfectly acceptable.
I believe in keeping the dream alive. But I also worry that certain kinds of dreams (that your book, all by its lonesome, will take off) can lead to passivity. Sometimes the work speaks for itself. More often you need to speak for it.
A former writing teacher of mine said it was okay to fantasize about instant success, but to do it for no more than fifteen minutes a day. I would amend that to go ahead and fantasize about going from rags to riches, but to also consider the alternatives. If my work isn’t going to catch fire, what can I do to help it burn slowly?
Tags: books, publishing
I picked up a book once called “How I Got Published” (or something like that) and discovered I hadn’t really heard of most of the authors featured, although they all boasted lots of publishing credits. You can get the same experience hanging out on genre blogs etc.– tons of published authors you probably never heard of.
I actually feel really reassured by this type of experience– knowing there are plenty of non-household names, non-Oprah stars out there managing to make a living (of sorts anyway) at writing. Maybe I can too one day. This type of success feels more attainable.
I always worry about the authors of these successes. The bar is instantly set very high, which is the last thing a new author needs. Sheesh. It’s not like we don’t put enough pressure on ourselves already. I like the imagery around a “slow and steady burn”.
Excellent beef, great visuals, and a smart question. The ‘tortoise’ approach – looking forward to reading more about it from you, thanks.
Only tangentially related to this topic: I read the article in your link above and noticed that both books by this author – the one making a lot of noise and the one due out soon – are about book people in a book world. There is something insular, if not incestuous, about the fact that these buzz-causing creations are steeped in the world of those who seem to be heaping the accolades on them. This sort of circular attitude to books does not, I fear, bode well for the publishing industry at large. Dare I use the word masturbatory? Maybe just snobbish.
I understand this is somewhat off topic, so please feel free to remove it from the thread, if you choose.
@Kate: I think insular does it. (To me masturbatory implies a knock on style rather than subject.)
Nits aside, you’re right, and you’ve given me inspiration for a longer post, which is forthcoming.