There's a very good interview with Orange Prize winner Lionel Shriver in the FT today. She got rejected and rejected and rejected, but still carried on. She has some interesting views, e.g. on being described as a feminist: ”I don’t know what the word means any more, besides dyke. Or bitch.” She laughs.

Couple with Jane's comments on my recent thread, it's intrigued me enough to add the book to my long reading list.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ba873fb0-e850-11d9-9786-00000e2511c8.html

Adele.

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This should work better - http://news.ft.com/artsandweekend

Adele - sounds interesting, but I'm afraid the link doesn't work - please could you send us another?

Huge thanks!

LoL

A
xxx

Holly, thanks for letting me know. I think that may be because I'm a subscriber. Try http://news.ft.com/artsandweekend - it's the Lunch with the FT article.

I loved her book - "We need to talk about Kevin' and I'm shocked that it took her so long to get it published. It is a particularly dark and bleak view of life with little hope of redemption but we don't all want to read about fluffy chickens and 'Noddlyland' answers to life all the time! Perhaps her experience is dark and bleak insight into the realities of publishing.

Jane

Hmm, anyone clock the article in the Guardian Review today? Susan Hill and Long Barn books? she's looking for ONE first-time novel to publish each year.

Joe

My understanding of what Lionel Shriver is saying is that publishing is essentially about patronage. As my grandma always say, it's not what you know, it's who you know. So those of us who are not buddies with the literary Medici will, inevitably, have a tougher time. However, the flip side of that is that if, as an outsider, you do eventually succeed, you will probably be a much better writer that you would have been had the first door you knocked on been immediately opened.

Now, where was I? Oh yes. Dear Mr Medici...

Adele.

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that = than - my writing is better when I'm awake.

I just checked who the judges were for this year's Orange Prize, and guess what? None of them were publishers (they were Jenny Murray, Jo Brand, Joanne Harris, Moira Stuart and Jude Kelly), which may explain the seeming inconsistency between Shriver being turned down by 30 British publishers but then winning this prize. Perhaps it illustrates a more general gulf between what an intelligent reading public would like to read and what they are offered. Who know?

Adele.

I've been informed by someone who's seen it all that it has always been a feature of the publishing industry that books which become famous (LORD OF THE FLIES and THE ROOM AT THE TOP, to name a couple of “oldies”) start by being rejected in a wholesale way – but, for a variety of reasons having more to do with the retail side of the business than with the judgements of publishers, the situation is particularly dire at the moment.

Gloomy, huh?

Adele.

Adele - well, it isn't good for new writing. But when was it ever? Lord of the Flies could have been a great unkown if that guy at Faber (Charles ...?) hadn't picked up the yellowing typescript (17 rejections). Imagine all those quill-pen written MSS that just went to wrap cats'meat - I bet some were blinding. Which is why I've spent a lot of my life on digging traditional song and music - it can't be suppressed.

Joe

Jo, I think the message from all of this is just to keep chipping away at that coal face (excuse the sneaky inclusion of a phrase from my book there). I read that it took you 19 years to get a publishing deal - all power to you for keeping going.

I'd better get back to editing the magnum opus for the intriguing new reader who's waiting for it.

Adele.

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Sorry about losing your 'e', Joe - there's probably some symbolism in that, but it's too early in the morning for me to work out what it is.

Adele, no problem with with the 'o' in Joe (or Jo) 'cos my name (out of cyberspace) is Jim anyway (in meatspace).

Yours, shape-shifting around the alophabet

Jom

Would that be Jim Hacker?