"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

That length should be fine.

I suspect the difference in word length does relate to the difference in the markets between US and UK and the size of those markets. Over here, the half-dozen genre editors are looking to take on only one or two debuts over an entire year, and publish them as major authors. There's no room for people to fill 'slots'. So we don't have this month's military SF novel, or funny fantasy, or dragon fantasy. There are huge numbers of US authors who do perfectly well over there in a much larger market, but whose novels would probably sell 4,000 paperbacks in the UK, which isn't enough to make commercial sense, so they'll never be published here. Big and wonderfully written is the order of the day.

Incidentally, I'm childishly happy that this thread has reached 10,000 viewings! Thanks to you all!
 
On the subject of word length, I thought I'd just check back on the five agency clients whose debut novels I have sold to UK publishers in the past eighteen months - Stephen Hunt and Ian Cameron Esslemont are already published, the others are coming next year.

In SF, Philip Palmer's DEBATABLE SPACE (Orbit) is 115,000 words and Jaine Fenn's PRINCIPLE OF ANGELS (Gollancz) is around 100,000 words. In fantasy, Stephen Hunt's COURT OF THE AIR (HarperCollins Voyager) is around 175,000 words, Robert Redick's RED WOLF CONSPIRACY (Gollancz) 140,000 words. Ian Cameron Esslemont's NIGHT OF KNIVES (Bantam) is a short novel - his first in the Malaz world he created jointly with Steven Erikson. But his first major Malaz novel, RETURN OF THE CRIMSON GUARD, is around 260,000 words long, which will cheer all readers of Steve's massive novels!
 
I think it's really great that somebody of your experience and position would make themselves available like this. It's rarely seen and I'm sure everybody appreciates it as much as I do.

My question: I have some collections--published, award-winning, cult-creating, syndicated columns--that are not very marketable in the United States for various reasons. It's been frequently suggested that they would meet with more favor in the UK and particularly on the continent in translation. A fresh breath of weirdness from the Wild American West and all that.
Leaving alone the translation problem, would you recommend any particular path to trying to bring them to market in the UK. Agents, publishers etc?

One column has been described as "Dave Barry for Sick Hipsters" -- sort of surreal humor on how to spend your weekends.

The other, "Flesh Wounds" was once called "Yuppie Noir"... episodes set in gripping, gritty, creepout stories of gang wars, prisons, nuthouses, and "the street".

Thanks for your attention.
 
Lin, you mention Dave Barry, and there's an illustration. I was shown Dave's material over ten years ago, when I was with Random House UK and his columns were being published in book form by RH in the US. The reaction I got in-house was that we didn't have the same knowledge of him or frame of reference in the UK. It may well be that the continent would be more receptive, and I'd suggest you check out the Eurtopean publishers of Dave and some columnists whose work is in similar areas to you - as you said elsewhere, market research! Then it's worth talking to those publishers - and why not approach Dave's agent? Or maybe Hunter Thompson's agent??? You'll know best which columnists you can really be compared to.
 
John Jarrold said:
Incidentally, I'm childishly happy that this thread has reached 10,000 viewings! Thanks to you all!
Click to expand...

Thats cuz you are a great guy. I actually hang out on your website a lot....thinking...just thinking...LOL.

Plus, some of us are just waiting for the "REAL" personal questions to start :D
 
Thanks, John.

It sounds like you are saying that I'd be better looking to American agencies in order to approach overseas markets. Wouldn't somebody who works with UK or Euro publishers be more able to move something to them?
 
That certainly could work - all US agents have sub-agencies throughout Europe, who know their own markets well. Look for an agency that deals with the authors/areas to whom you'd compare yourself.
 
Those of you in Australia and New Zealand should find this interesting...


Publisher appointed to aid Orbit's Aust lift-off

Posted Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:42pm AEST
Hachette Livre Australia has appointed Bernadette Foley as publisher of the publisher's Orbit imprint.
Together with Tim Holman, Orbit's US and UK publishing director, she will help develop an Australian and New Zealand science fiction and fantasy list.
Foley will continue to publish her current authors, and acquire new authors in other areas.
In a press release, Holman says Foley has a great understanding of the potential for growth in the science fiction and fantasy market.
"This is a great opportunity for her to publish Australian and New Zealand science fiction and fantasy authors, giving them access to a local publishing and sales and marketing team," he said.
 
Simon Haynes said:
I knew I'd seen something else about this recently. The ABC (Aussie govt TV channel) "Shona Martyn, publishing director at HarperCollins (whose Voyager imprint dominates the Australian sf/f market), welcomes the challenge."
Click to expand...

I bet she does!
 
Said through clenched teeth, I suspect...

It'll be interesting to watch, and to be involved with!
 
Hey John, on your website you talk about THE WRITERS' HANDBOOK, which I googled but got way too many results from different writers and so forth. can you give an ISBN or where to buy link for the right one? Thanks hon.
 
::waves::

I've been asked for some material by an agent, including a CV. Unfortunately my CV stops half way into my degree when I became disabled.
I was wondering what an agent is looking for in the CV of a fiction writer, and how best to handle this?

ETA: I have one publishing credit, a short story to a paying market last year, but it was an area of fiction totally unrelated to this novel.
 
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I can only speak for myself - I like to know something about the writer personally, interests, etc, as well as the academic background and writing credits. I certainly don't think your academic CV is the only thing to mention...
 
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