"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

[Havlen]

No hurries here. I just don't want him to get bored of no questions 8)

 

[MJRevell]

Hei, John Jarrold ( it sounds only somewhat weird saying that with your full name )

I am currently writing a novel that I plan to finish by the end of the year. Since 2 of the story lines have adolescent protagonists, there is a healthy amount of swearing and "teen-talk" involved . I don't mean that in the sense of having 20 ****s per page, but just the usual, arbitrary cussing that we young ones like to indulge in.
How is cursing usually considered when the novel is taken on by a publisher? If they want to sell it as YA, would one have to edit most of the profanities out?

Or maybe I could just substitute **** with fudge...

I'm no expert - but I have just finished reading the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time... The main character is 15, and there is more swearing in it than any other book I've ever read (ranging from F words, to C words, and back again).

 

[RLSMiller]

John, how true is it that the publishing industry closes down from August to February? I have seen a few people say that during these months, agents are reluctant to accept submissions due to a lack of acquisitions and public holidays. Ideally I wanted to start submitting to agents from around September 1st, but I'm worried that my submission won't even be read due to the inconvenient timing.

Am I worrying too much, or is it common practice for agents to clear out the slush during the later months, preferring to wait until the new year to start actively reading submissions?

P.S. Hope the move is going well!

 

[Mark Robson]

Sorry to step in and answer on John's thread, but that's just not true, RLSMiller. I signed my first contract in September and with the Frankfurt Book fair in October, publishers not only acquire there, but want to have something to sell. Likewise if they didn't acquire over the rest of the winter months, they'd have nothing to sell at the London and Bologna book fairs in the Spring.

It's true that a lot of characters within the business take holidays in August - there aren't many professions where that's not the case, but there's not really a bad time to submit a good book.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I know it used to be true (and may still be) that some New York publishers changed to summer business hours -- an extra hour Mon-Thurs so everyone could leave at noon on Fridays. I assume the purpose of this was to make weekends a bit longer, so that it would be easier for people to get out of the heat of the city for a couple of days. But they worked the same number of hours.

I do know of one publisher going through all their unsolicited manuscripts in the early fall, on at least one occasion. (I know, because my first book received a very prompt reading because they had just done this and they had practically no backlog.) What I don't know is whether they did this every year or not -- but if that sort of thing was a common practice it would make those months a good time to submit, not the reverse.

I'm guessing that someone has taken some single instance like the above, reinterpreted it, applied it across the board, and come up with what you heard, RLS.

 

[RLSMiller]

Thanks for the responses guys. I had a feeling what I'd heard was a bit exaggerated, and it's good to hear from others that know better. I'll keep polishing away at my manuscript in time for September.

 

[Havlen]

Here's something else I have been curious about. Do you need sample chapters to pitch a non-fiction project, or is it okay to pitch an idea first and then prepare materials if they are interested?

 

[Anne Lyle]

Hi John

I hope you're settling into your new home (Lincoln is pretty, I've been there a handful of times) and that you're not having more problems with BT or whoever is doing your internet connection this time!

Just wanted to ask how often you attend the Winchester Writers' Conference, and will you be there next year? When booking earlier this year, I was really excited to see your name on the online programme - until I realised it was last year's and they hadn't updated the site yet. Doh! Anyway, I had a great time and met some wonderful people, inside and outside the genre, and I'll be there again in 2008. And I'll certainly be submitting my WiP to you once I've wrestled the story into submission and polished the prose until it shines

Best Wishes

Anne

 

[kaittan]

hello there,

I have just completed all the editing and re-writing of my novel and decided to send the first bit to John - according to his website instructions - in order to get advice.

Unfortunately, the email address given on the site doesn't work.

Anyone got any ideas?

Kai

 

[Ian Whates]

hello there,

I have just completed all the editing and re-writing of my novel and decided to send the first bit to John - according to his website instructions - in order to get advice.

Unfortunately, the email address given on the site doesn't work.

Anyone got any ideas?

Kai

Kai, John has been absent from the Chronicles forums and elsewhere due to a house move. I suspect the failure of the email address is related to that. I'm sure that John will be back tending to things here and on his own site soon, so I'm afraid the best advice that I can offer is the hardest to actually heed (especially when you've just completed a novel)... namely, be patient.

When John is able to come back online, I'm sure he'll sort out whatever the problem is (it may just be that his incoming mailbox is full), so your best option is probably to resubmit then.

 

[kaittan]

Ah, I see, thank you.

I shall try to ignore the temptation to start re-writing it again

Kai

 

[Havlen]

You could always take the break as a chance to do more editing on the manuscript. The better shape it is in the better advice you are likely to get.

 

[kaittan]

Trouble is knowing when to stop.

I've spent the past three months re-writing and editing to deal with all the comments of people I asked to review the second draft........there comes a point, i think, where you have to say 'this is it' let's see how it flies now.

Kai

 

[Anne Lyle]

Trouble is knowing when to stop.

True - you don't want to edit the life out of it.

Good luck!

 

[Havlen]

Trouble is knowing when to stop.

I've spent the past three months re-writing and editing to deal with all the comments of people I asked to review the second draft........there comes a point, i think, where you have to say 'this is it' let's see how it flies now.

That is very true. In fact, I would go further and say that at some point making major changes can hurt the manuscript. I certainly have a too-much-tinkering rule.

But, there are edits, and there are edits. Which is to say, there is editing for story, plot, characterization, etc. And there is editing for grammar, spelling, word choice, etc.

While you can certainly do too much editing for story, plot and characterization, it's tough to do too much editing for grammar, spelling, and word choice.

So, you might take a couple of specific things, perhaps basic things, and make a pass through the manuscript looking for them. I sometimes do this when I want to target something specific like:

Adverbs. Every occurrence of an adverb is an opportunity for a better verb.

That is, of course, pretty basic, but you might take a few basic points and go through the manuscript looking for them. It's sometimes hard to catch everything when you are looking for everything.

I also take targeted passes with more difficult concepts such a dialogue pacing, point of view depth, etc. But I tend to concentrate only on one of those as opposed to rounding together multiple smaller things to look at.

Anyway, that would be my suggestion if you are anxious to tinker. I think most writers have a few bad habits, so if you know what yours are you can do a concentrated pass looking for them.

 

[kaittan]

One of my biggest problems is description (or lack thereof) of characters.

I hate the 'and he glanced in the mirror to check his brown hair' style of telling people so I sometimes get to the end of a short story and realise that, though the picture is in my head, the reader would have absolutely no idea what the MC looks like. My first attempt at a novel some years ago managed to have a main character that I totally failed to describe for 300+ pages.

But yes, I could have a look through and check the individual words again as opposed to the overall 'big things'.

Cheers

Kai

 

[Havlen]

Well, the description by looking in the mirror (or other reflective surface) is a big no-no anyways since it was done to death. Though, funny enough, that's how Dan Brown describes his character. (And one reason why I couldn't get into that book -- though I'm sure the story was pretty good if I'd gotten past that stuff).

Honestly, I think the MC's description is sometimes the least important. The reader is going to spend much of their time with the character and will form their own image. I think the only description I give one of my MC's in a comedy I am working on is that he wears jeans and a t-shirt most of the time.

 

[kaittan]

On the other hand, I've now managed to get in touch with Mr Jarrold, so maybe I'll leave it as it is for now and get his views............before I get cold feet

Kai

 

[lin robinson]

I kind of wish people wouldn't post here until Mr. Jarrold returns. I keep seeing it as a live thread, only to find it's people posting their opinions in his thread.

 

[Ian Whates]

I kind of wish people wouldn't post here until Mr. Jarrold returns. I keep seeing it as a live thread, only to find it's people posting their opinions in his thread.

Not everyone is necessarily aware of John's situation, Lin; comments are still being made and questions asked. I don't honestly think John would object to others chipping in where they can in his absence.