"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

Though possibly not driving Reliant Robins...or drinking from glasses with umbrellas sticking out of them...
 
Never mock the Pina Colada ... it's a fine drink.

There was one episode where he ordered a Malibu and Cherryade.

Mmmmm ....
 
John Jarrold said:
In many ways, writing is the bread and getting published is the jam on the bread. Of course many authors want commercial publication, but most will be eternally disappointed and should concentrate on loving their writing. Because those who start to write simply for commercial gain often lose their enthusiasm, and that comes through in their writing...
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This is so true.

I often wonder if a lot of people these days think "writing a bestseller" is the modern equivalent of a pervious generation's desire to become a "Hollywood Star". For most of us want to be writers it is not going to happen.

I know I didn't start with the idea of selling a novel, that came later, much later. The reason I started writing was because I wanted to see if I could do it, actually write a story from beginning to end and have it make sense. Once I had done it I wanted to see if I could actually sell something I had written. Still working on that. (well, to sell a novel. I have managed to sell a few short stories and I am very proud of that) If I ever do sell a novel I am going to enjoy every moment of it, and hope that I will be able to sell another. I know that is not always the case. Anyway, its nice to have a goal to strive for. Each time I write a novel my writing improves and I learn more about the industry, so I can't complain, it keeps me out of trouble, ;) or should I say in the bar at Cons..:eek::D
 
Absolutely essential that the writer undertake this craft with a hefty dose of reality and write with their heads slighly below the cloud deck. It's a very tough and competitive business. Do it for the love, experiment a bit, touch that toe in the water and feel the temp, before deciding to wade into the surf. If you've hung with it a few years, have several books under you belt, and are not afraid of research/submission/rejections, then it might be time to throw on the trunks and take a swim. However, Keep your expectations grounded--grow that thick skin--you'll need it.

Tri
 
But know what, there are PLENTY of very successful books written right in the clouds. People like them.
You don't write something like The Little Prince from a hardball grasp of publishing politics and demographic positioning.

I would say, take "the craft" as you find it, use that grounded, thick skin for marketing.
 
John Jarrold said:
In many ways, writing is the bread and getting published is the jam on the bread. Of course many authors want commercial publication, but most will be eternally disappointed and should concentrate on loving their writing. Because those who start to write simply for commercial gain often lose their enthusiasm, and that comes through in their writing...
Click to expand...

Despite the fact that I am not a published author, the MAIN reason for seeking publication is so that I can share my creativity with friends and family. I know it's a crap shoot to become a successfully published author, even if professionally published. I'm not in it to make money. I've learned a lot about the business of creative arts from my husband (musician and production engineer) and fame is very fleeting at best. That's why, if I haven't been able to find an agent and/or publisher by a particular date, I'm going to seriously consider self publishing so I CAN share my love of writing with people.

Karen
 
Yes, everyone must deal with this in the way that suits them personally. Again, no absolute template...
 
For me, it's always been a case of trying to recreate the feeling I had as a teenager, when I first discovered people like Stephen King, Cliver Barker, James Herbert, etc; that feeling of being completely absorbed into the world on the page ...

When my writing's flowing, I feel something similar to that, and that's my main reason for sitting in front of the computer every day. I mean, don't get me wrong, it'd be great if someday, other people were to get the same kind of experience from something I'd written ... but mainly it's a bit of a compulsion; I get very cranky if I haven't got a new writing project on the go!
 
Except, of course, that writers have to be able to edit their own work, too.

I have always believed that you write the story for yourself and then edit so that it will be comprehensible to the reader.
 
Yep, and with new writers I always suggest they put it away for at least a month before they do so, then they can be more objective and see things that would have escaped them if they tried to edit the book immediately it was finished.
 
Mind you, I wonder how many people attempted to write a children's book, after JK Rowling's success became common knowledge.

People with no previous interest in writing, that is ...
 
John Jarrold said:
Lots. Tens of thousands, at least...
Click to expand...

Amazing, really ...

One of my pet peeves, is when people find out that you're interested in writing, and say things like: 'Oh, yes ... I'm going to write a book one day.'

As if talent, hard-work, persistance, etc, don't even come into it! As if it's only a case of having enough time ...

I mean, if you met somebody who informed you that they were a surgeon, you wouldn't say: Oh, yes ... I'm planning to perform a few major operations myself one day!

Grrrrrrr .....
 
That's because you have to go to school for years to become a surgeon.
Whereas there are always a certain number of people who just sit down one day and write a book and the book is successful and they write more.
 
That doesn't make it easy though, does it? And that seems to be the assumption that people make ...

And lets be honest, what percentage of people who sit down and write a book - having never written anything before - actually get published? I'm no expert ... but I'd hazard a guess that the answer, in the words of Paul Daniels, would be: Not a lot!

I'd imagine that most published writers have polished their craft over many years, and have a good few rejected novels under their belts!
 
A very few people are natural writers. Some have a degree of talent that can be brought out over years of practice. 99.999999999% of people will never be able to write anything vaguely good enough for commercial publication. But that shouldn't stop them writing for their own pleasure.
 
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