"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

[Wayne Blackhurst]

I've slowed down noticeably through this year! Don't want many more clients, since I'm a one-man band...

Too bad....Then again, paying out twice for a roof over one's head could mean another surge Ho, ho! (Laughing at my own sad joke BTW, not an unfortunate situation, although c'mon, you have to admit it's a little crazy...)

Figures, percentages, blah, blah. OK, it's very competitive, best to do the very best you can, enjoy it, keep aware, keep things in perspective and keep writing. Rather than worry where one stands in the literary pecking order. In my very humble opinion.

 

[John Jarrold]

All anyone can do is their best. Then it's up to others to decide if it's right in commercial, mass-market terms, if that's what an author is looking for...

 

[Wayne Blackhurst]

commercial, mass-market terms, if that's what an author is looking for...

The ultimate prize for any aspiring author, for sure....

 

[SpaceShip]

Well, I wish it were John - my loft is creaking with the boxes of books still sitting up there waiting ... waiting !!!

Have considered gluing them all together and making a quite fetching coffee table - (well it would be a rather large coffee table) - a little lacquer on the top and - well, who knows, I might end up in the furnishing industry!

 

[scalem X]

John, the tragic to me, seems to be:
1-If you make writing only one amongst a lot of pastimes, you in general won't get to the goal of making your writing professional.
2-If you really dedicate almost all of your time to writing, that's still no guarantee that you'll succeed in getting published. This ofcourse, makes the chance for disappointment resulting in bitterness, pretty high.

In my case (people are selfish aren't they) the problem seems to be that I don't really know how far I've evolved. Is option 2 worth a try for say a year, or would I need more than a single year?

Now comes the real question: do you have some sort of statistics on the ages of writers and how long they've been wandering along the writing path before getting their first publication?

 

[John Jarrold]

It varies writer by writer. Like all matters related to writing, there is no formula. I can tell you that it took a writer as good as Iain Banks over ten years from his first submission to publication...

If you really want to write, you'll write. If you let the percentages put you off, you ain't a writer. Writing is mostly not about publication.

 

[scalem X]

Mmm I agree and I know there is no formula, but maybe I should be more concrete:

I really love writing, but tend to prefer to write say a short story in a week and then correct it later to writing on some piece two days in a week and then the next week another 2 days and...
See the thing that bothers me is that I'm still at Uni and which means that I can't write every day. But maybe a sollution poses itself. I have decided to use two years completing my second year. This will result in me having quite some spare time. I have a few things that could fill up that time, writing being one of them. Yet it remains a tough decision.
I probably will spend some more time writing, but being 19, English being a second language I sometimes feel like I shouldn't try to go for the professional path until I've finished Uni.
I know there are exceptions, but all these writers seem so old .

I think there seems no other sollution but to write and hope a rejection letter explains me how far I am as to writing something publishable.

Any suggestions? Sorry maybe I went some off topic and started rambling about myself and agh well just ignore if that's the case.

 

[John Jarrold]

You need to be aware of the market and its sophistication, if you want to be published. In terms of SF, this means looking at authors like Alastair Reynolds, Charles Stross, Neal Asher, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Richard Morgan and others (their ages range from 30-odd to about 50) who have broken through over the last five years. In fantasy terms, China Mieville, George R R Martin, Naomi Novik...a publishers' sales director has to equate a new author with a recent name when he or she discusses them with the bookselling trade, rather than long-term bestsellers. It's an industry, and being aware of the market as it stands in 2006 is part of a prospective writer's job. And everyone has to pay their dues, which means writing, writing and more writing...I mentioned Iain Banks, He was 30 when his first novel was published. Over fifteen years working in mainstream publishing (which I didn't enter until I was 34), I didn't publish many authors in their 20s. Of course there are exceptions - but that's what they are: exceptions. Most people younger than that need more experience and time learning their craft to be extra-special enough for publication. But you can't start too early. Just don't expect a fast-track to publication.

 

[mistri]

I actually find the age of the authors mentioned inspiring, as cheesy as that sounds. It's good to know that adults of all ages are continuing to find publishing success.

Sometimes (I'm in my late twenties), I worry that I haven't achieved anything yet. But we're lucky as writers - we don't have to 'break in' to the industry as early as necessary in other careers. And there's a lot to be said about learning from experience, as well.

 

[Psyloke]

[FONT=&quot]John, some advice would be much appreciated.

Last year I completed a novel. I sent sample chapters & the synopsis off to a series of agents and after to a few publishers, and have a lovely pile of rejection letters, slips etc.

Many of the "rejection letters" state how my writing is of a high standard, with good pacing and such, but that the story was in some way lacking. Some then state they'd be happy to read any future work by me. So it seems to me that my writing is hopefully publishable but I fail in the storytelling...

Since all I send in are a couple of sample chapters obviously they're going from the synopsis to understand the story. The problem I have is that while it's possible my story concept isn't any good, I have a strong suspicion my many incarnations of Synopses are failing me. I have yet to be happy with a single one though I've rewritten at least 8 times now. Is there any help I can get in condensing a complicated story and characterisation/conflicts while still making it entertaining? I've got half-page, one-page and 2-page versions which focus more on characters, or more on plot, or on world situation, but none of them do the story justice.

I'd rather write a 150k word novel than a one-page synopsis any day![/FONT]

 

[Psyloke]

sorry about the small font of my post.. not sure what happened there.

 

[John Jarrold]

I have to admit that I don't usually ask for or read synopses - if I like the early chapters I ask to see the full script. I do know that one UK author who recently did a deal with a major publisher spent well over three months working and re-working the synopses for all three novels in the series.

Personally, I would say concentrate on the main storyline and don't get sucked into precising every scene or plot twist...

Good luck!

 

[Susan Boulton]

All anyone can do is their best.

That is all we can do with everything , but I often wonder can I do better? This applies to a lot of things in my life.

Yes, Brian, I do tend to beat myself up about my writing; confidence is not my strong point.

As to writing a synopsis personally I think they are the devil's own torture! There is only one thing worse, that's condensing a three or four page synopsis down to a 250 word bite/hook/call it what you will for a query letter.

Anyhow, this year I have at least bit the bullet and sent my work out, even though it has caused a major crisis of confidence at one point. I will continue to send out the three manuscripts till I have pestered all the poor agents/publishers on my list, then, well, I should have effort number four finished by then.

 

[Triceratops]

Poster Above me: You've got the spirit of a writer down pat. You're approach is logical, and you've got a nice selection from which to choose. Just keep your eye peeled for comments and revision suggestions. If you get a fair share of similar comments, rewrite accordingly, especially if it agrees with your gut/senses.

Tri

 

[Marco]

Unless an agent LOVES your writing, nothing else matters. So it's interesting if you have a website, but won't make a difference between an agent taking you on or not doing so. Charlie Stross has put an entire novel up on the net, which has also been published in print form in the US and the UK, so that isn't a problem - but that obviously is a discussion for much later on...

John Jarrold (from the "website tomfoolery" thread).

Let's discuss it, then!
I'm glad to hear about Charlie Stross's online novel being in print. I've been putting forward the idea of novelists trying out their first novel on their own websites for some time. It has the advantage that you can enjoy being read on a small scale (if your novel's good enough!) while waiting for publication, and get feedback, and even fanmail! Charlie Stross and his print publishers are not the only ones to realise that an online novel does no commercial harm to a print version, and that the effects can even be positive. U.S. publisher Baen books has been putting some of their books up as online freebies for some years (about 80 of them when I last saw the Baen Free Library site) and apparently Tor Books is going to follow suit.

It seems as though writers have nothing to lose by trying out a complete novel on their own websites, and judging by your comments above, perhaps you agree, John?

 

[John Jarrold]

Yes, I do...

 

[Pointfinder]

John, in your experience have you found that exposure in literary magazines and/or ezines makes an author more marketable to publishers? I know you've said before it's really all about how good the work is, but if that is so why are there so many writers who chose this route? Are they (we) simply wasting time?

 

[John Jarrold]

Mainstream publication in novel form is not the only reason to write. Writers write! Many old mates like Paul Mcauley and Ian McDonald love writing short fiction and not every idea is novel-length. They certainly didn't begin by thinking 'I will write short stories, get noticed, then write novels'.

If you have an idea which works as a short story, write it and try to get it out there. It MAY be that if someone builds up a major reputation over a number of years and then writes a wonderful first novel, their rep will help. But that really isn't the be-all and end-all of writing short fiction...do it for enjoyment, to tell a story and because you must.

 

[John Jarrold]

Incidentally, it's also true that POD and self-publishing novels are not necessarily routes to mainstream publication, but writing is what it's all about. Some writers will want to go those routes, others won't. Every writer has to learn their trade, so writing, writing and more writing comes first - what you do with it then is up to the individual.

 

[Jordan Lapp]

John,

I've heard it said that many agents don't read the a submission's prologue, because usually the story could be written without it anyways. Is this true? If I have an introductory chapter that sets up the story and doesn't involve the main character should I just call it Chapter 1 instead of the prologue to ensure it gets read?

-J