"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

[Manole Dan]

By the way, is John still posting here?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

What does this take? A combination of factors: talent, ability (not the same thing). hard work, a thick skin, dedication, application... and luck.

He's right, but 'phenomenal luck' would be nearer the truth.

 

[Ian Whates]

By the way, is John still posting here?

John's incredibly busy at present and doesn't get onto the Chrons as often as he used to, but he still pops in from time to time.

 

[Anne Lyle]

John was at World Fantasy in Ohio last weekend, so he's probably still wading through his inbox at the moment

I agree with what Ian says. You need a combination of a fantastically good book and a big dollop of luck to get published. But you can make your own luck by getting out there and just persevering. And keep writing!

 

[Dozmonic]

The quality of some books and some writing out there shows that you can get published without a good story and without great writing. But it'll be much, much harder. Let every rejection fuel a desire to improve and communicate your story and yourself better.

 

[Anne Lyle]

The quality of some books and some writing out there shows that you can get published without a good story and without great writing. But it'll be much, much harder.

Very true - writing well won't guarantee publication, but it does improve your chances of wowing an editor and therefore getting picked up.

After that, though, your actual sales are likely to have little to do with quality of writing and a lot to do with the size of your target market and your ability to appeal to that market. The real "lottery" aspect of publishing, at least as far as bestsellers are concerned, is that the market is fickle and no-one can predict what readers will go for next...

 

[Manole Dan]

There are many more aspects in getting picked up by an editor: the quality of the book, the first impresion which favores the already published writers (it's easier to pick someone known on the literary market then a debutant, because the risks involved are smaller in the first case), the beggining of the book which has to be captivating, the target public to which the book is addressed to, the estimated profits generated by the sale of the book/s, the luck factor, the size of your book (which has to corespond to the publisher's target word count), and the ability of your book to fit in a niche of the publisher's genre preferences (it's not enough to write SciFi if the publisher wants general fiction).

 

[Ronempress]

To Mr. Jarrold or anyone else who wants to respond:

I've got a novel with an international market appeal because of the history it's based on (China's Three Kingdoms), but if the agent/editor is unaware of the subject matter's popularity, is such a project likely to come off as too niche-oriented? Are they likely to look and see if I'm blowing the potential out of proportion? Should I remove the connection from my query altogether and not try to capitalize on the connection? I'm waffling on this because there are at least three popular video games and two recent movies based on these folktales. One of the movies was Hong Kong's all-time biggest hit and it's done well world-wide, too.

 

[Susan Boulton]

To Mr. Jarrold or anyone else who wants to respond:

I've got a novel with an international market appeal because of the history it's based on (China's Three Kingdoms), but if the agent/editor is unaware of the subject matter's popularity, is such a project likely to come off as too niche-oriented? Are they likely to look and see if I'm blowing the potential out of proportion? Should I remove the connection from my query altogether and not try to capitalize on the connection? I'm waffling on this because there are at least three popular video games and two recent movies based on these folktales. One of the movies was Hong Kong's all-time biggest hit and it's done well world-wide, too.

You would be surprised what an agent knows. It is their job to know the market and what is currently selling. If the story interests them, he/she will request more pages. And if you mention in your pitch that it is based on such and such folktales you are covering your bases.

On a side note;

Aliette de Bodard's work is based on the Aztec and the Ancient Chinese cultures

Aliette de Bodard

 

[Ronempress]

Ooh, thanks for the tip! I'm always on the lookout for more books to read, especially in Asian settings.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Hi John.

Sorry to disturb your peace and quiet in this intrusive manner.

I wondered if you were aware of the writing challenge and the spin off poll regarding getting the entries published in some way


http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/529379-would-you-allow-your-75-stories-to-be.html#post1441105



Would you have any advice regarding the impracticalities?

Are there publishers that would take a punt on such an enterprise?

I appreciate you may wish to duck the questions but thanks in advance if you feel you are at least able to comment

 

[Manole Dan]

No word from John, yet?

 

[Brian G Turner]

He comes in when he's able, Manole - patience. You're talking about the publishing industry.

 

[Anne Lyle]

You're talking about the publishing industry.

Indeed. They still work at a pace that makes monks writing books by hand look speedy!

 

[Ursa major]

But they don't have to illustrate this tendency so often, do they?


Seriously, though: Just as you wouldn't want to rush out your own work to an agent or publisher, without being 100% sure it's as good as you can make it**, you shouldn't really want them them to do the same before printing it; not if this allowed errors to be missed before the book hits the shelves.


** - Do as I say, not as I did.

 

[Anne Lyle]

It's not just the editing stage - everything moves slowly in publishing, particularly for the unpublished (and therefore impatient) writer. The submissions process is slow torture, because agents and editors are usually very busy working with their existing clients on whom their income depends. Dealing with new prospects - even ones they are already in communication with and interested in - comes way down their list of priorities. Posting on this forum comes even lower...

Welcome to my life

 

[anthorn]

Season greetings John,
So it says that you're also an editor on your website? If i hired you as an Editor as well as hopefully one day too an agent, would you be able to help me with the occasional punctuation problems as, due to my Aspegers, i find some punctuation difficult. It tends to be perhaps placing them in the wrong area, maybe misuse of . when a ; could be used
Thanks merry Christmas

 

[Anne Lyle]

Season greetings John,
So it says that you're also an editor on your website? If i hired you as an Editor as well as hopefully one day too an agent

John almost never takes on people as agency clients after he has done editing work for them - possible conflict of interests. He may however be able to advise you on what level of support for your disability you can reasonably expect from agents.

 

[Zoonakaa]

Hello all,
Long time watcher, first time poster.
I have just finished re-writing the first part of my trilogy, for the nth time, and believe it is now ready for a quality sff editor. But i'm not sure who to contact. I have already submitted my work to a few agents without any success, I even sent my work to John Jarrold, but never got a response.
From this I have gathered that I need an experienced editor to guide my novel to the next level.
Any suggestions on an someone who can help and is situated in the London area?
Any ideas on how much it would cost to edit a 500 pages book? How long it would take?

Thank you kindly for all and any responses.

 

[thaddeus6th]

On Mr. Jarrold's responsiveness:

I once sent him a query about something, and never got a reply. But I got a swift (4 week) response when I sent him a submission. It's entirely possible he accidentally skimmed over your e-mail or intended to reply but forgot. If it's been a long time, you could try sending a polite follow-up.

He also sent me the best rejection (if there is such a thing), offering a explanation for his decision and the odd tip. Much nicer than a 12 week wait for a standard letter, or getting no reply at all.