This is kind of an insider conversation on the publishing industry, but Courtney's opinion is super important--and relevant to all of us young and hopeful writers, This also has a big impact on whose writing gets noticed.
Her piece in Publisher's Weekly tackles the old and hallowed system of book blurbing--getting a famous someone to write a short (and hopefully glowing) review of your book for the back cover. From Courtney:
Let's be honest. Rare is the blurb that genuinely evolved from an established writer sitting down with the manuscript of a new writer (not a former student, best friend's child, or shared agent's new golden boy) and being inspired to offer a few words on the quality of the work. This is what my mom thinks happens. This is what the majority of the American book-buying public believes.The reality is more like this: one of my young writer friends couldn't get a single literary novelist to blurb (such an ugly verb) her new book, not because they read it and thought it undeserving, but because they didn't recognize her name. It wasn't until her supervisor at work asked one of his famous friends to do him a favor and offer a few words that she finally got a books-flying-off-the-shelf blurb. Good boss. Crappy system.
Courtney doesn't only have criticisms, she's also got ideas about how to change the system.
Let's team up--the bestsellers and the first timers--and imagine a new system. Maybe each author informally agrees to read (at least in part) five new manuscripts a year by unknowns, thinking of it as their dues for succeeding in a difficult industry. Even better, maybe we throw a big party, get some whiskey company to sponsor it and do short readings from new manuscripts. Authors who've heard something special can follow up right then and there with their genuine praise. Everyone interacts face to face. Everyone gets a shot at the literary dream of having random readers like my mom find their book on a shelf, flip it over and say, "Wow, if Zadie Smith likes this, I've definitely got to pick it up."
Check out the whole piece here.
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Here, here!! It's hard enough getting an agent to take a peek at your first ten pages, much less an established and respected writer. The publishing industry seems to do its best to make newbies feel unwelcome and insignificant. Thanks so much for writing this, Courtney! It's always nice to see someone on the inside advocating for change.
Whoops, I suppose that should be "Hear, hear." Damn homophones.
Actually, you were right the first time. :)
I think it's a nice and generous idea. I get a lot of books based on an excerpt that catches my eye, maybe spotlighting a few time to time might help.
It's a nice idea, asking authors to sit down and read five mss a year, but I can't imagine most of them actually doing it. Why? Because it's WORK, reading manuscripts. Reading a manuscript takes a long time, as long or longer than it takes to read a book, because a lot of authors don't want to put their name on a quote unless they've finished the manuscript and read it carefully. Which is only reasonable. How long does it take you to read a book? Most authors are busy people, just like everyone else, and they don't have time to read books to blurb unless it's something they want to read anyway, or they're doing it as a favor for someone.
That is a point about it being work, school makes me fight to keep my love of books because of so much I HAVE to read.
Ditto.
Weirder, when I read a book I'm interested in I dont remember it or undertsand it, if its done for school, but when I'm doing it myself I like it, get it and understand it.
Psyche tricks!
As a poet who has wanted to publish since the age of 15, I'd like to read a post about the Feministing crews experiences with the process. Was it easier or harder than you expected? Did you have an agent first? Is it a good idea to just look up cool publishers and mail them a manuscript? I know that a lot don't accept them unless you go through an agent. Give a sister some advice here :)
I love that this harkens back to the old idea of artistic/political salons; why not get a group together with some alcohol, and do some reading? Not only is it a great way to get some blurbage, but the networking opportunities are tremendous. Plus, who doesn't love a good shindig, eh?
My theatre company was recently invited to a salon-type get-together to spread the word about our show here in Toronto, and it's definitely had some good returns. Courtney, this idea has credence, and I bet lots of other writers would love to join you (and many other scribes!) for a good ol' fashioned Drink 'N' Read.
Uhh, maybe I'm missing something. So the insiders and the famous folks and the people lucky enough to know someone get together at a physical party, instead of just contacting them through their agents and friends? In what way does this make publishing less of an insider's club?
So this means that when the ESC gets our book deal, that all the editors of Feministing are going to read it and blurb it... right?
:)
I disagree with the proposed solution because blurbing shitty books is part of the problem with the present system. Lots of people don't blurb books because it's seen as a favor system. It *should* be a meritocracy. You should be allowed to decline blurbing a book you don't think is good without losing any friends. I couldn't get a blurb from the authors I asked, because they are all sick of being asked. One poet told me that the book was excellent, but he no longer wrote blurbs, out of principle. Because middling authors ask favors of people, and the end result is a schmooze-fest, not quality writing.
Overall, blurbing is not the issue--it's who gets published in the first place. And way before the book publishing. Let's go back to the magazines and literary journals in which writers establish and build their reputations... after all, if you can publish a book at all, you've already made it, in many ways.
This suggestion doesn't sound so different from the peer review process for scientific publications. At least in my field, reviewing is considered a duty to the profession. And yes, everybody hates it. But they do it, because that's how the system keeps on chugging.