Con Lehane said, "Most large publishers are looking for what
they think will be commercially successful books, not
necessarily good books."
And of course many large publishers don't have a clue as to
what will be successful. One example is Charlaine Harris's
Sookie Stackhouse series, the latest book of which landed on
the NYTBR best-seller list around #6. I can remember when
Charlaine was trying to sell the first book. No one, and I
mean no one, would touch it. Finally some small press offered
to take it if she'd revise it heavily and accept no advance.
Charlaine believed in the book and in herself as a writer and
turned down the offer. Much later she convinced her agent to
try it again with Ace Books. Now she has a bestseller and an
upcoming TV series, all thanks to a book that nobody but
Charlaine believed in. If publishers knew what was going to
succeed, the book would have been snapped up in a
heartbeat.
Anyway, I believe there are some good books that have never
been published. I believe that there are a few writers who,
unlike Charlaine, give up and self-publish or take no advance
from a small press. We can all think of examples of
self-published books that have gone on to be huge commercial
successes after being turned down by a lot of publishers
(ERAGON, or A TIME TO KILL, to name a couple). It's not a
matter of fairness, though, or I don't think it is. As Kevin
says, it involves a lot of luck. Most writers I know will
admit that. Perseverance and talent don't hurt, either.
Bill Crider
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