The confessions of a semi-successful author
This was brought to my attention. It’s a the story of a mid-list author who was almost more, who only sold 10,000 copies of a book that, 10 years later, was still being brought to readings by people telling her how much it changed their lives. It’s about her almost success and the fight to survive as a writer afterward. It’s a must read for any and all aspiring authors. It’s brilliant, informative, and eye-opening. And utterly, utterly heart-breaking.
Even a day later, it’s still haunting me. Trying to sort out my thoughts on the article is like trying catch a cloud. It raises questions, and good ones, about the fate of publishing, the fate of mid-list authors.
I’ve often theorized that publishing is such a bitter industry because every agent and editor has had their heart broken at least once. That they’ve all found a book they loved, found one that they got printed, but watched crash and burn as society yawned and kept going. And I do think that’s why publishers are often so afraid to take risks. Because they’ve all seen sure-fire best-sellers go nowhere. And too many grand slams have come out of nowhere, that no one could have guessed would succeed.
It’s a little disheartening, but at the same time, it’s a bit of a healthy reality check. Everyone has always warned me that writing, and any of the arts, is a mean, mean industry.
Whatever happened to the good old days, when all you had to do was find a patron, and keep on flattering them until they coughed up the shiny yellow metal? XD
Actually, the patronage system is coming back… in web-comics. It’s not one, rich Italian any more but more than a few artists are able to make ends meet with a combination of that and merchandising. It’s not a bad system and I’m hoping to manage to generate enough of a following with 1001 Insomniac Nights to make a try at it.