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Ana muses about luck's role in writer's life.
Serendipity. We often write about it in our stories. The pouring-rain traffic jam that delays the heroine so she misses her train. Drenched and dejected, she slogs into a bar for some napkins to dry her face and meets the love of her life.
At a writer's conference I attended last Saturday, Faith Sullivan told the story of a National Book Club award-winner. He sent out his prized novel under an assumed name, and every publisher rejected it. "This proves," Ms. Sullivan said, "that acceptance is a crap shoot. It in no way reflects the quality of your story."
I've heard similar anecdotes before, and they are heartening. A book goes through stages, and when it's finished, It's time to send it out and let the wheel of luck spin.
Yes, there is a definite piece of luck to this business!
ReplyDeleteJ.K. Rowling had 20+ rejections before she 'hit lucky'.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely some luck involved in having the right kind of book when the market is hot for that particular genre or theme, however, I still think you have to have a good quality product in the first place.
ReplyDeleteOr a good publicity department that will hype your book like it did with 50 Shades, which could not be called a good quality product!
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