Author Notes #9 (May/June 2024)

Debuts failing to launch; authors funding their own publicity; diversity backlash; big book or slow burn success; and a plea to publishers to invest in their authors

In my monthly Author Notes I highlight key stories about writing and publishing over the last month, both from Substack authors and traditional media outlets, along with my insights and reactions. This month it’s a double bill, as I couldn’t publish in May while travelling - look out for the second part on Monday.

First, the tough stuff:

1.

A challenging article in Esquire a few weeks ago asks Why Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch? (esquire.com). It’s hard enough to write a book, but after reading this a debut author might be pretty despondent about their chances of success, as not many will have access to golden-ticket promotion possibilities, be it the Winfrey and Witherspoon book clubs in America or the Book of the Month boosts in Australian bookstores. If the long-regarded traditional pinnacles of promotion, such as New York Times reviews, are not even boosting sales as they did before, how do any writers know where to expect traction? It’s a scary read, so I really appreciated

Kathleen Schmidt

’s response in

Publishing Confidential

, in which she says ‘it’s crucial to shift our focus from the fear of failure to the potential of success’. She explodes a number of myths in the article, while also highlighting that too many books are published and the market is saturated, which is something that really concerns me too. I’m also worried about how much is being asked of overworked teams in publishing houses, and that many debut authors with successful first novels are not getting the support they need to sustain a career. I often watch a new name come up in bright lights with tremendous publishing support, and then they are nowhere to be seen a few years later. It’s vital that all of us in the industry push for better ways to support creatives over their long-term careers.

2.

In addition to Esquire’s mention of freelance publicists, a recent Guardian article - Cutting their own checks: authors seek help to plug their own books after cuts by publishers - also looked at the trend of authors hiring independent publishers (from the US market’s perspective). While this might bring relief to overworked publicists, it’s horrible that the onus for success falls even more on the harried author, and at a potential cost, according to the article, of around $15,000 - higher than many advances! I have a book out next year and I’m considering all marketing and publicity options right now, but I plan to be very careful about this kind of spending and look more at networking and different innovations to move the sales needle. I’ll be able to report back on the successes and failures of my strategies later in the year.

3.

I’ve been part of various activist movements for a long time, mostly around environmental and equal rights issues, and as a result I’ve become increasingly interested in why change is so difficult to achieve and so hard to hold on to. My novel The Hush is about the precariousness of women’s rights and freedoms, and it was awful to watch Roe v Wade repealed just six months after my book was published. I also strongly and publicly supported the Australian Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia, and I’m still gutted that we’ve missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enact change, listening and reconciliation. Therefore, I was really interested in this article by

Brooke Warner

about the backlash against diversity in book publishing. I wasn’t aware of Lisa Lucas or her firing before this, but I’m glad I am now. As Warner says:

In book publishing, being part of the solution means changing the way you think about whose voices have the right to be heard. It means reading the works of all kinds of authors, especially people who don’t look like you or share your lived experience. It means caring about a high-profile firing, like Lisa Lucas’s. It means opening our eyes to the flame being turned up on the stew and taking measures to prevent it from boiling over.

4.

I recently met with a UK literary agent while I was in London, and we ended up chatting about the two different paths to success: the big buzzy book with all the right marketing hooks to be a bestseller, which often sells for a hefty price at auction, or the author who slowly builds their career writing the books they are passionate about. There was no judgement about which is better - they both come with pros and cons - but it’s always good to know what you’re aiming for.

Kate McKean

, writing at

Agents and Books

, touches on this in You had to be a Big Shot:

Think of this when you’re perusing the lists of agents to send your work to. Everyone wants the big payday and fancy auction story. I want that for myself as a writer and an agent. But ask yourself what happens next. What happens with the next book?

If you’re considering which path to go for, I highly recommend reading this article.

5.

Over at

The Elysian

,

Elle Griffin

makes a compelling case in I’d rather have an investor than a publishing contract as to why publishers should operate more as investors rather than seek ongoing ownership and control of authors’ work.

Every artist should retain creative control of their work and earn the bulk of their profits, even as they should be able to get the investment and support they need to take their art out into the world. Publishing houses and record labels and any other creative entity should invest in their artists, not own them and their work outright.

I agree and would love to see this happen. Publishers are brilliant at reach, distribution and editorial expertise, but since I started publishing my fiction I’ve noticed the dwindling opportunities for authors to retain separate rights or to ask for their rights back once books are no longer selling. The industry is a juggernaut struggling to keep up with the pace of contemporary culture, and this is doing many authors a great disservice, forcing them out of the game. It would be brilliant to see more innovation and respect in regard to an author’s rights to own and profit from their work.

Short notes and shout-outs:

• Hurray for The Guardian featuring older writers pursuing their dreams (A new start at 60), and creative thinkers prepared to do hard conversations! A writer friend of mine in LA told me about the Unreasonable Conversation event, and I’d love to see more of these kinds of events here in Australia.

• The Sydney Morning Herald published a lovely story about Ann Patchett and Meg Mason and the incredible importance of writer friendships.

• Speaking of which, my friend Tess Woods is not only launching a book in September but is running a new literary festival in WA in October, which is already sold out (join the waitlist here)! I’ll be speaking on a panel at the festival and I’ll also be attending Tess’s book launch - so if you’re in Perth then please grab your ticket here and join Tess to celebrate the release of The Venice Hotel, which recently attracted a bidding war in overseas territories at the London Book Fair!

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ICYMI IN MAY ON MY SUBSTACK (FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS):

Avoiding overwhelm during the research process

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ICYMI IN MAY ON MY SUBSTACK (FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS):

How soon before we can deepfake the novel?

(Sign up HERE to read all paid posts with a 14-day free trial)

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UNLOCKED POST FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS:

Every month I unlock a paid post for all subscribers to read - and this time I’m sharing my thoughts on being nice!

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