Should I try a different publisher?

Even though the act of writing is largely a solitary pursuit, more often than not, telling people you’re a writer sparks conversations, of a more or less interesting nature, with a wide variety of people. Writing as a profession hardly leaves people cold – rather it makes them curious, passionate even, or downright opinionated. It also happens from time to time, that people will approach you for advice about their own writing.

A few years back I met an elderly gentleman, and unsurprisingly as I was on a travel writing assignment, the subject of writing came up. Finding out that I had worked on several books and had had them published, the man proceeded to tell me his story, or rather, his grievance. He had penned what he described as “his life’s work” and it did appear to be several hundred pages in length, from what he was describing in terms of research hours put in and time spent writing it. For quite awhile now, he had been sending said manuscript to numerous publishers, to no avail. He was beginning to take things very personally, to the point of feeling offended and affronted by various publishers, including those few who had actually, kindly, taken the time to give him valuable feedback and pointers.

When he’d got thus far, re-telling his story, I was at first also at a loss as to why nobody would want to publish a story that had clearly been well-researched, with ample time spent on the writing itself. That is, until it occurred to me to ask my newfound writer acquaintance about the subject matter…

“So, what’s this story actually about?”

“Well, it’s about a young man, who is very well-adjusted in society, apart from the fact that he cannot go to the toilet without having someone there to hold his hand.”

“Erm, ok, is that the whole story though? I mean, does your book manuscript deal with anything else?”

“Well, there’s also some science fiction, but otherwise that is the basic premise, yes. Do you think I should try a different publisher?”

Now, for all I know this could have been a “fascinating psychological study” of one man’s struggle to go to the bathroom by himself, but honestly, who cares? Most of the publishers contacted clearly did not and I can’t say I blame them. What was blatantly obvious was that it wasn’t a new publisher this writer needed to try, it was a new idea. We may think we’re writing “the work of our lives”, but seriously, if that’s what we’re doing, don’t we want someone else to enjoy reading it as well? There is little point in assuming that we are the clever ones, while publishers, literary agents and editors are just missing the point. Of course there’s a risk of someone reading your manuscript in a hurry and dismissing it too soon, or rejecting it despite not reading it at all – I’d wager all of today’s best-selling authors have had many rejection letters in their time – but let’s not jump to the conclusion that the people whose job it is to recognise good writing don’t know what they’re doing. They do. If they take the time to actually read your stuff and give you feedback, appreciate it. You may not agree with all the pointers or critique, but that’s ok. Once you know your own strengths as a writer, you can choose what you’re happy with and what you’re willing to change. Even if nobody likes your idea, it could still be a good idea. Just bear in mind that also it might not. In the end maybe what you thought was your “life’s work” was in fact written just for you, not for a wider audience, in which case, take a deep breath (or a few thousand) and write something new, something that other people can relate more to, learn from and enjoy. There are more chances, there are more opportunities.