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Why are debut novels failing to launch?

esquire.com

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Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#21

Post by jonahbenton »

carabiner wrote: post #5
jonahbenton wrote: post #2

My long retired parents met and worked in publishing. The continued deterioration of the industry is a source of deep sadness for them. I personally however recently found my own ray of hope. By chance I started reading something I really liked, found it was published by a tiny house that has a subscription plan- which is different from an aggregator having a book of the month kind of thing- and publishes super niche…

Naturally, you mustn't mention the name in order to keep it exclusive.

The publisher is And Other Stories, UK based.

Not a pitch. Just my experience.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#22

Post by PheonixPharts »

jimbokun wrote: post #17
boznz wrote: post #4

Spent several years writing and editing my first book before thinking the job was finished when I hit the publish now button. But it is literally only half the job done. The hell now is unless you get friends and family or an agency involved to push it and market it it will languish on the 500th page of any Amazon search forever. Oh and did I say that there are thousands of books a day released and there is nowhere y…

I don't understand why Hacker News and Reddit block self promotion. "Hey, look at a thing I made!" is a lot more interesting than a lot of the other drivel that gets posted.

As mentioned repeatedly, HN doesn't block self-promotion.

But reddit something else entirely. It so clear that all of the major subs are constantly being manipulated by firms working PR for large companies, but the second someone posts "I made this!" people get up-in-arms.

Of course who really knows how much of reddit is even real people anymore.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#23

Post by jonahbenton »

satvikpendem wrote: post #15
jonahbenton wrote: post #2

My long retired parents met and worked in publishing. The continued deterioration of the industry is a source of deep sadness for them. I personally however recently found my own ray of hope. By chance I started reading something I really liked, found it was published by a tiny house that has a subscription plan- which is different from an aggregator having a book of the month kind of thing- and publishes super niche…

What are the names of these books?

Mammoth, Inland, Down The Rabbit Hole, Open Door, Zbinden's Progress, The Luminous Novel, I Don't Expect Anyone To Believe Me. Actually that is 7. All very different, but arresting.

Purity, All Dogs Are Blue, and Lightning Rods are next up for me, not sure which one will grab me, probably Purity.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#24

Post by troutwine »

xhevahir wrote: post #12
boznz wrote: post #4

Spent several years writing and editing my first book before thinking the job was finished when I hit the publish now button. But it is literally only half the job done. The hell now is unless you get friends and family or an agency involved to push it and market it it will languish on the 500th page of any Amazon search forever. Oh and did I say that there are thousands of books a day released and there is nowhere y…

> I guess the only ones destined to read it are the AI training algorithms. I'm imagining a lone genius toiling away at a novel and dying in obscurity, with his work gaining recognition only after his death, à la Herman Melville, except in this future the writing eventually enters the canon by deeply impressing not human but machine readers.

Melville was a prominent author, an early sex symbol even, owing to the success and popularity of his novels before Moby Dick. That novel was hugely controversial in its day -- perceived as blasphemous, overwrought -- and it ruined his reputation as an author. Also, he'd spent money he didn't really have during the writing of Moby Dick so that when it flopped he couldn't survive on the famine part of the feast/famine divide.

Point being, had Melville continued writing south pacific adventure novels he probably would not be remembered today but might have died a well-off man.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#27

Post by SamoyedFurFluff »

There is a great podcast called the publishing rodeo where they talk about this. One of their episodes covered a minimum viable threshold where if there isn’t enough marketing points (a viral tweet, a lot of followers, marketing money, etc) there is no way for a book to succeed regardless of quality.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#28

Post by namaria »

japhib wrote: post #7

Seems like almost every creative industry (music, video games, art, writing) is having the same issue: Creation & publication tools are getting cheaper & easier to use, which means a lot more people can publish their creative ideas. With such a huge number of choices, discovery is now the issue. IMO discovery of what is truly high quality is still an unsolved problem. Seems like recommendation systems generally just…

Time is a great filter. That's why it's commonplace to complain about 'art these days' and to be nostalgic about past books and music.

Some of the greatest, most interesting books I've ever read are thousands of years old.

Re: Why are debut novels failing to launch?

#30

Post by _yb2s »

surfingdino wrote: post #11
pfdietz wrote: post #6

Because there are way too many books being written.

"Everyone has a book inside them, which is exactly where it should, I think, in most cases, remain." -- Christopher Hitchens

I find that to be an awful attitude... self-absorbed people with nothing interesting to write about will assume it doesn't apply to them because they are so interesting, and people not so sure of themselves but having an actual unusual idea or story they are passionate about, could easily be discouraged from sharing something valuable.

I say, if you have something to say that fits well in a book, write it. Let other people decide if it is worth reading or not. A lot of the best books ever written were kept private, or were not well received at first.

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