1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,922 [MUSIC PLAYING] 2 00:00:14,140 --> 00:00:16,030 What you really want to know is, 3 00:00:16,030 --> 00:00:20,820 how do you take your radiant manuscript, 4 00:00:20,820 --> 00:00:26,080 get it turned into a book, have people provide 5 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:28,830 some sort of income from it for you, 6 00:00:28,830 --> 00:00:30,000 so that you can write another book? 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,049 so that you can write another book? 8 00:00:32,049 --> 00:00:35,110 And in the world that we live in today, 9 00:00:35,110 --> 00:00:39,020 there's various ways of doing that. 10 00:00:39,020 --> 00:00:41,500 You can get an agent. 11 00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:44,240 Tends to be chicken and egg. 12 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:47,030 If you have a published book, you'll get an agent. 13 00:00:47,030 --> 00:00:51,710 If you have an agent, you may have a published book. 14 00:00:51,710 --> 00:00:57,350 But what if there isn't an entry point for you yet? 15 00:00:57,350 --> 00:01:00,000 There is, of course, always self-publishing 16 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,160 There is, of course, always self-publishing 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,640 via the internet, and there is the other route, 18 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,680 which is sending your manuscripts 19 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,590 into literary magazines, which are, however, 20 00:01:09,590 --> 00:01:12,570 deluged with manuscripts. 21 00:01:12,570 --> 00:01:19,040 So it's not easy, and some of it, let's face it, is luck. 22 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,270 You happen to be in the right place at the right time. 23 00:01:23,270 --> 00:01:25,100 Your book happens to hit a nerve. 24 00:01:27,620 --> 00:01:30,000 People respond to maybe something 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:30,290 People respond to maybe something 26 00:01:30,290 --> 00:01:34,310 you published in the "New Yorker" that happened recently, 27 00:01:34,310 --> 00:01:37,610 and bingo, you've got a publishing contract. 28 00:01:37,610 --> 00:01:40,586 [MUSIC PLAYING] 29 00:01:44,070 --> 00:01:47,280 How to find an agent? 30 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:53,670 Well, there is-- there's old agents, middle-aged agents, 31 00:01:53,670 --> 00:01:55,470 and young agents. 32 00:01:55,470 --> 00:01:57,350 But of all of those, what you need 33 00:01:57,350 --> 00:01:59,880 is to go with the one who loves you. 34 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:00,000 Somebody may want to just collect you to add you 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,150 Somebody may want to just collect you to add you 36 00:02:03,150 --> 00:02:05,190 to their, quote, "stable." 37 00:02:05,190 --> 00:02:08,979 That may not necessarily be the one you want. 38 00:02:08,979 --> 00:02:11,910 Someone may take you on hoping to make a quick sale, 39 00:02:11,910 --> 00:02:15,270 and then when they don't make that quick sale, 40 00:02:15,270 --> 00:02:19,470 you find that they're not really answering your emails very 41 00:02:19,470 --> 00:02:20,730 quickly. 42 00:02:20,730 --> 00:02:25,080 That's probably not the one you want either. 43 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:30,000 How do you know who that special person will be? 44 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:30,952 How do you know who that special person will be? 45 00:02:30,952 --> 00:02:32,160 It's sort of like the movies. 46 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,240 Bells go off. 47 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:35,780 They they have to love you. 48 00:02:35,780 --> 00:02:40,800 You have to love them, at least enough to form a good working 49 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:42,600 relationship. 50 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,980 So you don't want to be just a commodity for them, 51 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:51,120 but you also don't want to be their best friend. 52 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,210 I think it's harder in some ways than it 53 00:02:54,210 --> 00:02:58,080 was when I was in my 20s and starting out 54 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,000 because, in those days, not very many people wanted 55 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:00,510 because, in those days, not very many people wanted 56 00:03:00,510 --> 00:03:05,070 to be writers, whereas now a lot of people do, 57 00:03:05,070 --> 00:03:07,740 and they can even go to writing schools 58 00:03:07,740 --> 00:03:14,250 or take online courses to help them do that. 59 00:03:14,250 --> 00:03:17,510 I don't think there's any one secret formula that 60 00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:19,980 will make that happen for you. 61 00:03:19,980 --> 00:03:25,050 Time and place, the moment, luck, 62 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:27,480 connecting with someone who actually can see what you've 63 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,000 done, can see the worth in-- 64 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:30,440 done, can see the worth in-- 65 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,700 of what you've done-- 66 00:03:32,700 --> 00:03:36,490 these are all-- they're all variables, 67 00:03:36,490 --> 00:03:41,100 and there's no way of making it. 68 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:43,860 There's no surefire way of making it happen. 69 00:03:43,860 --> 00:03:46,686 [MUSIC PLAYING] 70 00:03:49,983 --> 00:03:54,270 How valuable is it for you to be able to speak 71 00:03:54,270 --> 00:03:56,220 in an intelligible way about your book? 72 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:00,000 I was in at the beginning of all of this, 73 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,190 I was in at the beginning of all of this, 74 00:04:02,190 --> 00:04:04,950 so I go back to the point at which you would find yourself 75 00:04:04,950 --> 00:04:07,830 on the radio show, and the person would say to you, 76 00:04:07,830 --> 00:04:08,920 I haven't read your book. 77 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:14,009 I'm not going to, and why should anybody bother with it? 78 00:04:14,009 --> 00:04:14,800 What would you say? 79 00:04:17,980 --> 00:04:22,000 So you probably won't be put in a position like that 80 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,820 anymore because I don't think people are that aggressive 81 00:04:24,820 --> 00:04:26,542 anymore about writers. 82 00:04:26,542 --> 00:04:28,750 And if they're going to have them on the show at all, 83 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:30,000 they're not going to be that rude to them. 84 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:30,820 they're not going to be that rude to them. 85 00:04:30,820 --> 00:04:33,200 But it did used to go on quite a bit, 86 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,130 especially if you were, excuse me, female. 87 00:04:36,130 --> 00:04:38,740 A little tip-- it's quite frequently the interviewer 88 00:04:38,740 --> 00:04:41,440 will not have had a chance to read your book, 89 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,860 and if they're a pro, they will confess that. 90 00:04:44,860 --> 00:04:47,500 They won't try to wing it, and you 91 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:51,640 will say, just ask me these three or four questions, 92 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:53,140 and we'll be fine. 93 00:04:53,140 --> 00:04:56,140 There's also workshops in how to present your work, 94 00:04:56,140 --> 00:04:59,000 and people will coach you in that. 95 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,000 They'll help you learn how to speak into the mic. 96 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,160 They'll help you learn how to speak into the mic. 97 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:08,200 They will remind you that you should have a big numbers watch 98 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:13,520 and not go over the time set because if you do, 99 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,920 you're going to be cutting into some other writer's 100 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:16,840 allotted time. 101 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:18,890 You'll make yourself quite unpopular. 102 00:05:21,580 --> 00:05:28,140 So all of these things can be learned and studied, 103 00:05:28,140 --> 00:05:30,000 and if you are a female person, don't go up 104 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:30,600 and if you are a female person, don't go up 105 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,030 on stage in a really short skirt-- 106 00:05:33,030 --> 00:05:36,630 just saying-- if you want people to be paying attention 107 00:05:36,630 --> 00:05:37,828 to your work. 108 00:05:37,828 --> 00:05:40,696 [MUSIC PLAYING] 109 00:05:44,050 --> 00:05:49,010 Don't believe the billboards good or bad. 110 00:05:49,010 --> 00:05:51,790 They're just somebody's view. 111 00:05:51,790 --> 00:05:55,810 If you think that a particular individual has it in for you, 112 00:05:55,810 --> 00:06:00,000 and they're always writing bad reviews of your book, 113 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:00,470 and they're always writing bad reviews of your book, 114 00:06:00,470 --> 00:06:02,350 you might ask them why they're so obsessed. 115 00:06:02,350 --> 00:06:06,670 But I've written a lot of reviews, 116 00:06:06,670 --> 00:06:08,320 but I'm not a professional reviewer, 117 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,740 so I don't write bad reviews. 118 00:06:11,740 --> 00:06:15,430 I will only write a review of a book if I, first of all, 119 00:06:15,430 --> 00:06:17,320 have enjoyed it, and second, have 120 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:18,970 something to say about it because you 121 00:06:18,970 --> 00:06:23,470 can enjoy a book quite well but have nothing particular to say. 122 00:06:23,470 --> 00:06:26,170 How do you deal with bad reviews? 123 00:06:26,170 --> 00:06:28,210 I think, when you're young, these things 124 00:06:28,210 --> 00:06:30,000 go like an icicle into your heart 125 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,290 go like an icicle into your heart 126 00:06:32,290 --> 00:06:36,190 because you think that, maybe, there's some truth in them, 127 00:06:36,190 --> 00:06:39,430 or else you feel very maligned. 128 00:06:39,430 --> 00:06:43,990 So I think of a nice Buddhist meditation app 129 00:06:43,990 --> 00:06:46,720 on your phone is very helpful. 130 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,200 Time passes like a ripple. 131 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:51,890 It fades away. 132 00:06:51,890 --> 00:06:54,040 Somebody in England wrote a very acute thing, 133 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,050 which was the only person who sees 134 00:06:56,050 --> 00:06:58,660 all the bad reviews of your book is you-- 135 00:06:58,660 --> 00:07:00,000 you and, to some extent, your publisher. 136 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,200 you and, to some extent, your publisher. 137 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,600 So the rule about that is if it's a good review, 138 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,020 the publisher takes credit for it, and if it's a bad review, 139 00:07:08,020 --> 00:07:10,390 it's your fault. There's a wonderful book 140 00:07:10,390 --> 00:07:11,360 that you can read. 141 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,380 It's called, "Mortification-- Writers 142 00:07:14,380 --> 00:07:16,990 and Their Public Shame," in which 143 00:07:16,990 --> 00:07:19,480 writers write about all the awful things that have happened 144 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:21,610 to them in public. 145 00:07:21,610 --> 00:07:25,030 And once you've read that, you'll realize that whatever is 146 00:07:25,030 --> 00:07:28,790 going to happen to you cannot be nearly as bad. 147 00:07:28,790 --> 00:07:30,000 I think my favorite was a poet who had-- 148 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,790 I think my favorite was a poet who had-- 149 00:07:31,790 --> 00:07:33,710 his slim volume had just come out, 150 00:07:33,710 --> 00:07:37,250 and he'd given the proverbial reading in the bookstore 151 00:07:37,250 --> 00:07:40,430 with maybe three people in attendance. 152 00:07:40,430 --> 00:07:43,340 On his way out, feeling quite dejected 153 00:07:43,340 --> 00:07:47,780 he saw a rack of second handbooks for sale. 154 00:07:47,780 --> 00:07:52,190 Much to his surprise, there was his just-published volume. 155 00:07:52,190 --> 00:07:55,070 So curious, he picked it up and opened it, 156 00:07:55,070 --> 00:08:00,000 and there on the fly leaf, it said, to mom and dad, love him. 157 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,980 and there on the fly leaf, it said, to mom and dad, love him. 158 00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:03,820 His parents had flogged his book. 159 00:08:07,650 --> 00:08:10,670 So it's not going to be that bad for you, 160 00:08:10,670 --> 00:08:12,260 and you can cheer yourself up quite 161 00:08:12,260 --> 00:08:14,670 a bit by reading this book. 162 00:08:14,670 --> 00:08:17,580 [MUSIC PLAYING] 163 00:08:20,980 --> 00:08:25,060 Suppose you have a reasonably successful, or even 164 00:08:25,060 --> 00:08:28,300 a very successful, first novel, your next task 165 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:30,000 will be getting over the second novel hurdle, which is often 166 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,850 will be getting over the second novel hurdle, which is often 167 00:08:33,850 --> 00:08:36,010 quite hard for people, particularly when 168 00:08:36,010 --> 00:08:40,770 they're young because reviewers and publishers will expect 169 00:08:40,770 --> 00:08:46,980 you to write another version of what you've already written. 170 00:08:46,980 --> 00:08:49,170 You may not feel inclined to do that. 171 00:08:49,170 --> 00:08:53,970 We were in a bed and breakfast in Ireland one time, 172 00:08:53,970 --> 00:08:55,640 and the breakfast was very good. 173 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,780 So we said, this is a very good breakfast, and the man said, 174 00:08:58,780 --> 00:09:00,000 I used to be a chef. 175 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:00,660 I used to be a chef. 176 00:09:00,660 --> 00:09:02,760 And we said, where were you a chef, 177 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:04,950 and he named a restaurant in the town. 178 00:09:04,950 --> 00:09:07,920 And we said, we had dinner there last night, and he said, 179 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:09,750 and how was it? 180 00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:11,520 And we said, oh, it was quite good. 181 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,530 He said, anyone can cook a good dinner once. 182 00:09:18,060 --> 00:09:23,120 So the message to the first novel successful writer is now 183 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:24,910 do it again. 184 00:09:24,910 --> 00:09:28,830 And once you've do-- done that, do it again.