A Tip For Aspiring Writers: Don't Be A Dick

There's a publishing industry fact that blogging agents and editors have been telling us all along, and in all my six months in print I have learned this to be true: Publishing is a very, very small business. Everybody knows each other. And everybody talks to each other. If a junior editorial assistant at Harper Collins knows that Famous Author X has gas problems, you can be sure that a senior editor at Random House knows it too.

If you behave in such a way as to make a literary agent think you are rude, arrogant, stupid, or even mentally unstable, that reputation will spread and you will never shake it. In other words, if you act like a dick, people will treat you like a dick. The easy answer? Don't be a dick.

As some of you may have seen, there has been a furore in recent days as a Frustrated Writer publicly vented their spleen, decrying the role of the literary agent now and in the future. That was foolish enough, given that agents are treasured beyond all else by most published writers, me included. This particular Frustrated Writer took it a step further, though, by personally attacking a well-established and respected agent in a lengthy blog post. This was just a day or two after this same Frustrated Writer had a go at a blogging editor whom I consider a personal friend. Previously, this same frustrated writer had posted another thinly-veiled attack on another respected agent.

You see where this is going?

Frustrated Writer has now publicly attacked three well-liked and respected publishing professionals. Now, I don't imagine these three professionals are gossips, but they don't need to be. Several other professionals have weighed into the mosh pit in defence of their colleagues. Because their colleagues are well-liked and respected, those other professionals will be very pissed off on their behalf. And they will all talk about it to other colleagues, and so on and so on throughout the industry. What's more, they will all remember for a very long time.

So what do you think the chances are of Frustrated Writer even getting a sniff of an offer of representation or a contract? Approximately nil, I'd say. They could write a novel that combines all the commercial appeal of the Da Vinci Code with the artistic value of Crime and Punishment, and they would never sell it.

And it's not just because they offended some well-liked and respected publishing professionals. It's also because all publishing professionals choose the authors they want to work with based not just on the quality of writing, but on how that author behaves. If an author is rude, arrogant, stupid, and/or showing signs of mental instability on a public blog, it's a pretty safe bet they're going exhibit those traits in their working relationships too. And who wants to work with somebody like that?

Incidentally, I'm not going to post a link to Frustrated Writer's diatribes because (a) I don't want to fuel their attention-seeking fire, (b) I don't want Frustrated Writer following the trail back here and stinking up my blog with their hateful crap, and (c) there's a good chance you've already seen it.

Yesterday, I posted the following question on Twitter: Is there anything more pathetic than a bitter wannabe writer who blames the "gatekeepers" for their lack of publication?

It didn't stay up very long because my good friend Betsy pointed out that it could sound more than a little snotty coming from someone who's been as fortunate as I have over the last two years. And Betsy was absolutely right, it was a very glib comment, so I removed it. I've reposted it here because I want to expand on it a little.

I've been incredibly lucky in my writing career so far. I got my share of rejections, and I have one-and-three-quarter novels stored away that'll never see daylight. But I didn't struggle for years and years, manuscript after manuscript, rejection slip after rejection slip. I know some excellent writers who have. I also know some writers who have been published, by major houses no less, but have found themseles used, abused, chewed up and spat out again with their novels never having been given a fair chance. I even know some writers who blog publicly about those experiences, don't sugar-coat it, and point out the flaws in what everybody knows is a far-from-perfect industry. But they don't get personal, they don't indulge in bitter rants, and they don't come off as borderline psychotic fools by announcing that their work is simply too artistically challenging for bottom-line obsessed publishers.

In other words, they don't act like dicks. So that's my tip for all aspiring writers in 2010. As well as all the usual write lots, rewrite more, get critique, keep trying and so on and so on, that's my current top tip for success: Don't be a dick.

I'm Back

I'm back in the world of blogging after a short break. This has been a hectic period, and after my thirty day blog marathon, I needed a bit of a rest. So, here's a round up:

New Reviews of THE TWELVE

A review appeared in today's Metro newspaper, which is one of the most widely read dailies in the UK. They said: "Stuart Neville's blistering debut thriller is a walk on the wild side of post-conflict Northern Ireland that brilliantly exposes the suffering still lurking beneath the surface of reconciliation and the hypocrisies that sustain the peace. Neville ceaselessly cranks up the tension ... but it's his caustic assessments of present-day Northern Ireland, penetrating its sad, confused predicaments, that really hit home."

A review also appeared in the Leinster Leader, courtesy of Laura Cassidy, which said: "[Neville's] perfect construction will have the reader flicking ferociously from one page to the next ... a real page-turner. Suspense continues to build throughout the book, culminating in an ending that will both satisfy and surprise. Not since Alex Barclay's Darkhouse has there been such a polished debut thriller from an Irish author."

One thing I've learned in recent days: nothing gives your sales a kick like a good review in a prominent publication. They're golden.

Readings

Last week I attended two book launches in one evening, both within a few hundred yards of each other.

The first was for AFTERMATH by Ruth Dudley Edwards at the Queen's Universty Bookshop. Aftermath is a factual account of the fight for justice by the families of the twenty-nine people killed in the Omagh bombing of 1998. It's an extraordinary story of courage in the face of evil as ordinary people, denied justice in the criminal courts, make world legal history by bringing the terrorists to account in the civil courts.



The other launch was for Adrian McKinty's FIFTY GRAND at No Alibis, which has been receiving praise from all over the world. Adrian travelled all the way from Australia to be in his (almost) home town, and I didn't want to miss it, so I ducked out of Ruth's event early so I could catch it. Beer followed, and I regret to say I wound up a little worse for wear, which was all Gerard Brennan's fault. He forced - forced, I say - me to have that last pint that tipped the balance.



Work in Progress

Finally, at long last, the sequel to THE TWELVE is nearing completion. I'm just at the final showdown. This is always a difficult stage for a novel; the end is in sight, but there's that slight sadness of having to let it go. But I will be very, very happy to see this book finished. More than one author has told me the second novel is the toughest, and my experience bears that out. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, the next time I blog it will be to announce that it's done.

A Breakthrough, and a Lesson Learned

After last week's angst over the difficult sophomore novel, I have hopefully made a breakthrough. Just airing the problem seems to have helped a great deal, as tends to be the way. Unusually for me, taking the more structured approach of mapping out the plot on index cards made all the difference. And a couple big twists presented themselves in the process, so a win all round.

And a lesson learned...

Be very careful about basing minor characters on people you know. They might not find it as cool as you do. In fact, they might find it upsetting and offensive. Let's chalk that one up to experience, shall we?

A Thank You

A quick post to say thank you to everyone who rallied around after my last post and gave me a series of pep talks. There were some very kind things said, and I'm grateful.

Meeting the problem face-to-face seems to have helped, as it always does. I've always been a seat-of-the-pants writer, so sitting down and mapping things out on index cards goes against my nature, but I gave it a go. And what do you know, it threw up some new plot twists that just shifted this whole thing into a whole new gear. And that includes one twist I didn't see coming that's going to be a real gut-wrench, and have implications for at least one more book to come, and possibly more.

So, back to the coalface.

Thanks again.

The Difficult Second Album

I've been threatening to blog about this for a while now, so here it is: I have the Second Book Blues.

Where The Twelve/The Ghosts of Belfast was written incredibly quickly, Book Two is proving a struggle. Seriously, it's like pulling teeth trying to write this thing. And why is that?

There are lots of reasons. Some are practicalities, such as the story being much more complex and less linear, with a larger cast of characters. Another is the problem of having less available time in which to write (and that situation is only getting worse).

But I think the greater obstacles are psychological. For one, there is now a deadline, a date on the calendar for which I am contractually obliged to have this book written for. A while ago, it seemed a lifetime away. Now it feels like it's right around the corner, a problem that's exacerbated by the first book's publication and the attendant hoopla standing between me and there. This means a new ingredient that has never been in the writing process for me before: pressure.

Another aspect to this is the knowledge that this book will be published. The first book was written purely on hope, with nothing to lose but time. It didn't matter if it was any good or not at the time it was being written, so out it came, unhindered. Not so book two. Every single word I write, I know seasoned publishing professionals are going to scrutinise. My agent, my UK and US publishers. This leads to deepening of the already niggling insecurities. What if they find out the first book was a fluke? What if they discover I'm a fraud, that I was never any good in the first place? So now I'm constantly second-guessing myself as I write. And what does that make? More pressure.

Then on top of all that, there's the anxiety of Book One's looming publication. I've had more than one sleepless night about that already. What if it doesn't sell? What if it gets panned? What will my friends and family think if it all fizzles out, dies a death just as it enters the world? And yet more pressure.

I take comfort from knowing that I am not alone in this. A couple of the seasoned professionals mentioned above have told me it's not uncommon to have a hard time with book two. As one told me, I had all my life to write Book One. Now I've got to write Book Two in just a few months. That makes me feel a little better.

And before anyone else raises the point, I know this sounds like whining. I know many writers would give just about anything to have the opportunities I've had. I don't take any of them for granted. But still, it's tough.

It's been a while...

I'm just surfacing to say hello after an extremely hectic period. Copy-edits on THE TWELVE are done and dusted and the book is off to the setters. Proofs will shortly be forthcoming, and I'm more than a little excited.

There were a few big events while I was away that I should have linked to, but didn't because of a lack of time:

One was the relaunch of Book Roast, a blog that highlights authors and their work. Check it out.

A less cheery event was writer and blogger Travis Erwin losing his home to fire. He and his family escaped unharmed, but without a roof over their heads. An appeal was quickly set up to help him recover from this disaster, and you can still contribute at the special website.

Fellow Norn Noir proponent Gerard Brennan has been posting a series of short pieces that have recently been published in the Andersonstown News. They are anecdotes about a west Belfast shebeen (an unlicensed drinking club, for my American friends) called the Sweetie Bottle that was run by Gerard's grandfather. Check Gerard's blog for some old-style Belfast yarn-spinning.

Just today, my editor at Harvill Secker, Geoff Mulligan, sent a couple of very nice quotes from authors Ruth Dudley Edwards and Sean O'Callaghan. I put them up on my website along with some recent quotes from the Irish Times and Sunday Independent. Have a shufty.

So, it's on with writing Book Two. I'll blog in detail about this at a later time, but the Difficult Second Album is proving -- well -- difficult. It's getting there, though, and now that all the editing stuff is done I'm starting to gather some pace. One of my baddies is an especially nasty piece of work, and I'm enjoying finding out about him as I go. For one thing, he can't read - but it would be a terrible mistake to think that makes him stupid. A very terrible mistake.

A Quick Christmas Roundup (Incorporating God Bless Ken Bruen)

It's been a busy few days, so here's just a little list of things...

I did another radio interview, this one with George Jones on his u105 drive-time show. It was a lot easier than the BBC one, the questions being not quite so probing.

I'm picking up speed on the new book again after some time away for editing the last one. I'm hoping to get some serious work done over the Christmas break.

I also hope to write a short story for Gerard Brennan and Michael Stone's anthology, provisionally titled Myths and Mobsters. Mine shall be called QUEEN OF THE HILL.

The BBC NI news website is currently featuring an archive video of a news report from 1978, wherein a young Australian reporter shared her impressions of the city at that time. How things have changed.

A short story and an article by yours truly recently appeared in Ulla's Nib, the magazine published by Belfast's Creative Writers Network. The article was called Small World: Writing in the Internet Age, and it features input from Nathan Bransford, Betsy Dornbusch, Declan Burke and Moonrat. I've posted the article to my website for anyone who can't get their hands on the mag.

Last, but definitely not least, the Irish crime fiction star Ken Bruen very kindly read THE TWELVE recently, and he had this to say: "The Twelve is the book when the world finally sits up and goes WOW, The Irish really have taken over the world of crime writing. Stuart Neville is Ireland's answer to Henning Mankell."

And on that note, I'd like to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas. I'll be back for a recap of 2008's events some time before the New Year.