Phillip Roth, Thank You.

At my job – I work for a compositor, we set books for publishers all over the country – I see, and marvel at, first books by young authors. I always wonder, how did this one catch the eye of an agent? And, subsequently, snag a publishing deal?

The answer has to be – through connections forged in a writing program, winning references from people with friends in high places. This is beyond most of us. Maybe Kris has connections, she teaches writing, I believe. The rest of us, that train has left the station.

But references go only so far. A book still has to sell itself. I handled a mystery a year or two ago, set in Boston, interesting to me for the local detail, I lived in Boston for twenty years. That author had been a consultant on a TV crime show, and had gotten a book accepted on that basis. I can’t remember the name, but I don’t see that it’s made waves. And I haven’t seen a second book in what was plainly meant to be the kick-off to a series. All the right moves, the big publisher, the front-sales touts, presumably, an actual advertising budget, and the market, apparently, has not come to Mahomet. The author, a former Boston DA, for all her sexy insider detail and her familiarity with Beantown’s mean streets, has not created another Friends of Eddie Coyle.

Some good news: At least we haven’t spent big money on an MFA, only to see our work submerge in a sea of cute. (“The powerhouse mother/daughter team has done it again, bringing you the laughter of their lives.”) Bestseller shtick is not my thing, for all its charm. (Haven’t read Scottoline, but I have to assume there’s something appealing there.)

How does one become a Phillip Roth?

From Wikipedia: “Roth’s work is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its “sensual, ingenious style” and its provocative explorations of American identity.”

Hey!

* intensely autobiographical character * philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction * a sensual, ingenious style * a provocative exploration of American (in my case, catly) identity.

I’m there already!