From NYT Books Section
Jan. 8th, 2006 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carocrowRejected by the Publishers
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Submitted to 20 publishers and agents, the typed manuscripts of the opening chapters of two books were assumed to be the work of aspiring novelists. Of 21 replies, all but one were rejections. Sent by The Sunday Times of London, the manuscripts were the opening chapters of novels that won Booker Prizes in the 1970's. One was "Holiday," by Stanley Middleton; the other was "In a Free State," by Sir V. S. Naipaul, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature. Mr. Middleton said he wasn't surprised. "People don't seem to know what a good novel is nowadays," he said. Mr. Naipaul said: "To see something is well written and appetizingly written takes a lot of talent, and there is not a great deal of that around. With all the other forms of entertainment today, there are very few people around who would understand what a good paragraph is."
I'm not at all surprised about this, and the same thing happens in the screen writing industry, which works with trends and popularity much more than actual entertainment value or creativity. There was also an editorial this week by a black author despairing the dearth of considerate ethnic literature at the hands of 'street novels' which are popular with average people much as reality shows, championship wrestling and sensational talk shows are popular television escapes that overshadow meaty programming and well acted series. The general public, it seems, has most of their taste in their mouth, and that is not all that reliable.
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Submitted to 20 publishers and agents, the typed manuscripts of the opening chapters of two books were assumed to be the work of aspiring novelists. Of 21 replies, all but one were rejections. Sent by The Sunday Times of London, the manuscripts were the opening chapters of novels that won Booker Prizes in the 1970's. One was "Holiday," by Stanley Middleton; the other was "In a Free State," by Sir V. S. Naipaul, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature. Mr. Middleton said he wasn't surprised. "People don't seem to know what a good novel is nowadays," he said. Mr. Naipaul said: "To see something is well written and appetizingly written takes a lot of talent, and there is not a great deal of that around. With all the other forms of entertainment today, there are very few people around who would understand what a good paragraph is."
I'm not at all surprised about this, and the same thing happens in the screen writing industry, which works with trends and popularity much more than actual entertainment value or creativity. There was also an editorial this week by a black author despairing the dearth of considerate ethnic literature at the hands of 'street novels' which are popular with average people much as reality shows, championship wrestling and sensational talk shows are popular television escapes that overshadow meaty programming and well acted series. The general public, it seems, has most of their taste in their mouth, and that is not all that reliable.
