By: Shawn Cox
Submitted: 2011-10-25 15:02:16 | Word Count: 984
Of all the useless advice given to would-be authors, perhaps the most unhelpful is the idea that to be a successful author you need 'timing'. That is, your great idea for a novel has to hit the public consciousness at a time that makes your story relevant to them. An example might be, for instance, that right now, in the autumn months of 2007, I'm working on a thriller that starts from the proposition that Princess Diana was deliberately murdered in 1997 in Paris by a combination of national security organisations. I started working on a synopsis a couple of months ago, and I've got a number of chapters under my belt. Now I look at the TV News and notice that a new Inquest has started in London into the death of the Royal lady. What luck! Well, no. If my book was in the bookshop right now - at this moment in time - then it might attract attention and, possibly, sales. But it won't even be finished for a few months. By the time it gets to the publisher - even if they like it, which they might not - it would take a Traditional Publisher many months to get it ready for publication. Judging by their usual timescales, they might get the new book onto the bookshelves by, say, Christmas 2008. Woops, the moment has passed. Timing is everything, say the advisors. You should have got the book written last year, then it would be ready for when it is really needed. Like, now.
Great. Good advice. That is, if I could have seen into the future or, more unlikely, guessed that an Inquest would ever take place in England. Last year, no one believed it was possible. After all, the idea had been around for nearly a decade and the authorities kept refusing it. Who could have foreseen it would happen? Worse, who would risk their time and imagination creating a novel about Lady Di just in case it became topical. Not many authors would bend their creative will to such an eventuality. Better to write the book you really want to write, not the one you hope that the public will enjoy. After all, synchronicity is very rare, very rare indeed. I know of only one real-life example. An author in England, now famous for his Science Fiction, wrote an adventure back in the 1970s about a war in the South Atlantic. Publishers rejected it, but when the Falklands War broke out in 1982, they dug it out, dusted it off, and published it - to great success. Much money was made. So was the writer. His career was launched, from that day.
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Back to Princess Diana. Okay, so Traditional Publishers are going to find it hard to 'jump on the bandwagon', but what could an Internet Author do? The answer is quite a lot. It seems, in fact, that the Inquest is scheduled to rumble on for another six months. Plenty of time to finish the first draft and get it published at an on-line, on-demand publisher like Lulu. That means, yes, the Internet Author could make use of the 'timing' advice and make their 'Diana' novel available while her name is still in the news. Quite an opportunity! Anybody but me willing to give it a go?
Well, maybe, not me. Because I've got an even more interesting opportunity that has arisen recently. A friend of mine took part in a TV documentary earlier this year. The programme is part of a series that will be going out soon. The date, for broadcast on national television, hasn't been agreed but will probably be in later October. In August I got the idea of writing his biography, (or, more accurately, his Autobiography, partly written with my help). In terms of Traditional Publishers, this is a ridiculous timetable. Not so for the Internet Author. The first draft of the book was put together in September, and loaded up onto Lulu at the beginning of October. My vision is this: my friend will be interviewed on the 'Richard and Judy' TV chat show later in the month. They'll be keen to hear about his TV programme. They'll notice he has had a pretty exciting and interesting life. 'Yes, Judy,' he will say, 'and I've written about it.' At that point he will hand her a brightly coloured paperback book. Richard and Judy love books. They accept the copy being offered and agree to read it. Later in the year, they review it. My friend is invited back onto the show to discuss it. His career takes off. The rest is history.
There is a theme here. It's simply this: in the world of Traditional Publishing, it's a heck of a long timeframe from the finish of writing a manuscript to getting the book printed, distributed and on the bookshop's shelves. In that world, it's sheer luck whether the new novel arrives at a time that is in any way relevant to the readers. Those who get the luck are said to have 'good timing'. However, in the world of the Internet Author, it's a darn sight quicker from manuscript to print, which means that timing hardly matters. In real terms, a matter of months is nothing, but that's how long the internet publishing process can take - from start to finish.
Another good reason for would-be writers to look first at the internet, rather than the oft-advertised claims of the Traditional Publisher. Think about it. You read the newspaper, you watch the TV News. It gives you an idea for a book. Great. You might just be able - maybe with a bit of luck - to succeed in getting your novel written, published and in the public eye before the news item goes completely out-of-date. What an opportunity that is!
