•Romance or mystery?
•Funny or serious?
•Silly or sad?
•Historical or contemporary?
•With lots of characters or just a few?
•Hard cover or paperback?
•How much will it cost?
•Who will publish it?
•Who will review it? Rolling Stone? Rodale Press?
•Will Oprah pick it for her book club?
•Will Rachel Maddow hold up a copy and tell her audience to READ THIS BOOK? (Does she even do that kind of thing? I haven't seen her do any book reviews so far.)
•Will it be banned in Boston? (I don't know whether they do THAT any more, either.)
•Who is the book's audience? Grownups, teenagers, little children?
•What other books will it be like?
•What color will it be?
•Will it have illustrations? photographs? and if so, WHO WILL DO THEM? (Why not me?)
It's so much fun to picture mundane details. I'm going to go walking this morning and think about these things. I know the publisher likes to make these decisions regarding the physical book, but it's sort of like having a baby. For nine months you think of all the wonderful qualities the baby will have, and you get very excited. When the baby finally makes her/his appearance in broad daylight, she or he may be NOTHING AT ALL like what you imagined. Still, you do get what you wanted, which was a BABY.
My book may not be anything at all like what I'll be imagining it to be, but it'll be a BOOK!!
5 comments:
My daughter has always had a talent for writing. Her essays were so well written her professors asked to keep them to illustrate good writing.
Being unemployed, I am encouraging her to write a book. She said she has several novels and children's books in her mind and I told her to set aside an hour a day (to start) and write. Just get started.
I hope she listens, even if nothing is ever published.
it's a mystery to me why talented people can have such resistance to writing. but there are so many unkind things said about writing and writers--especially by other writers--it's not surprising. good luck to her. tell her about lulu.com
I always feel great that we have a writer in the family - you! Keep it up so I can keep dropping that little jewel, "my aunt is a writer."
The D.N.
DN....2.5 years later, and i'm reading your comment. i'm thinking the little gem you probly drop now is "my aunt is a lunatic." i never said i WASN'T one. but i can state categorically that "my oldest niece is a sweetheart." or, as my mother/your grandmother used to say, "she is SO CAPABLE!!" capability, meaning, having a lot of talents, particularly around the home, was high on her list of desirable traits for women. but you're more than that: you have spawned some of the most open minds in the family. yaaay you!!
DN: grandma herself had a very open mind. at the end, she accepted me for who and what i am.
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