tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post4159374274164706594..comments2024-03-28T06:16:39.508+00:00Comments on Help! I Need a Publisher!: What makes a debut a debut?Nicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-71821443669324126902011-12-14T09:41:40.098+00:002011-12-14T09:41:40.098+00:00Also very timely for me, as my debut novel is comi...Also very timely for me, as my debut novel is coming out in April, with an independent publisher so that means I am very involved in promotion. I am looking at this part as a job I have taken on, and the book as a work I want to flog. I don't know about making a splash but I will be in there with bells and whistles.<br />ciao catThe Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15202093107784073194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-58604711331363415232011-12-10T15:27:03.372+00:002011-12-10T15:27:03.372+00:00Ooh, I've gotten the "I don't love it...Ooh, I've gotten the "I don't love it enough" response several times on one novel, so am going back to rewriting.Sue Fordhttp://www.susanuhlig.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-2475257796973254962011-12-05T22:24:07.061+00:002011-12-05T22:24:07.061+00:00Thanks for reflecting on my comment.
Nicola, I...Thanks for reflecting on my comment.<br /><br />Nicola, I've learned from Amazon's free sample of 'Mondays are Red' that you know someone who has synaesthesia and you think that having this condition helps an artist see and express the world in an unusually rich way. <br /><br />I'd love to read the eBook version of 'Mondays are Red' but I have two issues: first, I'Katalin Havasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00362554165177127331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-6142380910859648622011-12-05T18:39:39.948+00:002011-12-05T18:39:39.948+00:00Liz - I hope so! Sounds as though you've got i...Liz - I hope so! Sounds as though you've got it nailed. Good luck!<br /><br />Cat - the agent could have meant exactly that. But she might simply have meant to point out that being turned down by one agent should never mean you don't try elsewhere. No agent would want to be the only person you ever tried.<br /><br />Dan - your rejecting agent's comments sound exactly like what I'mNicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-44188940390034361592011-12-05T13:27:24.188+00:002011-12-05T13:27:24.188+00:00I think the key phrase in Dan's comment is &qu...I think the key phrase in Dan's comment is "big splash." A good debut makes a big splash. Excellent writing is not enough. Our stuff needs to be unique and powerful enough to have an impact on agents/readers.<br /><br />Nicola's first novel had an impact because the topic was quite unique. Synaesthesia is not something you read about every day. <br /><br />We need to keep tryingKatalin Havasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00362554165177127331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-88464600618080647342011-12-05T09:25:30.109+00:002011-12-05T09:25:30.109+00:00I think I understand (and how I understand it, it ...I think I understand (and how I understand it, it makes perfect sense). A debut (like a launch party as opposed to various events at which you've read from your work previously) is a vanishing point for your authorial indentity. It's the thing what goes before all led up to, and the thing everything (in that version of you) that comes later will point back to. Hence it has to have a Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-12612668710941799392011-12-05T08:58:38.874+00:002011-12-05T08:58:38.874+00:00I had a sort of "I like it but I don't lo...I had a sort of "I like it but I don't love it enough" response - but the agent then went on to say of trying elsewhere "indeed I would encourage you to do so". I still do not know whether she was the wrong agent or I have written the wrong book. (I have taken her advice and am trying elsewhere but it is the sort of puzzle that leaves me more confused than ever!)catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-86144474442034848122011-12-05T07:59:28.833+00:002011-12-05T07:59:28.833+00:00Thanks for that post Nicola. Very timely as my déb...Thanks for that post Nicola. Very timely as my début is about to be launched on the world in May. During the 7 years it took me to hone my skills and learn about the industry one question stuck with me. Helen Corner asked me...what is the book to launch you? I answered The Cornish House. I'm not sure if I knew then the reasons why it was but my gut said it was....and your post and my Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02744937536946299450noreply@blogger.com