once: the former have a great deal more dialogue. You read 12 pages of Nineteen Eighty-Four before you come to the first line of dialogue.
Let’s move on to the formal rules of grammar and punctuation. It’s inexcusable to have more than a very few ‘unintended’ mistakes in your books with respect to grammar and punctuation, and a good copy-editor / proofreader will help you avoid them (and spelling mistakes, too). But consider the following section of a book first published in 2006. The book is surely a proofreader’s worst nightmare.
The falling snow curtained them about. There was no way to see anything at either side of the road. He was coughing again and the boy was shivering, the two of them side by side under the sheet of plastic, pushing the grocery cart through the snow. Finally he stopped. The boy was shaking uncontrollably.
We have to stop, he said.
It’s really cold.
I know.
Where are we?
Where are we?
Yes.
I dont know.
If we were going to die would you tell me?
I dont know. We’re not going to die.
If a child wrote that he’d be told off. But it’s an extract from Cormac McCathy’s Pulitzer Prize winning The Road. He’s widely considered one of the greatest fiction writers of his generation, and his ten previous books include the remarkable No Country for Old Men. If you’re writing fiction take your lead from McCarthy and choose the extent to which you follow the ‘rules’. Never forget the immortal advice about lesser people: Illegitimi non carborundum.
Writers of guides to writing fiction frequently distinguish between ‘literary’ novels and ‘commercial’ novels, the latter being what they generally seek to help you with. In his excellent Plot and Structure (2004) James Scott Bell differentiates between two types of novel:
The difference between a literary and a commercial plot is a matter of feel and emphasis. A literary plot often is more leisurely in its pace. Literary fiction is usually more about the inner life of a character than it is about the fast-paced action. A commercial plot, on the other hand, is mostly about action, things happening to the characters from the outside.
Of course these are simplifications. There can be both literary and commercial elements in a book. Scott Smith’s A Simple Plan reads like a literary novel – what happens inside the first-person narrator is primary – while moving ahead like a commercial crime novel.
The strength of Stephen King’s commercial plots is his characterisations. He always seems to be writing about real people, and not merely players for his high-concept concoctions.
Literary fiction is much more comfortable with ambiguities. The endings may be downers or leave the reader wondering. We don’t know what’s going to happen to Holden at the end of The Catcher in the Rye, and that’s part of the power of the book.
While researching for The Marriage Delusion I read many books on psychology in general, and the personality trait of extraversion in particular, as manifested in introversion and extraversion. While the proportions of introverts and extraverts in the population are consistent in societies around the world – a little over 50% of men are predominantly introvert, a little over 50% of women predominantly extravert – most societies have cultural preferences for either introversion or extraversion. An American psychology professor told me he considered Australia to be the country with the strongest cultural preference for extraversion, closely followed by the United States. Britain has a mild cultural preference for extraversion, while Scandinavian countries and Japan have strong cultural preferences for introversion.
I’ve read most of George Orwell’s literary novels and none of Stephen King’s commercial ones. It seems obvious to me that introverts will more naturally be drawn to reading literary novels while extraverts will be drawn to reading commercial novels. If this thesis is correct, I think it follows that introverts will more naturally be inclined to write literary novels and extraverts commercial novels. I suppose a case may be made that a writer is more likely to enjoy good sales – and as a self-publisher enjoy a good income as a result – by writing commercial rather than literary novels. But I, for one, would rather spend my time writing literary novels, assuming of course that I turn out to have any aptitude for doing so.
James Scott Bell’s book is one in a series of books titled Write Great Fiction, the others being Ron Rozelle’s Description and Setting, Nancy Kress’s Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint, and Gloria Kempton’s Dialogue. I’ve read all four books and plan to do so again before starting on my novel, being careful to reject any advice that doesn’t accord with how my mind works.
Why might you consider self-publishing rather than going down the traditional route of seeking an agent to represent you to major publishers? The most obvious reasons are:
Time
By all means spend some time exploring whether your proposed book might be of interest to literary agents and thereby possibly to publishers. Buy a copy of the latest Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook in which you’ll find contact details for literary agents, some of the writers they represent, and a large number of informative articles as well. Appendix 4 details the contents of this excellent book.
But – and it pains me to say this – unless you have an idea for a book with obvious and substantial sales potential, and you’re clearly a very gifted writer, you’re more likely to have a major win on the National Lottery than find a good agent prepared to represent your work to publishers. There are simply too many good writers seeking too few good agents, and it’s getting more difficult with each year that passes.
So self-publish and save yourself a lot of time. If you do send copies of part or all of your manuscript to literary agents, expect either rejection or to not hear back from them at all. Get on with writing.
Creative control
This is a big one for me, and I suspect for most self-publishers. It was a pleasure working with a major publisher on my first book, a book about cost management in major organisations. But they insisted on a minor change to what I had submitted – the details don’t matter – which I felt might impact negatively on sales, and I believe it has. However they have kindly agreed to return the publishing rights to me when the current stock has sold out, and they have been highly professional at all times.
The lesson I learned? Self-publish and retain full creative control.
Specification control
One of the ways in which you can make your books distinctive is to explore the specification options including:
-format (hardback, paperback, coil bound...)
-cover finish (matt, gloss, foil blocking, raised sections...)
-paper specification and ‘feel’
-page sizes
-colour graphics, photographs
-place-marking ribbons
A reputable printer will take you through the options, which will be
