Craft Chat Good isn't good enough?

[Claire G]

Depressing or realistic or both? From an interview by Alyssa Matesic with a literary agent. Thoughts?

 

[Pamela Jo]

Coming from the commercial side of things this is how I think. I know we can say write what we want but sell to the zeitgeist, but that is riding the razors edge. There's still a lot of reading the market right and luck. The lesson I learned is finish your stuff. If I had I bet I could sell my medieval gothic now, and my Western Gothic... I was ahead of the market and got discouraged. This is why I think there will be an explosion of cheap garage band type audio books in the future. Audio pulp fiction.

 

[RK Wallis]

Totally realistic! But I detach myself from the desire to be publish. I take my ego out of the equation.

I write what I love. I analyse published authors and how their books get an emotional reaction from me because I'm fascinated with word play.

When I'm doing something I love that fascinates me, I'm don't find the bleak landscape of trad publishing depressing. It is a business, and I'd love to self pub and avoid the beast, but I can't. I only drive myself to keep preparing for querying because I find it a challenge. If nothing comes of it, so be it.

 

[Claire G]

Here are the common opening pages mistakes mentioned in the original post: