“It’s funny to review this today because today I also read an interview with a literary agent. Here’s what he said in response to the question “What are the most important elements you look at when considering taking on an author? Platform? Sales potential? How do you determine an author is going to be a success before they’re actually a success?”
Evaluating an author is different when it comes to fiction and non-fiction. In fiction, I tend to look for quality writing first and foremost. The author will become a household name by extension of that. Secondly, I look for the hook in what makes the story appealing, rather than merely a well-written novel where nothing actually takes place other than people on the beach drinking white wine. Awards, nominations, publications in literary magazines, advance praise, etc. can all help in terms of showing relevant writing experience, credentials, and a community built around a fiction author, but at the end of the day it’s about quality writing. For non-fiction, I focus primarily on the author’s platform; looking at what their social media reach is in terms of number of followers and engagement with their followers, website visits, newsletter subscription rates, etc. While non-fiction is more idea-driven, the quality of the writing tends to take more of a backseat to the subject matter and who the author is and how they will reach their built-in readership. When I start to see some of those items in place, I get a better sense of how successful a book might be.
I know that this person is speaking professionally rather than personally, so all of this is subject to change if we’re talking about what he likes. I thought it was very telling that what the publishing world is looking for is almost the polar opposite of what I’m looking for.
Let’s start with fiction. I think that there’s some fiction with a great hook, and when I go booktalk to a group of high schoolers, I thank all that is fucking holy that there are books with an interesting, quick premise. But when I read, I don’t think I really enjoy the books with the big hook. I find a lot more happiness in finding authors I like and just reading whatever the hell they make until I hit something I don’t like. Then I might stop. I kind of tend to feel that a great premise is not likely to equal a great book. A great premise is serviceable, does what it needs to do, and gets out of its own way if it’s smart. But I think it’s a rare thing to hear the premise of a book and then have that book follow through. I think it’s a lot more likely you’ll find something good if it’s coming from an author you like or who writes like someone you like.
With non-fiction, I’m in total disagreement. So much non-fiction suffers from the problem where there’s a story that’s interesting as hell, and it’s told by the completely wrong person. Which is sometimes the person who lived it.
And when it comes to deciding what to publish based on clout…I get it. Nobody has started “Breaking Even Press” or “Just Scraping By Publications.” But when it comes to deciding to read, I give a hearty FUCK THAT. The best Tweeters are not the best writers. The people who win awards aren’t the best. The ones you hear on NPR aren’t the best.
Trying to decode popularity is impossible, and trying to decode “good” and “bad” books is also really difficult. Which is why I think trying to correlate those things is really, really stupid (on the reading side, not the sales side. When it comes to sales, fuck yeah I’d have an easier time selling a book by someone extremely popular. Duh).
I think a lot of us can relate to the experience of reading THE book from the moment and thinking, “…Eh.” Whether it’s something Oprah was talking about or a profile of someone in the news a lot or a topical book. All of us have picked up that book that EVERYONE is reading and thought, “I’m not even going to tell people I read this because everyone else loves it and I might lose my shit in talking about it.”
It’s not just you. Sometimes that non-fiction isn’t that great. It’s just popular.
I Will Not Leave You Comfortless breaks all the rules listed above. It breaks all the publication/representation rules, but it is a great book, and it checks ALL the boxes when it comes to reading. It’s never going to make any money for anyone, it doesn’t have a huge hook, and it’s very, very micro and concerning someone who isn’t famous. I don’t even know if he’s on Twitter. I looked for a hot second, and then decided I couldn’t care less.
Which is why I want to start my new bookstore: Books By Writers Who Are Not On Twitter
How’s that for a hook?”