Tayari's Blog: Just Say NO
Posted by TayariJones on June 19, 2009 10:19 AM
Filed under
The Writing Life
Publisher's Marketplace is a daily (I think) archive letting you know who is making what deals in publishing. Agents report their sales and use language like "major deal." PM reports who has been hired and fired in the biz. In my opinion, it is nothing but a source for anxiety-triggers that will not help you write your book.
Rinzler says that writers need to know what's selling now, but what can you do with that information? If you hear that publishers are paying top dollar for novels involving primates, are you going to change the main character in your novel into a gibbon? Really, if you are working on a book, what could you possibly read on that web page that will help you make it to the end of your next page?
I have an associate who constantly scans industry news. She is always talking about how much money different people receive in book deals. She is obsessed with who wins all the contests and prizes. She is one of the most anxious people I have ever met in my life. I had to stop hanging around her because that sort of information-fueled crazy is contagious!
On the other hand, I have a friend who is always reading interviews, essays, blogs, etc about writers. She almost always has an interesting (and often inspiring) comment about the process of writing. She says things like, "Do you know what Ann Petry said about beginning a new chapter?" This is the kind of writer-friend you need. I love getting emails from her directing me to websites. She is an excellent example of the ways that information can be good for you.
If you must subscribe to Publishing Marketplace, do it when you have a finished draft in your hand and you are looking to find the best home for your already completed manuscript. But me, I leave that stuff up to my agent.
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There are 2 comments on "Just Say NO". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.
Comment #1, by carleen ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.tayarijones.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
I agree. There is such a thing as too much information. I think I suffer from it myself.
June 19, 2009 03:08 PM
Comment #2, by Martha Southgate
Girl, you are oh so right! I think one can even get stressed out cruising through Poets and Writers and seeing who's got teaching gigs I ain't got--how's it gonna help me to know about such and so's deal?
June 22, 2009 09:13 AM