But first, a word on yesterday’s You Tell Me, which was one of the most fascinating discussions evah.
While I will leave it to everyone else to decide how they personally feel about the appropriateness or accuracy of King’s statement, I would like to address the broader question of who can and should decide what books are “good,” and push back a bit on the notion that “the reader” is or should be sole arbiter.
Yes, individual reader opinions are all valid in their own way. But I would not say that all opinions are equally valid, and if we as a culture completely devalue the role of experts and critics in shaping and helping define what we consider good I think we will lose a collective appreciation and elevation of artistic merit.
You would not value my opinion on particle physics, nor should you, because all I know about particle physics is that wave and particle duality makes my freaking head hurt. So would you value a particle physicist’s view on books equal to a book expert’s? Have we gotten to the point where everyone’s opinion on books, no matter their expertise, background, insight, and level of literacy, should be treated with equal reverence?
Yes, art is at least partially subjective, we all read different books for different reasons, and there is something to appreciate and learn from in every single successful book. But in terms of opinions and discourse, the American Idolization of culture can only go so far. Otherwise we might as well just do away with Oscars and National Book Awards and crown whatever books are most accessible and successful “the best” and scrap the notion of ideal books that, yes, not everyone might appreciate or find easy to read, but which advance the art form, represent an artistic ideal, and break new ground for those who follow.
Anon@9:37 this morning put it more eloquently than I could: “One of the worst things happening in public discourse about the arts is that there appears to be an attempt to bring criticism down to the level of mere opinion, with the further claim that everyone’s opinion is equal, and that all opinion is “just opinion” and nobody’s opinion is more valid than another’s.
This false conflation of criticism with opinion and the misguided egalitarianism in which it’s wrapped is leading to the death of informed criticism, which is being drowned in a sea of uninformed opinion.”
Word.
I hesitate to describe King as a critic because he’s primarily an author, and in no way should the preceding be construed as an endorsement or rejection of his views. Call me Switzerland. I also will freely admit that the “experts” sometimes get it spectacularly wrong both in the short term and from a historical perspective. But consider me a little nervous about the pendulum swinging too far toward an artistic elevation of mass appeal and the yes, “misguided egalitarianism” of treating all opinions as equally valid.
Now then. There was news in publishing this week, and I aim to bring it to you.
The big news today is that HarperCollins reported a 25% drop in sales in the last quarter compared to the final quarter last year. Let that sink in. 25% drop. I can’t even bang my head on my desk that’s so depressing.
Meanwhile a new website geared toward all things self-publishing has gone live, edited by one of the best self-pubbed authors out there, Henry Baum. His excellent book NORTH OF SUNSET was named one of the best self-published books by POD-dy Mouth in Entertainment Weekly.
It turns out that Pilot Sully, he of dropping a plane down smoothly in the freezing Hudson, had a library book in his luggage, which he lost in the crash. What was it? A book on professional ethics. OF COURSE IT WAS. Can we please appoint Pilot Sully to the Supreme Court or name him pope or something? My goodness. Also the library waived his fees. Which he then probably insisted on paying anyway.
HarperStuido had a (typically) great post this week: they asked an independent bookseller three things publishers could do better, and then dished right back on three things independent booksellers could do better. The answers were insightful.
Google and Amazon are making waves today as Google announced plans to bring Google Book Search and its 1.5 million public domain books onto the iPhone. Meanwhile, Amazon dropped a huge bomblet by suggesting that they’re going to make Kindle books available on mobile devices. (hat tip Pub Lunch)
Meanwhile, thanks to reader Jan Whitaker for a great article about the past, present, and future of e-books. Written by an e-book junkie, it’s really worth a look as it puts both the past and future in perspective
And finally, Anne and May (Dayton and Vanderbilt) have killed many characters over the course of their writing careers, and Anne recently wrote a hilarious look back at the poor saps who were edited out completely. RIP, suckers!
Have a great weekend!
Anonymous says
Arrrgh about HarperCollins! My agent just sent my novel there last week.
I could cry.
The Rat says
Good read, Nathan. I didn’t leave a comment yesterday on the King/Meyer fiasco because, like you just reinforced with Anon’s message, I just didn’t feel like I had the expertise. I leave it up to the critics because-hold your breath now-they are critics. Profound, I know. Anyways, I’m off to finally crack under the almighty Kindle pressure and go buy one of those damn things. If I hate it, I’m blaming you.
ryan field says
“But consider me a little nervous about the pendulum swinging too far toward an artistic elevation of mass appeal and the yes, “misguided egalitarianism” of treating all opinions as equally valid.”
Me too.
Anonymous says
If I were a survivor of that flight, and the airline offered me compensation for the inconvenience of having my life saved by that pilot, I would forward the check to him.
Oh, and I loved your bit about book critics.
The other Olga says
Just read an interview with Tom Jenks on Maud Newton’s blog on the same issue: https://maudnewton.com/blog/?p=9152#more-9152
“The concern is over the growing sense, online, that anyone’s opinion about literature is as valid as anyone else’s, and given the overwhelming mass of information and conversation online, and given the temptation to take so much in and to respond to it in some way, a lot of mere, hasty opinion passes for thought. As the newspapers and print magazines constrict and curtail many of their features, it is vital for the best, most knowledgeable, talented, and sophisticated observers of culture to find places in the new media and for reliable, recognized sources of criticism and review to be established, much more so than at present.”
Miss Viola Bookworm says
Good post, Nathan, and thanks for sharing your views on literary criticism and the King article.
You’re right; opinions about any art form are subjective, but I think criticism by experts is different. Often times, we go around spouting our opinions about things because of our experiences, and we are certainly entitled to those opinions, but does that mean they equal those of someone with credentials, education, and much more experience in that field? In my opinion, no.
We see this all the time though. I’m an educator, and believe me, I’m often told how teachers should teach or what schools should do to improve education because many people think they know something about education. Why? Because they went to school. The same could be said for literary agents. You choose books that you like for their writing quality and because you think they can sell in this publishing world. You have the experience and knowledge from a business perspective that the rest of us don’t have, yet many of us (myself included, sometimes) vent and decide that we know what is best and should be published. Why? Because we are avid readers, so surely we know what is good reading material and should get published.
Nobody does this to doctors or lawyers though because we don’t have that experience. We also don’t do it to pilots or chemists or anyone else with more experience or education in certain fields, but we do this when talking about things we have experience with, like the arts. Still, just because we all have experience reading or watching movies, does that make us qualified to state what is the BEST in those art forms? I think we can state our opinions and share those, but to claim our opinions are more valid than an expert in the field, in my opinion, is wrong.
Steve Fuller says
Let’s not confuse “good” with “entertaining.” Reality television is (sometimes) entertaining, but that doesn’t make it good.
Everyone’s opinion is valid if the discussion is about entertainment value. Expert opinions are valid if the discussion is about “goodness.”
Michael Pickett says
Nathan,
Your response to yesterdays (throat clearing) discussion was a breath of fresh air. Thanks for that.
Doug says
Nathan, while I agree that you cannot just leave the decision about whether a book is good or not simply to the uneducated horde, neither can you leave it only to the critics. In a lot of cases, especially with movie reviewers I find that the movies or books I liked the best, and are the most successful are the ones that they panned. I find this especially true when critics get so wrapped around the use of language, e.g. how this particular successful book had no literary value. It’s true that most of the Clancy or Crichton books had little or no literary value, but look how successful they were. They were successful because they told interesting stories, not because they made good use of the language.
Whether a book is good or not to me has little to do with how literary it is, or how well it used the language. I want a great story.
FYI, I want a Kindle badly, and I also want to get my book on there ASAP.
Rick Daley says
Nathan,
Congrats on yesterday’s post, you broke 300! It’s like the Energizer Bunny of comment threads, it just keeps going, and going, and going…
Thanks for bringing us more publishing news, even if it does make you the Harbinger of Sorrow 🙁
At least you balanced it out with something uplifting, and also something funny.
WORD VERIFICATION: sesses. Don’t know what it means, but it’s a cool palindrome.
Ugly Deaf Muslim Punk Gurl! says
I’ll gladly appoint myself to Team Stephen King, and I strongly agree with his statements, attacking that awful Twilight author.
Too bad about HarperCollins, but hey, welcome to 2009!
mnemosyne's afterthought says
This is a propos of nothing in your post.
But it is funny:
https://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/02/the-impotence-of-proofreading-by-taylor.html
other lisa says
I have to quote this too:
This false conflation of criticism with opinion and the misguided egalitarianism in which it’s wrapped is leading to the death of informed criticism, which is being drowned in a sea of uninformed opinion.
I completely agree.
And to add to the amusing links, here’s 28 Ways Twilight the Movie is better than Twilight the book.
(ducking now)
Marilyn Peake says
Nathan,
In regard to the part of your blog post today about yesterday’s discussion and the important role of trained experts: Amen!! In my opinion, it’s going to be up to the gatekeepers (publishers, bookstores, etc.) to keep high standards even if money can be made by selling inferior books. More importantly, it’s going to be up to professional reviewers to maintain high standards. Twilight has won some top awards from major reviewers, including being named a Best Book of the Year. Seriously? Best book of the year?
Pilot Sully has restored my faith in humanity.
Harper Collins’ may have had a 25% drop in revenue for the last quarter of 2008 compared to 2007, but their revenue dropped down to $350 million. Is that really a problem?
Thanks to the link for NORTH OF SUNSET. I love that a self-pubbed book has received such incredible reviews, and wonder why the author went the self-publishing route.
wickerman says
The problem with leaving the valuation of good vs bad writing to ‘experts’ is that – unlike physics – it is ALL subjective. Science and math have far less subjectivity to them. 2+2 will always = 4. e=mc^2, period.
This or that is good writing is alot more wishy washy. What was good 50 years ago is not necessarily good now. 2+2 still equaled 4 50 years ago. Sure you can say grammar has to be this or that and the like, but mechanics are hardly the measure of a good book. Textbooks can be grammatically perfect too – are they art?
The bottom line is, ‘experts’ is a tough term to use in a subjective business. It’s like being a political expert. There are Republican and Democratic ‘experts’ who read the same thing 2 different ways. The thing is, there is too much room for interpretation. Likewise, books, movies etc, are all subjective ‘art’ forms. The idea that the unwashed, uneducated masses are just too stupid to be allowed to judge for themselves what is or is not ‘good’ is elitism and nothing more. One can insist they are educated and cultured and well informed, but when it is being used as a smoke screen for snobbery, it is just pathetic.
The above said, I intend it all as a sweeping generalization and I hope no one thinks I was pointing a finger – I most certainly do not intend to.
Peace, love and a winning season for the 9ers in 09-10.
Heidi C. Vlach says
Nicely said, Nathan.
lotusgirl says
I hold with what I said yesterday, but I didn’t really comment on the whole “should this or that book be canon” debate.
For a book to be considered Canon or great literature, I think it should be judged by experts in the field as worthy of extreme merit.
I would never consider Meyer’s work as Canon, but the same goes for King as well as Rowling. They all have their place just not in what is considered Canon.
Nathan Bransford says
wickerman-
I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to articulate the counterpoint to my argument, which is that reliance on experts quickly devolves into elitism. And perhaps that is a fair result for a critics class and academia that too long has associated any measure of accessibility with insufficient literary merit, and ignores great works of genre fiction.
But at the same time, if there were pure subjectivity in books, yours would be a very fair argument. If everything is purely subjective then no one opinion truly matters. But just as some people are able to hear when a singer is out of key and some are not, there are people who are adept at recognizing good writing from bad. Not everyone has the skill and talent. The boundaries and definitions of “good writing” are slippery. But not endlessly so.
Either there is such a thing as good writing, and it takes a literary elite to spot it and champion it, or there isn’t such a thing at all and every writer and reader is on an even playing field. I tend to think it’s the former, at the risk of sounding elitist.
Arron Ferguson says
"The big news today is that HarperCollins reported a 25% drop in sales in the last quarter compared to the final quarter last year. Let that sink in. 25% drop. I can't even bang my head on my desk that's so depressing."
Expect more of this. Not just because of the global economic meltdown. It's also indicative of the change in business model that is affecting industries whose product is virtual content.
A good read on how this new business model works is at:
https://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free?currentPage=all
I suspect that like the music industry, film & television industry, literary publishers are next on the chopping block and will suffer the same consequences if they don't manage to adapt to this new model. Amazon seems to "get it".
Laura K. Curtis says
Going on three years ago, John Connolly put a post on his blog about reviewing, its difficulties, the problems with online reviews all counting equally, etc. As you can see from the fact that I am writing about it now, it really stuck with me. One of the things he says is:
the rise of internet reviewing which, by giving the impression that everyone’s critical opinion is equally valid, has had the effect of devaluing criticism in general. The result is feature articles disguised as reviews, and insipid efforts at “balance” that do no favors to either the critic or the book in question.
And almost a year ago, I put a post on my own blog which also referenced Connolly’s post because reviewing had come back to the forefront of my mind.
I do think opinion has a place, especially when considering genre books. Getting critical reviews for them is difficult. Here’s the thing — you can give an opinion that has weight, or you can toss one off. Let’s say I go look at an Amazon review of a book. It’s by some stranger whose other reviews I haven’t read, so I don’t know whether I tend to like the same things as he does.
But if the review is internally meaty, it counts to me as criticism rather than opinion. If the reviewer gives me excerpts, specifics, analysis, it doesn’t matter to me whether I know who he is or what his qualifications are; for that review, he’s a critic.
On the other hand, while I agree with King in principle, I consider his actual words in this particular instance just opinion. It happens to be an opinion I agree with for the most part, but it’s not really criticism.
Rick Daley says
Hi Marilyn,
I can share some insight into your question:
“their [Haper Collins] revenue dropped down to $350 million. Is that really a problem?”
Yes. The numbers seem big to us lowly unpublished writers, even bigger when you recognize that as 1 quarter, not the whole year.
But another, and more dramatic figure, is that their earning are down 76%.
As companies grow in revenue, their infrastructure to support the sales also grows. When revenue shrinks but infrastructure does not, profits go down. If the company is publicly traded, the board does not have the option of being nice; the responsibility is to protect the investment of the shareholders, and earnings per share is a key metric for stock performance. the result is layoff and lass spending on things like new contracts and high advances.
To put it in perspective, imagine you made $1000 per month, to use round numbers. In 1 quarter, you earn $3,000, and your living expenses like mortgage, car payments, food, etc. are based off of the expectation of having $3,000. But then, you only make $2,250, losing almost a complete month’s income.
You probably won’t starve, but you’re not going to be saving, and you may need to borrow some cash to get by for a short time.
Now imagine that no one will loan you that money, because the banks have their own financial meltdown to deal with…
That’s a very simple way to look at the current economy, there’s more to it than that, but the 25% drop for Harper Collins is pretty bad.
Word Ver: imofta. As in, imofta start my weekend,
Anonymous says
Great thoughts about critics, Nathan. But it is still spectacularly murky, which is not your fault.
SK is a book critic for EW — does that mean he is less of a valid critic than another critics?
Also, though it is vastly accepted that SM is not a “great writer” but a “good storyteller,” Twilight was awarded coveted “star reviews” by both Booklist and Publishers Weekly — two of the most respected review outlets out there. Which seems the antithesis of SK saying, “She’s just not very good.”
So who are we to lean on in seeking to unravel the beauty of a book? I say we can glean critics thoughts and compare them to our own about books we’ve read, but, we, still, as the reader know in our gut if something truly moved us or not.
Audrianna says
Thanks for the info, Nathan. I have to laugh every time I hear the playback of the air traffic controllers and the pilot, simply because he is so utterly cool, calm, and collected about it. I would be screaming, “Good Lord!!! We’re going down, people! Hold on like your great, great, great grandchildren’s lives depend on it!”
Or something like that. Anyway, back to writin’.
Marilyn Peake says
Hi, Rick,
That’s our current business model, but it didn’t used to be so. Stable earnings, rather than unlimited growth, used to define business success. Experts have pointed out that, at some point in the future, population growth will most likely slow down and there won’t be an increasingly large demand for products. At that point, businesses will probably be forced to go back to the model they had years ago in which stable profits, rather than markedly increased profits each and every quarter, define success. Most likely, there will be a huge bailout in the U.S. any day now, caps will be placed on CEO salaries and other huge corporate expenditures, and many of the largest businesses will survive. Who knows for sure, though? In many ways, the bailout is an enormous financial experiment. I’m crossing my fingers it works, and staying calm in the meantime. 🙂
Kristan says
“I also will freely admit that the ‘experts’ sometimes get it spectacularly wrong both in the short term and from a historical perspective.”
(PLEASE don’t take these as fighting words, but…) Isn’t that just an opinion right there? How seriously should we take it? Are you an expert/critic?
(Again, not fighting. Playing Devil’s Advocate!)
I just don’t think your argument is sound. (Ironically, because it is an opinion, and mine contradicts it.)
In math, there is right or wrong (1+1=2) but not in art, dance, writing, etc. If there were, think of all the new forms of painting (cubism) or dance (hip hop) or literature (flash fiction) that wouldn’t exist, because it would have been deemed “bad” or “wrong.”
(In fact many new forms probably WERE given those labels at the time of their creation.)
So it’s one thing to be a critic or an expert, but I still don’t think their opinions should matter more than anyone else’s. Because in some cases, we may all agree on what’s “bad,” but in other cases, some may like the “terrible” thing, and that may spark a change, an evolution, a revolution.
In many cases, knowing what a good thing “should” look like prohibits you from appreciating a new spin on it.
Kristan says
I guess I’m sort of adding on to wickerman’s comment.
Lady Glamis says
Thanks for a great post, Nathan. I loved your comments on the “reader” issue. Very well put.
Crimogenic says
“The big news today is that HarperCollins reported a 25% drop in sales in the last quarter compared to the final quarter last year.”
That hurts. Ouch.
Nathan Bransford says
kristan-
I guess what I’m pushing back on is the notion that there is endless subjectivity in books. Is there really? Are all books really created equal? Or can’t we agree that there is a degree of objectivity involved, namely there is such a thing as “good writing” and “bad writing”?
And then, who best to define good writing vs. bad writing but the experts? Surely there are some who are better at spotting and separating the good from the bad than others?
I’m not, for the record, putting myself in that category. An agent’s concern is more economic — it’s my job to spot what will sell more than what is “good,” even if “good” is certainly a part of what will sell.
But if there’s nothing separating Ian McEwan from someone who wrote a NaNoWriMo novel in two weeks, why are we here?
Allegory19 says
There’s definitely a distinction between good and bad writing. Sometimes it just seems that rubish gets published and I for the life of me can’t figure out why. I know there’s subjectively involved, but sometimes the standards seem off.
Mira says
These discussions are so interesting!
Well, I’m standing by my perspective in yesterday’s discussion. I believe the true measure of writing is in the impact on the reader and even society.
But
this discussion is about the value of writing itself, right? Not as a craft, but as an art?
So, I think we’re talking about beauty.
And maybe power.
Can an expert measure whether a work of art is more beautiful, more clear, more powerful than a layperson?
In the same way a jeweler can look a gem, and see flaws, that an untrained eye can’t see.
But flaws in a jewel are objective. Beauty in writing, or art, can’t be measured empirically. Does that mean it’s not there?
That’s a really good question.
I have no idea.
I need to think about it some more.
Karen C says
Well said, Steve Fuller!
Since we were talking about Stephen King and Stephanie Meyers, I WAS confusing “good” with the far less refined “good at entertaining”.
I would never have guessed that we were trying to decide whether Stephen King or Stephanie Meyers was more likely to make it onto the list of the greatest literary figures of our time.
Now if we’d been comparing Austen to the Brontes . . .
Anonymous says
So, Allergory19, apparently not everyone in publishing is an expert?
Nathan Bransford says
allegory19-
People buy books for different reasons, and not everyone cares about whether a book is written well from a technical or artistic standpoint. Or, should I say: most people do not care whether a book is written well from a technical or artistic standpoint.
However, there are people who do care, and there’s a market for well-written books. I’m not terribly sympathetic to the argument that there’s so much “rubbish” on the shelves, because it’s not hard at all to find more terrifically written books than you can read in a lifetime.
Anonymous says
Steven King trashed another writer in a public forum and I for one, think it showed a severe lack of class on his part. It was bad form.
Nuff said.
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
Nor, for the record, am I defending him.
Anonymous says
Karen C, you missed this in the previous blog then:
“Jane Austen — the queen of TELL, who never seems to grace us with an actual scene if she can help it… instead she just tells us about how it all went down. No SHOW for this amazing author.”
Anonymous says
Nathan, do you agree with SK’s opinion on the all of the author’s?
Nathan Bransford says
anon-
It’s not really my place to say. I have my own opinions, but I’d rather not come down either way.
Denise Eagan says
I agree with Stephen Fuller. The real question is, what is your definition good writing? Is it inspired use of language? A story that enlightens? Or something that entertains? If it’s the latter, then truly the readers are the ones who decide what is good writing and they speak with their wallets. They know what entertains them and Steven King’s opinion isn’t going to change that.
If your definition, though, is enlightenment or use of language, that’s a different matter. That’s when you delve more into literary merit, and yes, a more educated opinion should matter more.
Personally, I’m happier being one of the masses. Entertain me, please! If a book has literary merit, I’ll take your word for it–and grab one of Ms. Meyers’ books.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Re: “Can an expert measure whether a work of art is more beautiful, more clear, more powerful than a layperson?”
Yes, they can. I’ll give you a simple example: On Antiques Road Show, sometimes they’ll bring in an expert, and the expert is presented with an array of vases or paintings or rugs, that all look the same to the layperson’s eye.
And then the expert goes through and explains why out of 4 rugs, one is priceless – the tightness of the weave, the pattern, the color choices on the part of the weaver; or why a vase is not quite as good as all the others, because of the color or the shape, that once the expert points it out! – you see it too.
It’s kind of irksome to me that, it’s almost as if a piece of writing isn’t a made thing like a rug or a vase or a painting – part of the beauty of an object is the skill and care that the maker put into it. The force of the imagination that propelled the body of work (looking over an artist or writer’s entire career) into existence. Have you made something only you, with your particular life experience, could have brought into being?
I’ll borrow the idea of depth from another poster: You have to live deeply in order to write deeply. Charlie Parker: “If you don’t live it, it won’t come out your horn.” Or pen or keyboard.
Well, I’m disintegrating into irksomeness here, so I’ll stop.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Another great Charlie Parker quote:
“I realized by using the high notes of the chords as a melodic line, and by the right harmonic progression, I could play what I heard inside me. That’s when I was born.”
Isn’t that a wonderful thing to say about a piece of writing too? “When I wrote X, that’s when I was born.” Pays you back for the terror of poverty, many times over.
Scott says
Not only truth well put, Nathan, but important to share. However, of all the spot on comments in your post, I liked this one the best:
“I hesitate to describe King as a critic because he’s primarily an author, and in no way should the preceding be construed as an endorsement or rejection of his views. Call me Switzerland.”
I LOL’d, and I don’t do that letter thing, ever. Professorship in your future, sir. Or art critic, who to me is someone who knows enough about a collection of subjective material to convey its meaning in relevant terms; not a decider.
Sadly, there will still be those who confront a critic’s allegations with the argument of “success”. Sigh. Orange, meet apple.
And Sully for…something!
bacho n. 1. slang term that refers to the relatively rare incidence of finding two nacho chips stuck together.
Stephan Alexander Scharnberg says
Well said, Mr. Bransford. I see it as a subtle blend of informed criticism and personal taste. In an educated, cosmopolitan society this trumps uninformed opinion–the junk food of the lowest common denominator. The voices of the masses do not determine, should not be, the yard stick of good taste. All opinions are NOT equal.
Equality is the utopia of a shackled, suppressed society. Fraternity, brotherhood, and personal responsibility are the hallmarks of a loving, respectful, healthy, diverse society.
hi, it's me! melissa c says
I have to admit that I found this post extremely depressing. I am a fan of Kings and a fan a quite a few other authors.
I am an aspiring author myself. I’m just a normal mother of five, wife of a plumber. I love books and have just discovered a love of writing.
I’ve haven’t had a formal educations in writing nor do I know all of the rules. But I do love to tell stories and would bask in the light of publication if it ever came my way.
I would be very hurt to be told I was a terrible writer. I am doing my best. I have been accepted to a writing course, but do I write like an astute English major. I truly doubt it.
Am I doomed then? I don’t know, but I’ll tell you one thing, I will keep plugging along. Even if I am no better than Stephanie Meyer, I would be happy with her success.
Mira says
Wanda, yes! I think you’re right.
Like your Road Show, I was thinking about Sister Wendy. I dont’ know if you’ve seen her, but she has T.V. shows where she talks about great art through the ages.
I’m an art dunce. I could never ‘get’ art. But when I watched the programs, and she explained why a certain picture was great, I could suddenly see it.
So, there are probably people who can – either naturally or through training – identify great art in writing as well.
Of course whether those people are the same people who are labeled ‘experts,’ is another question entirely.
Doug says
I forgot to add earlier that as a fellow pilot, what Sully did was nothing short of amazing. He truly deserves all the accolades that he is receiving.
I also have to admit that while my latest book has a theme not far from what happened with Sully, seeing it performed flawlessly by a real person totally eclipses anything that I can write.
twitter.com/thenextwriter
Kristie says
Nathan, first of all thank you for this blog. I have learned more here than at any other sites, and as a new writer, I truly appreciate the content you’ve included.
I have a question, but didn’t find an answer in the FAQ’s or The Essentials sections.
An editor has requested to review the full manuscripts on two of my novels, but didn’t mention anything about the submissions being “exclusive”.
So, should I assume the request is exclusive and put on hold any further querying? (Is querying a word?)
Also, if I want to continue to shop my novels around, do I need to disclose that the novel is being reviewed by another editor in the query letter?
Anonymous says
Wanda,
If not enough buyer’s want to buy the rug then it becomes worthless.
Anonymous says
God, Nathan, I knew you were smart and nice, but today you’ve proved yourself wise. Great thoughts about the value of criticism. Thanks you.