Miseries of an author

Abstract

‘Please send future work’ Publishers note on a rejection slip Some publishers never even send a rejection note; after 2 months from submission and a phone call it appears that they have mislaid (or lost) the manuscript and would you please send another. It is sent and the commissioning editor e-mails that she would like to meet the author. Hope arises at last. The interview goes quite well, she thinks that the author shows some promise in his writing; after all she did a degree in English Literature at Hull University and her library books were stamped by no other than the poet Philip Larkin (1922–85). Eventually the book is accepted and prepared for publication. During this period it is best to keep away from public libraries or large book shops. It is dispiriting to see shelf after shelf receding into the distance laden with books of all sorts and sizes, rather like entering an enormous cemetery densely packed with tomb stones. Even more depressing in a public library is to take a sample of books off the shelves to see how frequently they are borrowed. Some have languished for up to 5 years with no one taking the slightest notice of them. This perhaps is …