What a wonderful, beautiful essay and I so relate. I have a nice ring to show for my advance for my second book of poetry published by a top poetry press. I could not afford the book tour or even go to the press office and meet my editor. I, like you, had already spent a fortune writing my 2 books of poetry, paying for grad school and taking 3 years off to live on my student loans and try to launch myself as a career poet. It’s been good to be published though, especially as a poet. Very few poets get their work published in good literary mags let alone published in book form. It’s meaningful but not financially. It was a devastating amount of work but such is the life of a writer sometimes.
I'm happy to read your writing again. I enjoyed this essay so much! Having being on the sidelines as the actual story of "The Oyster Wars" played out, I was delighted by your craft and impressed with your objectivity towards a subject so highly charged that it truly divided a community, perhaps permanently. You did an outstanding job. And now I know about the Volkswagen van, too, not to mention the underbelly of the publishing industry.
Your essay today both distracted me and inspired me as I sit at my desk writing a book about a San Francisco artist few people knew, or even liked, according to my sources.
With one exception: the artist's lover of about 40 years.
The lover was a former merchant marine and also a gentle, unpretentious, shabbily dressed, eccentric person of inherited wealth that he seldom touched in his lifetime. The two men lived in an 880-square foot home built in 1907 in the North Beach area of San Francisco. In his youth, the artist had studied under Thomas Hart Benton and had sold art to The New Yorker. When he moved to California after the War, he met his lover and he ran an antiquarian book shop with his sophisticated and stylish, unmarried older sister. After about 1960, he seems never to have made art again. But we have a collection of more than 150 of the his works from earlier years—from casual sketches, watercolors, and prints to The New Yorker drawings, to evocative portraits of fellow soldiers done during World War II when he was posted in Ireland, England, Italy, Poland, North Africa, and Turkey. He was not part of the official U.S. Army art program, but managed to create art that is both accomplished and tender and bring it back home with him after the war.
The lover was a guerrilla gardener, turning vacant lots into oases; he was once arrested for planting trees without a permit. He was a stalwart union member who worked as a warehouseman at an anti-union auction house; he was said to have made regular stops at the back doors of North Beach restaurants where he collected leftover food to distribute to the homeless.
Besides the artist, his other great love was the environment. When he died at 99 years of age, he left an estate of nearly $7million to groups that protect endangered natural and agricultural lands, and he provided a bequest in his will for a book to memorialize his beloved artist.
That's where I come in. I've been commissioned to write this book (at a fair price, lucky me). And I finally have realized that this is a love story.
Thanks for writing about writing today. It gave me the nudgeI needed.
"All of it counts." This is heartening and I know many published writers (and only a few making their living from writing) who would agree. Thank you for sharing your experience, Summer, and so eloquently. I've tried to explain to friends (and especially my dear husband) that the likelihood of someone like me making big bucks from a published book is nil. And if the only reason was to make money, then my writing path would have been very difficult (and probably less happy).
Thank you so much for writing this. This is it exactly. Exactly. I get so frustrated at writers (I can think of 3 right off the top of my head) who publish with an independent press and then get angry at the press and badmouth it publicly because they’re not making big bucks. It’s usually their first book. In 2 of 3 cases we’re press mates and I’m like, hey stop badmouthing MY press because you don’t understand how publishing works. Also, I’m so glad you’re back. No pressure but I love reading your work.
Yes. I really feel this. People are always like, well, you have publishing money!! Because I am working on my second (and probably last) big five book. But it’s not like that at all. Hard for folks to get it.
This was brilliant Summer thank you, just sat on the runway in Hawaii waiting to do the long flight back. I’ve had a lot of headspace which has been heaven, actually read Colleen Hoover’s book when I was away! A perfect reminder what it’s like to be a writer and a self-employed writer. Looking forward to the new session next week and to get back into it x
Your experience in many ways mirrors my own. Two of my novels were published by Random House, three others by small publishers, and two others were self-published. They paid me from $35 K upfront (twice) to zero upfront (four times). And yet they were each life-changing events, because for me it was never about the money. Before I come off, even for an instant, as virtuous, I should mention that I had Hollywood to fall back on, which pays not only for meals and coats, but, if you're lucky, houses and pensions.
Gosh I have dreamed of writing a book for years and had a nonfiction book proposal accepted verbally by two major publishers only to have it not go to contract at either.
Now I am just beginning to work on a new project while simultaneously considering a masters degree because I thought it might help me get published this time.
Your essay was so insightful and interesting but does leave me feeling discouraged and not knowing what my next steps should be. You are a terrific writer. It sounds as if the masters came before the book. Do you think it helped you get that first deal?
Writing a book is great! But it's only one part of a writer's life. Don't be discouraged just because most books don't make their authors rich. It's like someone deciding they don't want to be an actor unless they can be Julia Roberts. If you only want to write a book to get rich quick, then yes, you're probably on the wrong track. Don't write a book solely because you want to make a lot of money. Write a book because you want to write a book. The master's did come before the book, but I don't necessarily think it had much to do with getting an agent or selling the proposal per se. However the master's (I studied journalism and near eastern studies) helped me get my journalism jobs, which positioned me as an investigative journalist, and the book is at least 50% a work of investigative journalism, so in that sense they are related. But plenty of people become journalists without a master's degree. Maybe it reflected well on me when my agent reviewed my potential author profile, but I don't know.
Thanks for such a thoughtful reply! I actually don’t care about getting rich! I am excited about trying to do it! Like hiking a giant mountain. I think the masters for me may be tossed ….
This is the thing though—it's not that little! This is how publishing IS. To think it would have given me much more than that—that is the fantasy that I am trying to dispel. This kind of comment makes me feel bad, like you're telling me you're surprised to learn that something was a failure when it wasn't. This is how much it pays to write books most of the time. This is a success story.
What a wonderful, beautiful essay and I so relate. I have a nice ring to show for my advance for my second book of poetry published by a top poetry press. I could not afford the book tour or even go to the press office and meet my editor. I, like you, had already spent a fortune writing my 2 books of poetry, paying for grad school and taking 3 years off to live on my student loans and try to launch myself as a career poet. It’s been good to be published though, especially as a poet. Very few poets get their work published in good literary mags let alone published in book form. It’s meaningful but not financially. It was a devastating amount of work but such is the life of a writer sometimes.
Thank you Roxane! And yes, such is the life of a writer indeed.
Summer,
I'm happy to read your writing again. I enjoyed this essay so much! Having being on the sidelines as the actual story of "The Oyster Wars" played out, I was delighted by your craft and impressed with your objectivity towards a subject so highly charged that it truly divided a community, perhaps permanently. You did an outstanding job. And now I know about the Volkswagen van, too, not to mention the underbelly of the publishing industry.
Your essay today both distracted me and inspired me as I sit at my desk writing a book about a San Francisco artist few people knew, or even liked, according to my sources.
With one exception: the artist's lover of about 40 years.
The lover was a former merchant marine and also a gentle, unpretentious, shabbily dressed, eccentric person of inherited wealth that he seldom touched in his lifetime. The two men lived in an 880-square foot home built in 1907 in the North Beach area of San Francisco. In his youth, the artist had studied under Thomas Hart Benton and had sold art to The New Yorker. When he moved to California after the War, he met his lover and he ran an antiquarian book shop with his sophisticated and stylish, unmarried older sister. After about 1960, he seems never to have made art again. But we have a collection of more than 150 of the his works from earlier years—from casual sketches, watercolors, and prints to The New Yorker drawings, to evocative portraits of fellow soldiers done during World War II when he was posted in Ireland, England, Italy, Poland, North Africa, and Turkey. He was not part of the official U.S. Army art program, but managed to create art that is both accomplished and tender and bring it back home with him after the war.
The lover was a guerrilla gardener, turning vacant lots into oases; he was once arrested for planting trees without a permit. He was a stalwart union member who worked as a warehouseman at an anti-union auction house; he was said to have made regular stops at the back doors of North Beach restaurants where he collected leftover food to distribute to the homeless.
Besides the artist, his other great love was the environment. When he died at 99 years of age, he left an estate of nearly $7million to groups that protect endangered natural and agricultural lands, and he provided a bequest in his will for a book to memorialize his beloved artist.
That's where I come in. I've been commissioned to write this book (at a fair price, lucky me). And I finally have realized that this is a love story.
Thanks for writing about writing today. It gave me the nudgeI needed.
This is so interesting Elizabeth! Wishing you all the best writing juju.
"All of it counts." This is heartening and I know many published writers (and only a few making their living from writing) who would agree. Thank you for sharing your experience, Summer, and so eloquently. I've tried to explain to friends (and especially my dear husband) that the likelihood of someone like me making big bucks from a published book is nil. And if the only reason was to make money, then my writing path would have been very difficult (and probably less happy).
Thank you so much for writing this. This is it exactly. Exactly. I get so frustrated at writers (I can think of 3 right off the top of my head) who publish with an independent press and then get angry at the press and badmouth it publicly because they’re not making big bucks. It’s usually their first book. In 2 of 3 cases we’re press mates and I’m like, hey stop badmouthing MY press because you don’t understand how publishing works. Also, I’m so glad you’re back. No pressure but I love reading your work.
Great post! And I proudly own a copy of The Oyster War.
Thanks SJ!
Yes. I really feel this. People are always like, well, you have publishing money!! Because I am working on my second (and probably last) big five book. But it’s not like that at all. Hard for folks to get it.
This was brilliant Summer thank you, just sat on the runway in Hawaii waiting to do the long flight back. I’ve had a lot of headspace which has been heaven, actually read Colleen Hoover’s book when I was away! A perfect reminder what it’s like to be a writer and a self-employed writer. Looking forward to the new session next week and to get back into it x
Your experience in many ways mirrors my own. Two of my novels were published by Random House, three others by small publishers, and two others were self-published. They paid me from $35 K upfront (twice) to zero upfront (four times). And yet they were each life-changing events, because for me it was never about the money. Before I come off, even for an instant, as virtuous, I should mention that I had Hollywood to fall back on, which pays not only for meals and coats, but, if you're lucky, houses and pensions.
Gosh I have dreamed of writing a book for years and had a nonfiction book proposal accepted verbally by two major publishers only to have it not go to contract at either.
Now I am just beginning to work on a new project while simultaneously considering a masters degree because I thought it might help me get published this time.
Your essay was so insightful and interesting but does leave me feeling discouraged and not knowing what my next steps should be. You are a terrific writer. It sounds as if the masters came before the book. Do you think it helped you get that first deal?
Writing a book is great! But it's only one part of a writer's life. Don't be discouraged just because most books don't make their authors rich. It's like someone deciding they don't want to be an actor unless they can be Julia Roberts. If you only want to write a book to get rich quick, then yes, you're probably on the wrong track. Don't write a book solely because you want to make a lot of money. Write a book because you want to write a book. The master's did come before the book, but I don't necessarily think it had much to do with getting an agent or selling the proposal per se. However the master's (I studied journalism and near eastern studies) helped me get my journalism jobs, which positioned me as an investigative journalist, and the book is at least 50% a work of investigative journalism, so in that sense they are related. But plenty of people become journalists without a master's degree. Maybe it reflected well on me when my agent reviewed my potential author profile, but I don't know.
Thanks for such a thoughtful reply! I actually don’t care about getting rich! I am excited about trying to do it! Like hiking a giant mountain. I think the masters for me may be tossed ….
I read Oyster War last year, it was the best book that I read all year. It's shocking to realize how little money it earned you.
This is the thing though—it's not that little! This is how publishing IS. To think it would have given me much more than that—that is the fantasy that I am trying to dispel. This kind of comment makes me feel bad, like you're telling me you're surprised to learn that something was a failure when it wasn't. This is how much it pays to write books most of the time. This is a success story.