Ok. Not really. But sort of. One of my publishers was interested in a second book proposal on a specific topic and I wrote said book proposal. But when I got to the section that listed the competing books - I ran into a snag.
All of the competing books were really good. Written by good, knowledgeable people. And there were a lot of them. That meant that my little baby, my book, might only ever be a small fish in a big pond. Oh, sure, I would write my heart out and make it the best book I could. But the risks were that it wouldn't be as good as those other books. Some of them said *exactly* what I wanted to write about.
Could I write it better? Maybe. But there is a LOT of effort that goes into writing a long, non-fiction book. And I don't want to write a small stable of mediocre books. I want to write a selection of books that are very good. So that readers can have faith that my books will be well-written, well-researched and at the top of their class. They will be the big fish in the pond.
It's hard to get part-way through this book proposal (one that the publisher pretty much asked for) and say, "this doesn't feel right" because I could use the money. And suddenly I run smack into the words I've always said "I write for money". Now I'm not so sure. I might also write for the love of it, for the sake of a writing career, for the identification with other writers and for the desire to communicate with others.
And that's why I'm turning down a book contract.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
I Turned Down a Book Contract
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4 comments:
Judging from your writing, I am sure that your books are probably very good and that you may be selling yourself short. I am sure that you are not the only author who has felt this way though.
As I have been searching through the web tonight, I noticed an author, Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, who after several attempts to publish her book, has been turned down. She is hanging in there and is actually holding a funeral for her unpublished book. You should check out her site, you would probably really enjoy it: http://www.mydreamisdeadbutimnot.com
Very interesting. Once you accept the assignment, you have to write it, so it makes sense to me that you would consider things this way.
I can totally relate to your rationale, and to the desire to keep all of your work at a certain level of quality (as opposed to a "me too" type of book).
Still, it must be crazy-making to turn down a book deal! :D My guess is that there will soon be a PERFECT book for you to write - one that you would not have been able to take on if you had taken this one.
Neat stuff. Thanks for sharing it.
Tough decision!
I think you were very smart to decline submitting the proposal. A big part of a book's success is it's position in the market compared to competing books. Better to spend your time writing a book with something different to say. Good for you!
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