Great Advice From the Latest Poets & Writers
Oct 31st, 2008 by Nut
Every time I receive the latest issue of Poets & Writers, it’s a treat and a reminder that I need to work more and devote more time to my writing. The latest issue is no exception, and it actually has a great interview with a guy named Chuck Adams, an editor at Algonquin Books.
Here are some of the fantastic tidbits from the interview:
What are you looking for in a piece of writing?
The first thing is the voice…I want a voice and I want to be hooked into a story.
Amen brother. This is something I’ve complained about a lot, especially with that “other” magazine subscription I have. When I start reading something, I want to feel like a unique person is talking to me, like this is something new I haven’t read before. Once that starts to blend into the story—if it’s good—I’m going to keep reading. Otherwise I’ll quit—and believe me, I will.
I think beginning writers tend not to think about a reader. They tend to think about themselves…they lose sight of the fact that they’re trying to entertain somebody. You have to reel them in.
I’ve been there: you start to get so sucked up in how you’re going to sound and what it’s going to mean about you that you forget about the person who will read it. They could care less about you. They want something entertaining and they will care more for your characters (if done right) then about the author.
What would your ideal author be like?
Someone who understands that, while they are happy with what they’ve done, there may be room for improvement…I may be wrong with the fix I suggest, but I’m not wrong with the need for a fix…
This feels like it’s mainly about ego. A lot of authors are convinced that something is perfect and shouldn’t be touched. I’m the type of writer that is so insecure about most of what he’s written that any kind of suggestion is a chance at getting better. I also like that he’s not telling writers “Hey, I’m right and this is the way you should fix it.” He’s saying, “this is not right, here is one way to fix it. Don’t like it? That’s cool, but this still needs fixing, don’t ignore it.” This Chuck Adams guy is all right, isn’t he?
Then he goes into a little diatribe about writers who feel “cheap” when it comes to selling their book:
Bullshit. That’s part of the process. You wrote the book for a reason: You want people to read it. Help us. Help us get it out there.
I think all writers know this feeling of doing something they consider “art” and then turning around and trying to commercialize it. It must feel weird (I’ll let everyone know once someone is buying what I’m selling) but like Chuck says, what’s the point otherwise? You may not have done it for the money, but you wanted people to read your stuff right? So promote the hell out of it so that more people get to read it.
He then goes on to explain the difference, in his opinion, between the big publishing houses and the smaller ones like Algonquin. This is where he really gets candid: he says that, when he worked at Simon & Schuster he was “not a good person sometimes.” He would use the name to lure writers in when maybe it wasn’t the best place for them. Of course, it could be that it’s because he now works at Algonquin, but this guy has earned some trust up to this point.
Anyway, this is the kind of person I would love to work with if I ever had a book out. Honest, refreshing, and intent on making the book and the author better.
Attaway Chuck.
