Monday, June 15, 2009

The Ugliest Shoes Ever!

That was the caption on this photo. I'd have to agree, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder! The person wearing them must like them, right?
My friend recommended this book for me to read. I won't mention the title or author. (As usual, I don't want to offend anyone.) She loved the book, and we typically have the same taste when it comes to literature. So I thought for sure I'd like it, too. But I don't. I have been trying to get into it for over a month now, and I just can't. I have always finished every book I have ever started reading, but I'm not sure I will be able to finish this one. I'm only on page 128, and there are over 600 pages. The print is tiny, too. According to my calculations, it must be over 250,000 words. That's a lot of words! Especially when many of them are unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, and the voice is completely unbelievable.
My point is this, and I've made it before, the publishing industry (and apparently the shoe industry) is a highly subjective business. The author liked the book. An agent liked the book. A publisher liked the book. And some readers (like my friend) liked the book. I am curious, though, how many times was the manuscript rejected before it found its home?
I'd also really like to know how many times the design for these shoes was rejected before it found its home! The good news is that if these shoes can get manufactured, surely my book can get published!

6 comments:

Deb said...

Nice parallel on the shoes and publishing. I haven’t read your book but I can guarantee you, sight unseen, that it has a 100% more potential than those nasty shoes!

I think this is the first year in my long reading career that I have actually given up on a few books, so I can relate. I, um, left the bookmarks in though, so I’m not a completely rehabilitated die-hard book finisher.

Since I’m focused on the MBTI today – How much do the publisher’s/pre-reader’s personality types influence the decisions?

Katie Salidas said...

Wow! Those are the ugliest and most painful looking shoes I have ever seen. Good hopeful comparison for writing though. Surely we can get our wonderful works published. It just may take a little while.

AiringMyLaundry said...

Wow! Are those shoes for real??? Goodness.

I read Stephen King's book On Writing and he was rejected over 20 times. And he's STEPHEN KING.

Susan R. Mills said...

Strange Fiction,
Excellent question! I'm sure the publishing industry is greatly influenced by the personalities of those who interact in it.

Quixotic,
I know! Really, though, I love hopeful comparisons. It keeps me sane! We all deserve to be published. How's the "maybe" coming along by the way?

Whispering Writer,
Yes, I think the shoes are for real! Stephen King's book is one of the best books out there! It definitely puts things in perspective. I hope to write a book like that some day. You know, the kind of book where people say, "I read that Susan Mills got rejected 27 times before she got published. And, well, she is SUSAN MILLS!"

Dawn Simon said...

Wow, those shoes are very...interesting. I'd probably break a leg if I tried walking in them! You make a really good point about subjectivity. And, um...do you like my shoes?

Best of luck on your quest!

Susan R. Mills said...

Dawn,
Best of luck to you as well!