Kyo Yuy

Many people dream of being super famous. I know I’ve personally dreamed about becoming an actor, singer, writer, progamer, Nobel Prize winning scientist, or some combination thereof, but just how realistic are my dreams?

I was once friends with someone who wanted to publish his own novel, which he titled “Project Xero.” I did not really read it in detail, but I believe it was about a bunch of people trapped on an island, trying to break free. It struck me as something that was very typical of many fictional works out there, and I felt that the writing style was very unpolished. Still, his friends were extremely supportive of his dream, and he kept writing and revising his novel.

How realistic were his dreams? Not once has he attempted to contact a publisher or editor about proofreading and publishing. He has been dreaming about publishing this book for the past 5+ years, and all he’s done in this time is continue to revise the same work over and over again. I don’t even have to consider the quality of his work to conclude that, at this current rate, he has no chance of publishing. Without an established name in the industry, no one will just ASK him to publish his work. It is his own responsibility to pursue other publishing companies and see if any of them are interested in his novel.

The more I analyze books and other media in detail, the more I realize that quality is not the number one deciding factor in whether or not a book becomes published. I’ve seen some rather mundane, pointless books hit the shelves. And as an anime enthusiast, I only need to look at some of the less famous anime to see how bland and 2-dimensional many stories can be.

Even some of the most famous works tend to follow the same generic plotline. Shakespeare, who is often lauded as one of the greatest playwrights of all time, was heavily influenced by Roman and Greek literature, and many literary critics have drawn parallels between some of Shakespeare’s most famous plays and poems written by famous classical authors. For example, some literary critics feel that Romeo and Juliet is little more than an adaptation of Ovid’s Pyamus and Thisbe. Shakespeare added more characters and a greater level of detail, but the overall theme and plot of Romeo and Juliet follows the same path that Pyramus and Thisbe follows: the idea of two lovers who love each other despite parental feuds, and end up dying as a result of their disobedient love.

When we see how the BEST works of all time are often derivatives of previous writing, and how most published books are mundane and repetitive, we can see that quality really ISN’T the primary consideration in whether or not a book becomes published. So what factors are important in having a work published?

1) An established reputation - This does not necessarily have to be a reputation in writing. Famous actors, award winning scientists, and political leaders are examples of people who already have a major reputation in society, and as a result these people have a leg up in getting their work published. Since the fundamental idea is that publishers WANT TO MAKE MONEY, books written by famous people are simply likely to have an established reader base. Fans of these famous people will buy their work regardless of quality. One only needs to look at Maddox’s The Alphabet of Manliness or Stephen Colbert’s I Am America and So Can You to see how just having a name attached to a work can cause it to become an overnight best seller.

2) Prior authorship - If an author has written a book before and that work became famous, publishers will often expect that future works by this author will gain popularity, ESPECIALLY in the case of sequels. One need only look at the Harry Potter series to see that “If you strike rich with one, you’ll strike rich with the rest of them.”

3) Connections - Knowing someone with a strong connection to the industry, or being related to someone who’s had a strong impact in the literary business will go a long way in getting a book out there. One of my university’s professors, Henry Adams, has a huge leg up in publishing books because of his legacy - he is a direct descendant of second U.S. President John Adams. As such, he has a huge advantage in being recognized by publishing companies, because publishers may expect his legacy to have a noticeable impact on garnering potential readers.

4) Persistence - Barring any special connections or privileges a person might have, the only other way people can publish their books is through constant perseverance. Most potential authors will be rejected by as many as 100 publishing companies before one finally decides that their work is interesting enough to be worth publishing. Even some of the most famous authors today had their famous works rejected 25 times before finally gaining acceptance. If I recall, Tracy Dills, an author who spoke in my middle school years about publishing children’s books, was rejected by over 25 companies before her work was finally accepted. Granted, if you can also illustrate your book and are naturally talented (like my friend Haley), you’ll have a significant advantage in getting your work out there, but even then you’ll have to make arduous efforts to get your name out there. According to my friend, at the Cleveland Institute of Art, teachers tell you that even if your art is revolutionary and you’re the most brilliant artist of the 21st century, if you do not go out and contact publishers about your work, you will never be famous.

Another thing to consider is the fact that fiction, as a market, has recently been on the decline. In the Information Age, people are reading books less and less, and this applies particularly powerfully to fiction. Therefore, it may be better to start off publishing a nonfiction work (to establish your name)  before you proceed to publishing fictional works.

The moral of the story can be summarized in the following:

1) ANYONE can publish ANYTHING, regardless of quality, as long as he/she has the persistence to find a publisher willing to publish his/her work.

2) Writing quality does not necessarily decide the popularity of the work. Advertising, connections, and reputation, can all  have a huge factor in deciding whether a book collects dust on the shelf or becomes the next New York Times best seller.

3) A publishing company’s primary goal is to make money. Writing and drawing skills will ALWAYS take a back seat to making money. I think keeping this concept in mind will really help potential authors figure out what to write and also whom to contact when it finally becomes time to get their work published.