Controversial novel — what to do?

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

I've written elsewhere on the site about the woes facing my first novel Warp — my publisher (MP Publishing/Macadam Cage) isn't currently able to get it on bookstores in the States as the American distributor won't touch such a controversial, blasphemous book.

Now I'm trying to place my second novel Agency, which was intended to be mainstream commercial fiction, but hasn't turned out that way. I'm currently 20,000 words into it, and my editor has described the results as "darker than American Psycho". She thinks it's the most hilarious black comedy she's ever seen, but isn't going to buy it as once again the American distributor wouldn't go near a novel of that ilk.

Meanwhile, my beta readers' reactions have varied from fascination and delight to absolute revulsion; several have commented on the considerable use of bad language (205 uses of the f-word and 87 of the c-word so far), which I consider integral to the dialogue and narrative voice. I've also shown it to my contacts in two manuscript assessment agencies: one liked the novel but considered it unpublishable, while the other derided the opinion of the first and described it as a "clever, confident book" that merely needed to find the right outlet.

Here's my dilemma: I have no intention of finishing it while I'm not certain it will place with a publisher, as I could be spending my time on my non-fiction books instead. But at the same time, agents and publishers don't generally want to purchase a title on the basis of a query letter, synopsis and 20,000 words (that if they've got the stomach for the book in the first place).

So where do I go from here? Are there agents or publishers with particular interest in challenging writing who'd like to take a look?

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Here's my dilemma: I have no intention of finishing it while I'm not certain it will place with a publisher, as I could be spending my time on my non-fiction books instead.

So...you want a guarantee that a particular book will sell or you won't write it? :Wha:

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Not quite: nothing in life (and even less, publishing) is guaranteed. Nonetheless, I think that from the query letter, synopsis and first 20,000 words, an agent or publisher can get a pretty clear idea of what I'm trying to do with this novel, and from that can express a general interest in it. If somebody looks like they might bite on it, I can get the book finished within 60 days. If nobody's going to touch something so intense and left-field, it makes more sense for me to concentrate on my non-fiction work, which definitely will be published.

Filigree · Feb 18, 2012

'Controversial' books sell all the time, but there are no guarantees about anything. You could improve your odds with an agent willing to push the book toward the right distributors and outlets. Otherwise, worrying about controversy is a fine way to halt your momentum for good.

If you and MP Publishing/Macadam Cage want to sell WARP and AGENCY in the States, look at another distributor. Your first one has obviously failed you. A clever enough marketing person could spin enough publicity to make people take notice. After all, AMERICAN PSYCHO sold.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Yes, we're going to find another distributor for Warp. As for Agency, I didn't think I'd written anything particularly challenging until I saw the reaction of some of my beta readers.

thethinker42 · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Not quite: nothing in life (and even less, publishing) is guaranteed. Nonetheless, I think that from the query letter, synopsis and first 20,000 words, an agent or publisher can get a pretty clear idea of what I'm trying to do with this novel, and from that can express a general interest in it. If somebody looks like they might bite on it, I can get the book finished within 60 days. If nobody's going to touch something so intense and left-field, it makes more sense for me to concentrate on my non-fiction work, which definitely will be published.

No one's going to touch an unfinished novel, regardless of the content. The only time an unfinished novel is going to get anywhere with an agent is if you're already in with that agent and they already know you can deliver a solid final product...which means you start by querying a finished book.

ETA: To clarify - Yes, you already have one book out there, but in order to get in with an agent, you need to query them with a finished book. Once you're signed with an agent, you can talk to them about "hey, I have this other book in the works...", but querying an unfinished novel won't get you anywhere.

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Not quite: nothing in life (and even less, publishing) is guaranteed. Nonetheless, I think that from the query letter, synopsis and first 20,000 words, an agent or publisher can get a pretty clear idea of what I'm trying to do with this novel, and from that can express a general interest in it. If somebody looks like they might bite on it, I can get the book finished within 60 days. If nobody's going to touch something so intense and left-field, it makes more sense for me to concentrate on my non-fiction work, which definitely will be published.

Yes, but they won't get a clear idea of whether or not you can finish the book.

If they request a full and you say "Okay, gimme a couple of months to finish it," how do you think that will make you look?

They don't want a book in two months. They want a book as soon as they request it.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Yes, that is the issue. I'm a full-time, professional writer, and can easily finish the novel if it appears there's a market for it. But as a full-time, professional writer, I'd rather be working on something that pays if there isn't a market for it.

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Yes, that is the issue. I'm a full-time, professional writer, and can easily finish the novel if it appears there's a market for it. But as a full-time, professional writer, I'd rather be working on something that pays if there isn't a market for it.

So you say. But they don't know that. An agent wants proof you can finish a novel, and the only proof you'll be able to give is...a complete manuscript.

thethinker42 · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Yes, that is the issue. I'm a full-time, professional writer, and can easily finish the novel if it appears there's a market for it.

Understandable, but don't expect to get an agent or editor's attention until it's finished. It's a gamble we all take when writing a novel, that it'll sell well or sell at all, but until it's finished, it won't interest anyone with the power to buy or sell it.

But as a full-time, professional writer, I'd rather be working on something that pays if there isn't a market for it.

And an agent is going to spend his/her time on something that's finished and can therefore be pitched and sold.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Would it make any sense for me to post some sample sentences or paragraphs here, so that any agents or commissioning editors can get a sense of the style? I obviously wouldn't expect to receive any offers as a result of doing so, but it would be interesting to see whether people react by saying "this is potentially interesting" or "this is so intense and grotesque as to be unsaleable".

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Would it make any sense for me to post some sample sentences or paragraphs here, so that any agents or commissioning editors can get a sense of the style? I obviously wouldn't expect to receive any offers as a result of doing so, but it would be interesting to see whether people react by saying "this is potentially interesting" or "this is so intense and grotesque as to be unsaleable".

There's a SYW section, but I wouldn't hold my breath for passing agents to offer representation based on a small section of an unfinished novel.

thethinker42 · Feb 18, 2012

Additionally, and I don't mean this disrespectfully or as anything snide, but I think it's a point that needs to be made...

If an agent was willing to take the time to read and consider your unfinished manuscript, which is extremely unlikely, they would probably also go take a peek at your existing book. So, out of curiosity, I went and looked at the book on Amazon.

The very first line of the book has a misspelled word in it. As a reader, that raises a red flag that the rest of the book is going to be poorly edited. An agent holding an unfinished manuscript in his other hand, using that existing book as an example of whether or not the author can finish a quality book, is probably going to reject it.

Finish your book, polish it within an inch of its life, and query it. It's really the only way you're going to catch the attention of an agent or editor.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Yes — "weakeneed" [sic]. The publisher mistakenly used an earlier, unedited draft of the typesetting for the first few ebooks. I told them to change this months ago, and it clearly hasn't been done. Just wait until I get hold of them on Monday.

thethinker42 · Feb 18, 2012

I couldn't C&P it because it was a PDF, but here's the screencap:

firedrake · Feb 18, 2012

Dude, SP and The Thinker are spot-on.

If you read through some of the many threads on here, you'll know that subbing a story idea before you've finished writing is not terribly clever.

Finish the book, make it pretty and submit it. No agent or editor is going to make any kind of offer based on a snippet, unless your name is Stephen King.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

thethinker42 said:
I couldn't C&P it because it was a PDF, but here's the screencap:

Thanks — I spotted that just as you posted. I'm absolutely furious about it. Having spent many years as an advertising agency creative director, I'm experienced in editing and proofreading and I put that book through countless levels of revisions to make sure the typesetting was perfect, only for them to send out ebooks using an earlier version. To add insult to injury, "weakeneed" was an introduced typesetting error, as I don't make misspellings in my manuscripts.

Ketzel · Feb 18, 2012

I'd venture to say many of us on this site write for pay in some fashion or other. In my case, it's also my non-fiction that pays the bills. But I guess I don't see time spent on fiction as not worth it unless the novel sells, because I enjoy writing it, it's more fun than another paid project tends to be, and if it sells, that's bonus money. If all writing is fungible to you and you want to be sure you can sell everything that you write, I strongly recommend you drop the fiction altogether -- it will always be a gamble, especially so if you are drawn towards the controversial, dark and profane side of the spectrum. This isn't meant as criticism or judgment, btw, just a practical observation given what you seem to have as your goal: not wasting time on fiction when writing non-fiction pays the bills.

Here's my dilemma: I have no intention of finishing it while I'm not certain it will place with a publisher, as I could be spending my time on my non-fiction books instead

jclarkdawe · Feb 18, 2012

Let's go through what you've got for opinions so far:

Richard Falk said:
American distributor won't touch such a controversial, blasphemous book.

Richard Falk said:
She thinks it's the most hilarious black comedy she's ever seen, but isn't going to buy it

Richard Falk said:
my beta readers' reactions have varied from fascination and delight to absolute revulsion

Richard Falk said:
one liked the novel but considered it unpublishable,

Richard Falk said:
the other described it as a "clever, confident book" that merely needed to find the right outlet.

What's your difficulty here? The answers are not only consistent, they're clear. You've got a book that's going to be a hard sell, with probably low sales figures until and unless it catches on as a cult book.

You might find an agent who likes it, but that doesn't guarantee a publisher. A publisher isn't going to make a final commitment until they've got the complete book in hand. And I can't see a publisher looking at a big run on this book. Too much of a gamble on what sort of market acceptance.

If you want a good gamble, this isn't the book to write. If you like playing long-shots, go for it.

You've got more than enough information. You just are hoping someone will come up with what you want to hear.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Jamesaritchie · Feb 18, 2012

Richard Falk said:
Yes, that is the issue. I'm a full-time, professional writer, and can easily finish the novel if it appears there's a market for it. But as a full-time, professional writer, I'd rather be working on something that pays if there isn't a market for it.

Publishers buy controversial novels on a regular basis. Controversy is considered a good thing by most of them, IF the novel is well-written, and has story and character value in its own right.

But the novel must be complete. Even an agent wouldn't be very bright to take on, or even express much interest, in a uncompleted novel.

If you're a full-time, professional writer, you should know better than to approach things this way. My guess is that you aren't a full-time, professional fiction writer, and you need to learn the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction.

You don't get to sell a novel until after you write the whole thing, at least until after you've established yourself as a writer who can write novels the reading public loves.

If you think writing the entire thing is a waste unless it sells, fiction isn't for you.

Richard Falk · Feb 18, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
My guess is that you aren't a full-time, professional fiction writer, and you need to learn the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction.

Correct. Warp was my first stab at writing fiction since I was a teenager and was written purely for fun and not with publication in mind. I was frankly astounded when the first publisher that saw it, wanted it, as I believed it had little or no commercial potential.

Anyway, thanks to all for some very useful input. I'm far from certain whether Agency has any commercial value either, but it looks as though finishing it is the only way to find out.

Uno87 · Feb 18, 2012

I'd say do what you believe is best. There isn't a person on this site that knows exactly what's going on with your work but you.

In my opinion, you've already got a quarter of the book done. Go for it. If you find that these questions keep nagging at you and it affects your writing, stop. Sometimes time away is the best remedy.

Bottom line who cares about popular opinion. Write it because you want to not because it'll sell. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck.

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Uno87 said:
I'd say do what you believe is best.

So the opinions of agents and publishers and readers don't matter?

Uno87 said:
There isn't a person on this site that knows exactly what's going on with your work but you.

There are plenty of people on this site who have seen threads like this many times before.

Uno87 said:
Bottom line who cares about popular opinion.

Anyone who wants to sell a book.

Uno87 said:
Write it because you want to not because it'll sell.

Sadly, those of us with rent to pay have to think about books that'll sell.

Hip-Hop-a-potamus · Feb 18, 2012

I realize you're going for controversial and all, but if it's going to be that difficult to place, maybe just turn it down a tad. It's one thing to be controversial, it's another to be downright offensive.

Seriously-- 87 uses of the C word? I wouldn't touch it either.

scarletpeaches · Feb 18, 2012

Hip-Hop-a-potamus said:
I realize you're going for controversial and all, but if it's going to be that difficult to place, maybe just turn it down a tad. It's one thing to be controversial, it's another to be downright offensive.

Seriously-- 87 uses of the C word? I wouldn't touch it either.

Not referring to the C-word, but try reading How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman.

4k+ fucks and it won the Booker.

Lock thread.

Controversial novel — what to do?

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practical experience, FTW

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Leaving on the 2:19

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My rhymes are bottomless