Some Publishing Pros Walk Into a Bar...

Abby Zidle

At the conference I attended the other weekend, I was sitting with an agent and an author at the bar when the agent asked us, "Do you believe that every well-written book will eventually find a publisher?"

It's a good question.  And it's interesting to hear what different people think.  The author who was with us said yes, a good book would always find a home somewhere.  I agreed, if you assume that you have an unlimited time to shop the book around...you might have to put it in a trunk for a few years until the market turns, but a good book will out.  But the agent who posed the question disagreed--she felt that sometimes, even an excellent book simply wouldn't find a home.

Perhaps this is just a reflection of our jobs, and the level of optimism inherent in each.  I think any author who wants longevity in this business probably has to believe that all good books will find a home...otherwise how could you go on?  (Frankly, I don't understand how y'all are that brave to begin with, facing all that rejection.)  As an editor, I dole out rejection all the time...but just as often, I read in the trades that someone has snapped up a manuscript that I thought was junk.  So if those are getting bought, surely a book that's well-written, even if it's not my sort of thing, would find a home, too.  But the agent comes face to face with the difficulty of selling a project every day.  He has to think about more than what he loves, but what will sell...and if something he loves doesn't sell, the project (and the author) don't just vanish with the next recycling period.

So what do you all think?  Will a well-written book always find a home?  Tell me about it in the comments...

(And a post-Derby Day addendum: RIP, Eight Belles. You ran a hell of a last race.)