I love rubbish tabloids, breakfast tv and X-Factor. I know I should read the Times, listen to Radio Four and get out more on a Saturday night, but that’s me. And because of my terrible taste in media entertainment I find I have a lot of sympathy with one Simon Cowell.
In the lead up to the live X-Factor shows Simon (and his fellow judges) listens to act after act who think they can sing. He knows they’re never going to make it – hell, we know they’re never going to make it – yet week after week these poor, sad, deluded acts turn up convinced that they’ve got what it takes to break into the big time. I don’t know about you but I feel like screaming at my tv, “ listen to yourself, you’re rubbish, you can’t sing”. Yet despite the obvious they react with fury when Simon tells them, “listen to yourself, you’re rubbish, you can’t sing”.
I can relate to Simon sometimes. Writers approach me and they seem to have no idea as to how they rate, as writers, in the general scheme of things. More often than not they haven’t looked at the current market and have written something that is wildly unoriginal. Sometimes they have looked at the market and written something that is inadequate. Other times would-be authors are simply illiterate and make the most basic of grammatical mistakes, even in their covering letter or email.
And yet, and yet…
I remember when I was first starting out in this business. At the time I was fiction editor on a popular teenage magazine and a certain George Michael turned up at our office for an interview apologising profusely that the other half of Wham couldn’t make it that day. What losers I thought. They’re just another wannabe pop act and they’ll never make it. How wrong was I!
Which is why I now never give up on would-be authors if they have sufficient self-belief. It’s not all about pure talent no matter how much we’d like it to be. Sometimes it’s about hard work, application and perseverance. Jedward bring it on!
Hi Louise & everyone
How do we know or recognise that we have some genuine talent and we aren’t fooling ouselves? Is working hard and perserverance enough? Someone wanting to publish my writing would help give me self belief. I don’t think Jedward will last becaue the talent is missing in my opinion. I don’t want to make a fool of myself by believing something that isn’t there.
All I’m saying is that you don’t necessarily need to have the ‘X-Factor’to get published. If publishers waited for that then they’d only publish one book a year at most! This should be encouraging for most writers. In other words if you research the market, and publish something that fits into that market, there is a chance you will find success without, necessarily, having to be brilliant. Hence my reference to Jedward.
Hi Louise & everyone
A few months ago I knew nothing about writing for children. Now I know a lot more. I have just finished reading Run Zan Run and I enjoyed it. I have read numerous other children’s books as well lately and I have learned a lot. So without being brilliant or having the x factor I can still do well. Without working hard and doing research and reading and working on my writing a lot more I don’t have a chance of doing well. So I now have my New Year’s Resolution. Thank you Louise.
Jackie.
Hi Louise, everyone.
Happy New Year to you all. Have a lovely New Year Louise. Hope you find lots of wonderful writers in 2010.
Jackie.
Hi everyone.
I read an article at christmas about Julia Donaldson and her book The Gruffalo. She has made a mint of money with it. I just had to watch it on television over christmas. I didn’t enjoy it that much and it made me wonder how it sold so many copies. I then ordered the book from the library and read it last night.
Now I can understand children and parents alike enjoying reading it together it is extremely good.
Feeback on books that we have read and enjoyed is always useful. Thank you Jackie.
That def gives me hope then:)
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