If You Want to Publish, Here's What to Read
Contemporary writers have to write for contemporary readers
You know those movies about writers in Days of Yore, in which said writers gleefully slam THE END into their typewriters and then a few minutes later receive the published books along with piles of cash and fan mail? And no one ever asks them to do edits, or make a BookTok, and instead just showers them with love and admiration and a living wage?
Of course we mostly remember the writers who actually were successful in one way or another, and surely there have always been writers who struggled to write and publish and survive. (And of course portrayals of writers in movies and TV shows are always silly.) But it does seem true that in various past eras, the writing life and publishing world were a lot different than they are today.
Whatever the truth was about the lives and bank accounts of writers in any iteration of the past, what matters for our purposes is:
Contemporary writers live in the contemporary world.
Sorry, I know that’s annoying. But I also really think it’s important to acknowledge that we are writing in, and publishing in, and hoping to connect with readers in, our Actual Current Reality. (Weird for a fiction writer to say, right? Reality, who is she?)
This occurred to me recently while talking to a writer who listed some classic texts as her main “comp titles” for her novel-in-progress, and confessed that she didn’t really read contemporary literature much. Huh, I thought. And: Oh DEAR.
Here’s what I want to say about that: Reading classic/historical texts in your genre is wonderful, crucial even. It’s likely what inspired you to write in the first place, whether that key text for you was a Victorian-era novel or a memoir published in 1990. I love reading books from different time periods — and different places, while we’re at it — because they offer access into lives so unlike my own. And obviously I love to imagine a writing life in an era in which a short story sold to a magazine could support you for the year, and also smoking wasn’t even bad for people yet, and so on.
That said. That is not the world we’re writing in — not the readers we’re writing for, not the publishing world that currently exists, etc etc. It’s fair to say that if you want to write — or really, I guess I mean, if you want to publish — you have to read your contemporaries.
I think this is really useful for getting unstuck, too. It’s easy to read, say, Proust, and feel like, well what the hell do I think I’m doing, why even try to write when Proust has already Prousted. But if you read, instead (or in addition), something by a local author who you can maybe go meet at a reading? Who you can hear talk about their process? Well, it just makes the whole writing endeavor feel much less mysterious and more within reach. Bonus: There is so much amazing, groundbreaking work being published today, and a greater diversity of voices being published than ever before. Don’t know where to start? Go to your local indie bookstore and browse! You HAVE to! It’s part of being a WRITER! You can also buy notebooks and stickers, this is also part of it! YOU’RE WELCOME!
In other words: It’s great and instructional and inspiring to read classics. It’s also easy to get overwhelmed and intimidated if you’re only reading classics. And also, no offense but… you’re not writing a classic.
I mean maybe you are (go off!) but there’s no way of telling — my god, writing anything at all is hard enough! — and in the end you’re not going to be the one to make that call. Unless you’re that awful man I met once at a party. And I don’t think he ever ended up finishing his “classic.”
Point is! In addition to whatever lovely things you’re reading, make time to read stuff that is, shall we say, at your level. Writing your first book of essays? Read a book of essays that just came out, that is the first book of essays written by someone who’s roughly comparable to you (i.e. if you’re not a celebrity, then don’t use a celebrity memoir as your blueprint) (also I understand that if you’re a person who doesn’t see yourself represented very fairly in the publishing world, this is trickier).
If you’re writing short stories, read Chekov and Carver, yes, absolutely, and also read contemporary short stories. And while we’re at it, read short stories that are not in the New Yorker. I mean read the New Yorker too, sure why not, listen to their great fiction podcast which by the way is basically like getting an MFA, get the tote bag while you’re at it, I’ll exchange knowing glances with you over our matching totes on the F train. But like, if the only short stories you read are those that appear in the New Yorker, you’re living in a dream world of languid word count, extreme editing attention, and elite publishing privilege.
I always tell my writing students: Look at ChillSubs! Look at Memoir Monday! Trust me when I say that if you’ve never published anything before, it’s plenty aspirational to read, and dream of submitting to, Electric Literature, or The Rumpus. There is legitimately great stuff being published there every day. And plenty of great stuff by already-published writers being rejected too (I don’t take it personally guys REALLY NO SWEAT).
I know I’m conflating writing and publishing. And I do honestly think there’s something quite gorgeous about writing for writing’s sake, creating just for the joy of it. But if you want to have readers, then you likely want to publish in some manner. And if you want to eventually publish, that means you want to publish in today’s actual world, unless you are a time traveler with access to the realm of publishing in years past… in which case have a great time, drink an absinthe for me, and watch out for, like, tuberculosis, and anti-semitism and such.
Reading your contemporaries — from big presses to indie publishers, from major magazines to tiny literary websites — will give you a much more realistic view of what today’s readers are into, and what today’s publishing world is like.
Also, it’s just nice manners. As Annie Dillard writes in her “Notes for Young Writers”: “Buy hardback fiction and poetry… Never complain about publishing if you don't buy hard-cover fiction and poetry regularly.”
I’m trying to word this all politely, but the reason I’m saying any of this is: I’ve seen firsthand that many aspiring writers are interested only in their own work, and live in their own worlds, and it’s quite frustrating to observe. Maybe that kind of solipsism and/or focus creates a kind of cocoon that makes it possible to write in the first place, and if so, fine, great. But the truth of the matter is that writing is communication, and eventually you have to think about someone other than yourself — the reader, and the literary community, and the realities of today’s publishing world.
It’ll be worth it, I promise, the first time you get a fan letter, er, email, from an actual alive contemporary reader.
Got a favorite recently-published book you think everyone should know about? Share it in the comments!
Exercise: Find something, in the genre you’re writing in, that was published in the last year, that you love. A short story, an essay, a novel, a memoir. Doesn’t matter where it appeared, or if anyone else loved it. Create a reverse outline of it. (This just means making an outline of the major plot points, noting what narrative work each paragraph/section/chapter is doing.) Take a look, in other words, at how it’s made.
Hey psst! Writing Co-Lab, the educational cooperative I co-founded, has a ton of great classes listed for fall. I’m offering a brand-new generative course called Writing for Mothers on the Verge! It’s designed for overwhelmed caregivers: it’s only an hour, on Zoom; it’s during the day; there’s no homework; and you’ll come away feeling refreshed and more in touch with your brain. Won’t you join us? It starts in October and there are still some spaces available.
As always, if you have a manuscript that needs an edit, or a writing project that’s stuck, let’s chat! I’m currently taking on new coaching clients and book-length projects for November. 🍂
One more itty bitty little self-promotional pellet: My next novel, Dear Edna Sloane, coming out from Red Hen Press in 2024, is available for preorder (here! and at the bad place too! and elsewhere!) It’s about a WRITER! I think you will like it!
I just registered for your class with my birthday money! Can’t wait!
Just read Stephanie Danler’s memoir Stray, so achingly good, and really loved Maggie Smith’s You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Total fierceness in each, really admirable truth-telling put together so artfully. 👏