This lines up with my experience exactly. Not to sound bitter for having queried over 100 agents for my novel challenging the homelessness industry, but I also have tried to find novels like the ones I read in high school honors English, which was about 25 years ago and the books were old even then and can’t. My English teachers taught me that novels exist to challenge the current social order, though in the extreme leftist way I see taking over our culture. So that is how I have written mine.
Even sci-fi is soft these days. Maybe that’s related to the phenomenon a recent Wired magazine posted about governments started to warn about “extreme anti-tech activism.” Political gaslighting to shove through unpopular agendas that will only harm humanity and self-interested middlemen too exhausted and myopic and financially hamstrung to stand up to the forces of evil: wonder twin powers, activate!
I do feel like there is a lowering of ambition for the arts in general, not just fiction. Perhaps due in part also to a reaction to Trump. We seem to think that making obvious statements about injustice, including "inclusivity", is enough for art and even a prerequisite for it. When it takes no art at all to do this. This points to a loss of faith in art by the tastemakers who determine what gets out whom you speak of.
In the 1980s' - 90s' published short stories in glossies were read by millions, and the competition for publishing was fierce, but editors searched for and recognized stories that told a story that readers wanted to read. Today, editors no longer care about what readers want because there are no longer any readers in any kind of numbers. Now, editors seem to only care about the style of syntax that matches their own biases. I used to get $2,500 a story from Redbook ($8,000 in today's dollars). How does the zero-pay-today model compete? It doesn't, and writing sucks. My guess is that the good writing that remains is not getting submitted; the best writing today is probably only found in letters exchanged between lovers, where the only editors are the hearts involved.... syntax and spelling and style be damned.
"My guess is that the good writing that remains is not getting submitted." That's a very interesting idea, and I think it has a lot of merit. I know a few excellent writers who don't want to deal with the current system of rejection, lack of pay, and politics of the so-called literary world.
It can be assumed that those writers will be looking for other channels to publish their work. Querying agents is such a fruitless and time-wasting endeavour, and self-publishing on the main billionaire-led platforms so nearly pointless as well, that writers of any import should perhaps envisage pooling together to create other structures of book publication, for the sake of re-enlivening "true" literature, and offer it to deprived readers. They do exist, if not in the millions...
We are thinking along the same lines. I've actually been doing a little research into the idea of alternative publishing and marketing avenues. I hope to be able to post something in a few more weeks to get the conversation started.
Another thought-provoking essay, Joe. You must have a special tree in your yard that you pick these wonderful fruits from.
You seem to have stumbled upon a revised Peter Principle: you will rise to the level of your incompetence, then get promoted for your loyalty.
I suspect there are iconoclast novels out there, but the sacred cows these days are white hegemony and related systemic and institutional roots deemed "bad" by someone. Perhaps in your question, "Can it change?", is an opportunity for novels that challenge that--so the pendulum swings.
I'm more pessimistic about change per se in the sense of change in a direction I want. Instead, as no one could have predicted the current state, no one can predict how it will be ten or fifteen years down the road. One of your commenters said it was "luck, timing, and talent." I'm riding that bus too.
I think you're on to something here. Identity politics has infested a lot of things, and in publishing it sometimes looks like the writer's identity is more important than the writing.
When I was publishing and editing Orca I was always looking for a balance of perspectives, but not at the cost of literary quality. I still believe that's the best way to do it.
Joe, I hope you will visit the Aeolian Islands, where my paternal grandparents were born and bred. I am perhaps the only Sicilian who has done something useful for the homeland by preserving our literary heritage. I have translated the poetry from the Eoliana oral tradition. "Homespun Homerics in the Kingdom of Aeolus: Ninu Murina in Stromboli" . . . . . . . https://journal.oraltradition.org/wp-content/uploads/files/articles/17i/Loschiavo.pdf
LindaAnn, it's funny...on the plane over I was thinking about our literary heritage. Hopefully we'll find a bookstore where I can pick up some Pirandello and Lampedusa. When we were in Lisbon we came upon the oldest bookstore in Europe, so naturally I had to purchase Pessoa's Book of Disquiet. Liked it so much I used parts in a class I was teaching at the time. I just downloaded "Homespun Homerics," and will read when we return. Unfortunately our itinerary is booked, so no opportunity to visit the Aeolian Islands...this time.
Joe, thanks for downloading "Homespun Homerics..." You will notice an engraving labeled "The simple parish church where Ninu Murina was baptized, married, and mourned." This church - - Santo Bartolomeo - - was also where my paternal grandfather Giuseppe Lo Schiavo was christened. Joe, please note the convenience of having the local public oven right next to the church steps!!! 🔥 Enjoy your time in Sicily.
I wouldn't worry about all that stuff. It's always a matter of luck, timing and talent - no matter what the odds. But enjoy Sicily. If you're in Palermo don't miss the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. If you're in Syracuse, look at everything the city and surroundings has to offer - and maybe a side trip to Noto. Buon viaggio!
In fact we will be in Palermo next week. And Syracuse and Noto later this week. I've read that one of the finest bakeries in Europe is in Noto... I think it's Caffe Sicilia.
Good morning Joe. Another thoughtful essay; many thanks. I have not been writing/publishing very long (less than 4 years), but I have found that often what I send to journals (and previously, to agents) has been ignored, sending a generic "unfortunately" response automatically after a number of weeks. A large part of what I write is auto-fiction, and a large number of editors are young and have not experienced "life", so how could they respond otherwise? Also, many have graduated from MFA programs that teach formulas, not creative writing. Is it any wonder that much of what is published today is boring, unchallenging, and banal?
Undoubtedly. When you read what these mostly juvenile agents say about themselves, their tastes, their references, their "wishlists", you sense how well they have been formatted.
One of the things that bothers me most about the publishing and especially the lit journal world is its unprofessionalism... an unprofessionalism that is justified by a vague, dreamy "artistry," more of an attitude than a calling. True artists also understand that what they do is as much work as art. And editors and publishers should return that respect by responding in a timely and efficient manner. That was never a problem for me when I edited Orca and Tahoma. You're right about many editors not having experienced life enough to make good decisions. Many programs and publishing companies seem to have forgotten about the idea of apprenticeship.
This lines up with my experience exactly. Not to sound bitter for having queried over 100 agents for my novel challenging the homelessness industry, but I also have tried to find novels like the ones I read in high school honors English, which was about 25 years ago and the books were old even then and can’t. My English teachers taught me that novels exist to challenge the current social order, though in the extreme leftist way I see taking over our culture. So that is how I have written mine.
Even sci-fi is soft these days. Maybe that’s related to the phenomenon a recent Wired magazine posted about governments started to warn about “extreme anti-tech activism.” Political gaslighting to shove through unpopular agendas that will only harm humanity and self-interested middlemen too exhausted and myopic and financially hamstrung to stand up to the forces of evil: wonder twin powers, activate!
I do feel like there is a lowering of ambition for the arts in general, not just fiction. Perhaps due in part also to a reaction to Trump. We seem to think that making obvious statements about injustice, including "inclusivity", is enough for art and even a prerequisite for it. When it takes no art at all to do this. This points to a loss of faith in art by the tastemakers who determine what gets out whom you speak of.
In the 1980s' - 90s' published short stories in glossies were read by millions, and the competition for publishing was fierce, but editors searched for and recognized stories that told a story that readers wanted to read. Today, editors no longer care about what readers want because there are no longer any readers in any kind of numbers. Now, editors seem to only care about the style of syntax that matches their own biases. I used to get $2,500 a story from Redbook ($8,000 in today's dollars). How does the zero-pay-today model compete? It doesn't, and writing sucks. My guess is that the good writing that remains is not getting submitted; the best writing today is probably only found in letters exchanged between lovers, where the only editors are the hearts involved.... syntax and spelling and style be damned.
"My guess is that the good writing that remains is not getting submitted." That's a very interesting idea, and I think it has a lot of merit. I know a few excellent writers who don't want to deal with the current system of rejection, lack of pay, and politics of the so-called literary world.
It can be assumed that those writers will be looking for other channels to publish their work. Querying agents is such a fruitless and time-wasting endeavour, and self-publishing on the main billionaire-led platforms so nearly pointless as well, that writers of any import should perhaps envisage pooling together to create other structures of book publication, for the sake of re-enlivening "true" literature, and offer it to deprived readers. They do exist, if not in the millions...
We are thinking along the same lines. I've actually been doing a little research into the idea of alternative publishing and marketing avenues. I hope to be able to post something in a few more weeks to get the conversation started.
I should be an eager attender in such an exchange!
Another thought-provoking essay, Joe. You must have a special tree in your yard that you pick these wonderful fruits from.
You seem to have stumbled upon a revised Peter Principle: you will rise to the level of your incompetence, then get promoted for your loyalty.
I suspect there are iconoclast novels out there, but the sacred cows these days are white hegemony and related systemic and institutional roots deemed "bad" by someone. Perhaps in your question, "Can it change?", is an opportunity for novels that challenge that--so the pendulum swings.
I'm more pessimistic about change per se in the sense of change in a direction I want. Instead, as no one could have predicted the current state, no one can predict how it will be ten or fifteen years down the road. One of your commenters said it was "luck, timing, and talent." I'm riding that bus too.
Safe and enjoyable travels, Joe.
Let's hope "luck, timing, and talent" somehow dovetail into a new direction for literature.
I think you're on to something here. Identity politics has infested a lot of things, and in publishing it sometimes looks like the writer's identity is more important than the writing.
When I was publishing and editing Orca I was always looking for a balance of perspectives, but not at the cost of literary quality. I still believe that's the best way to do it.
Joe, I hope you will visit the Aeolian Islands, where my paternal grandparents were born and bred. I am perhaps the only Sicilian who has done something useful for the homeland by preserving our literary heritage. I have translated the poetry from the Eoliana oral tradition. "Homespun Homerics in the Kingdom of Aeolus: Ninu Murina in Stromboli" . . . . . . . https://journal.oraltradition.org/wp-content/uploads/files/articles/17i/Loschiavo.pdf
LindaAnn, it's funny...on the plane over I was thinking about our literary heritage. Hopefully we'll find a bookstore where I can pick up some Pirandello and Lampedusa. When we were in Lisbon we came upon the oldest bookstore in Europe, so naturally I had to purchase Pessoa's Book of Disquiet. Liked it so much I used parts in a class I was teaching at the time. I just downloaded "Homespun Homerics," and will read when we return. Unfortunately our itinerary is booked, so no opportunity to visit the Aeolian Islands...this time.
Joe, thanks for downloading "Homespun Homerics..." You will notice an engraving labeled "The simple parish church where Ninu Murina was baptized, married, and mourned." This church - - Santo Bartolomeo - - was also where my paternal grandfather Giuseppe Lo Schiavo was christened. Joe, please note the convenience of having the local public oven right next to the church steps!!! 🔥 Enjoy your time in Sicily.
I wouldn't worry about all that stuff. It's always a matter of luck, timing and talent - no matter what the odds. But enjoy Sicily. If you're in Palermo don't miss the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. If you're in Syracuse, look at everything the city and surroundings has to offer - and maybe a side trip to Noto. Buon viaggio!
In fact we will be in Palermo next week. And Syracuse and Noto later this week. I've read that one of the finest bakeries in Europe is in Noto... I think it's Caffe Sicilia.
Good morning Joe. Another thoughtful essay; many thanks. I have not been writing/publishing very long (less than 4 years), but I have found that often what I send to journals (and previously, to agents) has been ignored, sending a generic "unfortunately" response automatically after a number of weeks. A large part of what I write is auto-fiction, and a large number of editors are young and have not experienced "life", so how could they respond otherwise? Also, many have graduated from MFA programs that teach formulas, not creative writing. Is it any wonder that much of what is published today is boring, unchallenging, and banal?
Enjoy Sicily.
Eric (E.P. Lande)
Undoubtedly. When you read what these mostly juvenile agents say about themselves, their tastes, their references, their "wishlists", you sense how well they have been formatted.
One of the things that bothers me most about the publishing and especially the lit journal world is its unprofessionalism... an unprofessionalism that is justified by a vague, dreamy "artistry," more of an attitude than a calling. True artists also understand that what they do is as much work as art. And editors and publishers should return that respect by responding in a timely and efficient manner. That was never a problem for me when I edited Orca and Tahoma. You're right about many editors not having experienced life enough to make good decisions. Many programs and publishing companies seem to have forgotten about the idea of apprenticeship.