More Than One
I have had more than one writer friend over the years, and
several blog readers and lurkers this year, write to me in a panic. "I have been working on my book for a year, and now I just found out a new book was bought at auction that sounds EXACTLY like my book."
I sympathize. But then I usually tell them not to worry, because it will never be exactly alike. And if it's done well, there's room for more than one. Want a good example? For many years, the book at left was my all-time favorite. The biography of Paul Erdos, I thought the author, Bruce Schechter, had done a brilliant job of describing the mathematician who fascinates me most. I have this "thing" for physicists and mathematicians.
Then, an acquaintance of mine told me he had read the most fascinating book about a mathematician. This acquaintance of mine, at least on the surface of things, appears pretty brilliant in his own right, so I was interested right away. He told me it was a biography . . . of Paul Erdos. "Oh, I've read it. I thought it was hilarious and poignant and wonderful. And I love the title--My Brain is Open." He looked puzzled. "Mine is called 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers.'" (The book he recommended is on the right.)
Now, not only was I interested in a book about my favorite math god . . . but as a WRITER, I was fascinated. How could two biographies exist on the quirkiest math genius to have ever lived? Two biographies published not THAT far apart. So I read the second one. And it was TOTALLY different. In fact, in some ways, I didn't quite feel as if I was reading about the same man. The nuances were different--and it was equally wonderful, taking nothing from the first book. The first book was told in linear fashion, his life story from birth to death. It was charming and seamless, like reading a novel. The second book was told through a great deal of dialogue--the author had amassed tons of material of people talking about their lives with Paul Erdos in it . . . anecdotes told in first person that were wonderful and funny and made him seem very alive because, with dialogue/interviews, it seemed very immediate.
There's always room for more than one with a fresh approach.
And if I can indulge a non-craft bit of post . . . I've had three or four people email me this week asking what books I'd recommend for someone wanting to learn about Buddhism. So here are my top choices:
For those who are starting as Judeo-Christians and find that Eastern philosophy seems such a leap . . . a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, and probably, aside from Buddha and the Dalai Lama, the most revered Buddhist writer, a "living Buddha."
So, there you go, for the Buddhist on your Christmas list.
And thoughts on More Than One? Have you ever panicked that another book sounded too much like your own? I was once asked to blurb a book that sounded exactly like this one of my own. II didn't blurb the other book because I thought that would be weird--and mine was coming out six months before the other one. But you know what? I read the manuscript, and they really weren't anything alike. Just each had an Italian heroine in the food biz.
Peace,
E
E
30 comments:
I was going to write this:
Twelve select death row inmates. A tiny remote land mass. Dozens of cameras mounted on electrically-charged towers.
The last man living wins.
In 2019, reality TV is back. This time they’re playing for keeps.
Broadcasted live, 24/7, Survival Island is a big hit. Ratings are through the roof.
Then one day the channel goes black.
A law enforcement crew, sent to investigate, discovers that the finalists--two of the most notorious serial killers in history--have somehow escaped.
Then Joe Konrath informed me that the movie had just been released.
:(
I've seen that plot quite a bit--elements of it. Ray Liotta did one similar.
All in the execution, I suppose.
E
"For those looking to start meditating"
Umm, yeah. Probably better for ya than tequila. Right?
:(
I sympathize, Jude. I had THE coolest title for a book I'm only about 5 K into. Apparently, it was a REALLY cool title, because some &&^%$ bestselling author stole it! (okay, so technically the had it first but...)
Lainey:
LOL! Yes, meditating is better than tequila. Though perhaps not as fun.
And then there's always tantric sex.
:-)
E
Lainey:
Don't you just hate that?
There's a book out with the same title as the one I have on submission, but at least it's self-published and not likely to become very well known. Luckily (or not, depending on your perspective) you can't copyright a title.
I'm guarding the title of my current project, hoping it doesn't get "stolen" before I have a chance to get it out. :)
Tantric sex. :)
And again, probably better than tequila sex. :0
Btw I'm polishing an Italian heroine but she's not in the food biz she's in the murder biz...which is kinda like two books you've written combined. Does that count?
And I so want Jude's super secret title for this book of mine! Man, no wonder I'm on Santa's 'naughty' list this year.
This sort plays into the whole flooded vampire market. All year long I've been hearing that readers are sick and tired of vampires. Then I turn around this summer and hear that someone was offered 3.4 million dollars at auction for their vampire apocalypse book. Sure, the market has tightened, but if the story is enough to whet someone's appetite, people will buy it.
I met Paul Erdos while an undergrad in math at the University of Louisville. He used to visit and lecture there every year. The first time he came I arrived early for the lecture and sat about halfway back. Michael Jacobson, who is cited in Hoffman's bio, told me Erdos spoke so softly that I wouldn't hear anything from back there. So I moved up and sat in the center of the front row.
The room filled up with distinguished mathematicians from all around, but Erdos delivered his entire lecture looking only at me.
Can't say I shook his hand, because he didn't like to touch people. The neon socks were a trip.
stephen:
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly envious!!! Yes, he didn't like to touch people and was asexual--but he also loved being around people--especially children.
I wish you lived here so we could go for a cup of coffee and I could vicariously live your Paul Erdos close encounter. What a lecture to have sat through!!!
Marcia:
A perfect example and one I was thinking of as I wrote this post.
E
My wip is a "women friends" book, which has been done often. (Although not as much as vampire books.) I did think of what I hoped was a unique hook than first wives or red hats. (Both ideas fabulous hooks!) But if someone else has thought of my hook, I'll still send it out, confident that mine will be difference.
I'm not into mathematics, but I love biographies. I'll see if I can get either of those from the library.
I'll send you an email about Erdos. You spoke of math in Blood Son so it's obvious your interest is more than casual. If you ever wanted a world class mathematician as a protagonist, boy oh boy, you couldn't do better than model him after Uncle Paul.
I find it interesting that you chose two biographies of a mathematician as examples of "synchronicity" in publishing, since mathematics more than any other field is characterized by practitioners competing for priority in their discoveries.
(One of my first two now-discarded novels was about a mediocre mathematician who stumbles upon the solution to a famous problem. He is catapulted to fame and glory, much to the displeasure of his nemesis, a competitor in the same department. Late in the mathematician's career the nemesis finds a flaw in the proof which, if published, would destroy the mathematician's life. The story can end only one way; fill it in. I only wish I'd been a better writer back then.)
This post isn't about math, so I'll shut up now. You got me going. AGAIN.
I am fairly confident that my ideas, characters and plots are unique enough... its the writing that I worry about... yanno, being my own worst critic.
edie:
You have such a great attitude!
E
stephen:
I wrote this book for the YA crowd called High School Bites (writing as Liza Conrad) . . . in it, an evil math teacher torments my heroine. That was me (the tormented kid). Even as I was skipping grades and so on . . . taking AP classes . . . moving on academically, I had it fixated in my head, thanks to this horrid teacher, that I didn't have a head for math. What I discovered around the time I was 30, was that I didn't have a head for rote memorization of math. But that I loved and adored math theory. And physics and quantum mechanics (in fact, the Dalai Lama wrote The Universe in a Single Atom, about how closely quantum mechanics aligns with Buddhism). . . . Since then, it consumes me, but I regret examining it so late . . . i.e., I can grasp the "big ideas"--but actual proofs elude me.
E
ewoh:
Tell that inner critic to lighten up on my friend Eowh.
E
stephen:
Can't shut up . . .
Yes, synchronicity. But what I love in all the Erdos biographies is how much he just wanted proofs SOLVED and wasn't so threatened by competition. He loved working with others--loved being around the creative mathematical mind.
E
Oh! I read Mafia Chic and the other one. They were entirely different but I remember loving both of them. My stepfamily is Italian. Not mafia, but they find the mafia quite romantic. Whenever my stepbrother rolls meatballs, he watches The Godfather. LOL! (Um, and that relates to your question, how?)
If this hadn't happened to me a year ago, my spy thriller would've already been written. Now why wasn't I reading your blog then?
But what I love in all the Erdos biographies is how much he just wanted proofs SOLVED and wasn't so threatened by competition. He loved working with others--loved being around the creative mathematical mind.
Isn't that interesting. The least competitive of all the first rank mathematicians in history, the one most supportive of his colleagues, most passionate about unveiling the truth without regard for personal credit, turns out to be the one with the all-time greatest number of publishing credits to his name.
Isn't that interesting.
But sometimes you still can't sell a book -- even if no one has done it before! (I know, I've tried). What a good idea to point us toward meditation as one way to deal with the frustration -- just focus on the breath instead! And if that doesn't work, there's always chocolate.
PS I love reading your blog (it's now on my "blogroll")
The least competitive of all the first rank mathematicians in history, the one most supportive of his colleagues, most passionate about unveiling the truth without regard for personal credit, turns out to be the one with the all-time greatest number of publishing credits to his name.
That is interesting, Stephen.
But what conclusions should we draw from that? Would the world be a better place with no competition?
I don't know.
I do think it's easier to walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil if you're the baddest MF in the valley, though. :)
Nice reminder to just keep writing the book that is in your head.
That is interesting, Stephen. But what conclusions should we draw from that? Would the world be a better place with no competition?
Hmm, I guess that depends on the type (or definition) of competition.
I think the world is a better place thanks to the Olympics. And to airlines competing to provide the lowest fares. And to scientists racing to be first to cure cancer. But when competitors lose sight of the goal and place other contestants in their crosshairs instead . . .
That's a very reasonable answer, Stephen.
I could argue either way.
Most writers I've met are supportive of their fellows, but when you get down to it we're all in competition too. In the slush pile, on the shelves, bestseller lists, contests, awards, etc. It's not a cut throat thing, like some businesses, but it is competition.
It would be nice if everyone who wanted to could realize his/her dream.
Jude:
Math is often collaborative, but I don't think any conclusions can be drawn. Erdos was in a class by himself--totally different from most people, not motivated by money or fame--merely by the love of numbers. He was like a monk of mathematicians. How he was--his uniqueness--can't be extrapolated to the world at large.
hi Roanne:
Oh, I have had that frustration over the unsold book myself.
E
P.S. Chocolate cures most ailments, didn't you know?
:-)
Hi Travis:
I do think there's a second-rate Santa book in yours!
E
Jude:
I don't see author competition that way. I don't for a minute believe I am competing against other authors. I have shared my agent, my editing skills, my insights, my connections, etc. . . . I have never hesitated to. I compete against myself. If an editor bought my book, and the very next day found another book they loved JUST AS MUCH, they would buy the second one, too. But things are never "equal"--i.e., no one will ever say to an editor--here are two books you love equally, they're both the same level of talent, they both will sell the same amount, now you can just pick one. Nor is anyone going to say to me, I have to buy either YOUR book, or your friend's book, so pick which one--i.e., my choice is altruism or competition. All you can do is write the best book YOU can write and hope it separates yourself a bit from yes, the competition, but it's not competitive in the ways of most.
As for whether everyone can realize their dream--it's possible. But it's never handed to anyone like a fairy godmother. As we all once discussed on this blog, you can't write a book "good enough" to be be published. It has to be that much better.
E
synchronicity
Funny how often that word keeps popping up in my life. I think it's a sign.
How about tantrum sex? :-)
Very well said, Erica.
I concur.
Like I said, it's not a cut throat thing among authors (I would say most, anyway). For example, I would love to see you sell as many books as JK Rowling. Or have Mafia Chic become a big hit on TV or whatever. I would celebrate that.
But, publishers and television networks and movie studios do have a limited number of slots, and we're all vying for those positions. It's not competition like, "Ha! My story BEAT your story. I'm the winner and you're the loser." At least I hope it's not like that for most of us. But it is competition in the sense that we're all jockying for the same limited number of slots.
P.S. I don't know anything about Erdos, but he sounds absolutely fascinating. I want to read his bio now!
Post a Comment