The best thing about getting published, aside from the heaps of cash, are the fan letters. One of my clients recently forwarded a fan letter he received with the note: makes it all seem worthwhile. I knew exactly what he meant. When all the dust settles, the reviews (good, bad or non-existent), the sales (good, bad, or non-existent), the expectations dashed, the dreamed of prizes and literary acceptance proven elusive, you might be lucky enough to receive some letters from readers who felt you understood them, maybe even changed them, entertained them, and finally compelled them to write to you and say as much.

I have this fantasy when I’m in the nursing home, wearing purple and smoking Marlboro’s, that I’ll read through all the great letters I’ve received. The best one was typed on a plain white postcard with one single sentence across it: What a fine book is The Forest for the Trees. I taped it on the wall next to my desk. I don’t look at it for encouragement or succor. It’s the look of letters banged out on an old typewriter and the odd syntax that give me hope.

Filed under: Books, Client, The End of the World as We Know It |