first novel question - Page 2 - Writers Forum

BryanBeasley · 04-20-2006, 02:25 PM

You should love being sued. Your sales will skyrocket! Sue away!

mammamaia · 04-20-2006, 07:39 PM

Quote:

I'll be sure to only submit to publishers who have legal teams that can stomp my victim's lawyer.

and those very legal teams will not allow the publisher to even think of taking on this book!... publishers don't have to go looking for court battles... they spend more time doing what they can to avoid them... which includes not being the slightest bit interested in publishing a newbie's novel about killing off a real, live public figure!

go ahead and write this epic as a catharsis, if you must... it'll probably save you a heart attack, to get it out of your system... but don't harbor any illusions that it will be the least bit marketable... i'd bet the farm it won't... sorry, but them's the cruel facts o' life in the publishing world...

subway · 04-20-2006, 08:11 PM

I'll let this die here, but I'm surprised that so few remember the media frenzy about 18 months ago when a book about the murder of our current president was published to great fanfare. how quickly they forget.....

mammamaia · 04-20-2006, 10:19 PM

and what book was that?... funny i never heard of it, if the fanfare was so great, since i watch the news all day, every day...

subway · 04-20-2006, 11:41 PM

Checkpoint by Nicholas Baker

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140...lance&n=283155

I read about it in both the NY Times and on CNN.

And lady, less attitude might do you some good
Especially when you keep proving your ignorance

Anne Lacey · 04-21-2006, 12:53 AM

Sheesh. Subway, you might take a look at the number of posts mammamia has as opposed to yours. She's a respected member of this board. You are not. And she's right. It's not marketable material. She knows what she's talking about, you should listen to her. She's just trying to help.

CZ · 04-21-2006, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mammamaia

and what book was that?... funny i never heard of it, if the fanfare was so great, since i watch the news all day, every day...

It was a huge flop. Sold about 6.5k copies in the U.S.

It was basically about two guys discussing the assassination of Bush, located in a fictional hotel.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0730/p11s02-bogn.html is an article on it, which clears up some of my questions... I was actually going to ask David about this the next time I saw him, now I don't have to since it already quotes him

mammamaia · 04-21-2006, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Checkpoint by Nicholas Baker

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140...lance&n=283155

I read about it in both the NY Times and on CNN.

since i was watching bbc, cbc, and cnn [and others] all day on a daily basis back then, and missed the item, it must not have lasted any longer than its warhol-allotted '15 minutes of fame'...

Quote:

And lady, less attitude might do you some good
Especially when you keep proving your ignorance

on the contrary, fella... you just proved your own, along with displaying your immature insecurity that apparently must be bolstered by ridiculously rude behavior...

Anne Lacey · 04-22-2006, 09:22 AM

Hehe... Go Mamma!

Never mess with a momma!

BobW · 04-22-2006, 12:59 PM

I don't want to seem insensitive to your creative efforts but it sounds like a great length to go to just to grind a personal axe. At least it appears that you are settling some kind of personal score. In journalism, one is always cautioned not to get too close to the story. There is a good reason for this. If the story gets personal, you push the reader out. The antagonist should be universal. There sould be parts of her or him that everybody reading the story can dislike equally. In some cases an antagonist can even be likable to a degree but still have that dark side that people can look to and anticipate being foiled.

I would caution against leaving yourself open to more trouble than any story is worth.

Mike C · 04-22-2006, 07:47 PM

Subway, on balance I have to say I think you're both lazy, and not too bright.

Lazy, because rather than using your imagination to create a fictional work, you're relying on copying from history books.

And not too bright because even when you're told categorically that your idea is bad, you come back with

Quote:

the only way it would reach that point would be if the novel has been PUBLISHED (I'm not a DIY kind of guy) by a publisher, who then assumes responsibility for these kinds of pesky problems. I'll be sure to only submit to publishers who have legal teams that can stomp my victim's lawyer.

Duh. If there's tne scent of legal action, you won't see a publishwer for dust. They don't retain lawyers to look after your ass; and further, if they print it, it's still YOU that gets sued, not them. You think when it goes to print you abdicate all responsibility for your words?

Quote:

Also, to the replies that keep suggesting that I make the victim a fictional character, the only reason that this book is being written is in response to the lies, deceptions and cowardly acts of the real life individual.

There you go. Now, put a name to the guy, right here and now. You're writing the novel, after all. Will you be writing up his alleged lies, deceptions and cowardly acts? If you really think you're so safe from the lawyers, name him and give us an example. Let's see how clever you really are.