Hi all,
Did anyone hear an article this morning on the Today Programme (Radio 4) about Nano? A Nanoer and a publisher were both interviewed. You can listen again here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/
- easier if you've got Real Player installed, which I haven't and am not about to do just for this...
Can I just say WELL DONE to the Nano participant, I think she was called Claire (?) who stood up for herself, and us, in the face of a miserable old bint of a publisher who was saying how appalling it is for everyone to decide they can write a novel and how horrendous it would be if we all decided to send our novels to her.
Well, I think I shan't bother now.
I felt it should have been pointed out to her that if people didn't write novels, she wouldn't have a job.
Just wondered if anyone else heard it? I was driving at the time or I might have felt the need to phone up the BBC and voice my opinion!
Love Cosmic x
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200,015 / 50,000
Nov 27, 2007 - 09 36
I didn't hear that- will listen later, but there was also a news segment about it on the TV at lunchtime where lots of people participating were asked about it, but I didn't hear them mention Nanowrimo once, they just said lots of people worldwide were writing 50,000 words this month and that only about 18 people have ever been published- something like that anyway.
52,200 / 50,000
Nov 27, 2007 - 09 40
Nanowrimo was on the BBC Breakfast programme at ten to seven this morning. I only caught the tale end of it sadly, my mum called me in to see it. I think she was kind of amazed that there were more people out there doing it...
50,022 / 50,000
Nov 27, 2007 - 13 59
I just listened to that from the link and would also like to add my congratulations to Claire. The publisher didn't seem to grasp that writing could be fun and that everyone who writes is aiming for publication. And as for one of her later comments Sometimes it seems like everyone I meet is writing a novel." she works in the publishing industry. Is that supposed to be a surprise?
52,096 / 50,000
Nov 27, 2007 - 16 02
Nathan, sorry to change the subject, but how come you're one word short of 50000??? Couldn't you think of a word or two, like 'the end' to take you over the mountain top!! :-D
Will listen to that radio prog now, if I can get it to play! thanks for putting the link here...
----------*Many little things done by many little people can change the face of the world
63,376 / 50,000
Nov 28, 2007 - 07 07
We were on the Today program? Wow! It just doesn't get any better than that. Just my luck, I listen to Today every morning only I'm on holiday now so I missed it. But wow. The Today program. That's when you know you've arrived.
I hope that stupid publisher does get sent all 50,000 of our novels, it would serve her right. I think she should be forced to sit and read through them all, and I hope that most of them are as excruciatingly bad as mine is. It's about time these people realized that the world doesn't actually revolve around them. "It's not all about you." Maybe if she did read them all she'd realize that we don't do it for her benefit (or some of us don't anyway). Silly woman.
Hmmm, maybe I should reserve judgement until I've listened to the interview though .... How far through the program was it on?
But it's about time someone stood up for the absolute amateur. If NaNo stands for one thing, it's that if a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.
Ok, having listened to the piece now ... I don't think the publisher woman came across that badly. I kind of felt she got the point in the end. Maybe ...
----------Tom
I think therefore I am pretentious.
13,522 / 50,000
Nov 28, 2007 - 11 32
I was lucky enough to catch it live - I think it was around 8:45, for anyone that wants to skip to the relevant section.
I actually found the WriMo rather disheartening and the publisher reassuring, but that's only because I had officially given up the night before and the WriMo made me feel bad about it!
Whoever the WriMo was, I think they said she was from York - which is also where the BBC Breakfast people came from, apparently. I suspect this is not a coincidence...
As for the publisher's comments, aren't publishers often pushing their (existing) writers to get things done in a certain timescale? What better preparation than NaNo can there be for that?! I'd also remind her that all writers have to start somewhere...
0 / 50,000
Dec 7, 2007 - 12 36
I'd have thought publishers would have changed their attitude after seeing Bloomsbury's success with Harry Potter. Guess they're still just as snobby as they ever were.
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