posted
I'm not surprised by their rejection, though their failure to recognize the manuscrpit is surprising. However, the taste and interest of the public changes, as does the writing style itself, to suit the demands of the day. I've read that even such a classic as "Moby Dick" would have a hard time finding a publisher today because of the endless pages spent on cetology.
What is also surprising to me is how many rejections many books went through and then, eventually published, went on to rack up huge sales.
[This message has been edited by nitewriter (edited July 22, 2007).]
posted
The thing to keep in mind, from the publisher's viewpoint, is that they get plaigarized works all the time. Often, they form reject without comment. It doesn't mean they didn't recognize the source material, though I'm sure some of them miss it. Agents and editors are always blogging about how they form reject in order to not start up a conversation about the rejection. And the type of person who sends in blatantly plaigarized work is probably the same type of person who would argue with a personalized rejection. Or they are doing one of those 'would the classics be published now' articles, which have been done several times over the years.
In my opinion, it would be far more embarrassing for the publishing companies if any of them accepted the manuscript for publication.
posted
I just saw a guy on "Letterman" (I think) reading from his autobiographical (apparently) novel. In college he turned in the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer," never expecting the professor to recognize it. Well, the professor didn't, but the guy didn't expect the professor to praise it to the skies and have him read it aloud to the class---all of whom knew where it came from.
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posted
This doesn't bother me. I don't know how much plagarized material editors receive, but I know I wouldn't recognize Jane Austen if someone slipped it into my slush pile--not that I have one. Maybe one or two lines would stand out to me at best. And I certainly don't expect a busy editor to take time out of their day to write a response to something like this.
Personally, I think the perpetrators of the hoax are being too pretentious about the whole thing.
posted
I just got around to reading the story at the link. (I was a little rushed yesterday.)
Every few years, somebody circulates some well-known work to all and sundry, usually producing similar results. As I recall, the script of "Casablanca" was circulated to a bunch of Hollywood types---I think they got about two-thirds recognition, and of the remaining third, nobody offered to buy or produce or whatever. (One guy wanted the writers to turn it into a novel.)
The literary types usually don't do that well, no more than one or two recognizing the source material, no more than one or two offering to buy. I remember somebody sent out a Jerzy Kozinski novel---several publishers recognized it was written in Kozinski's style, but nobody realized it was an already-published novel. No offers.
I don't remember if anybody's tried this with a science fiction story. (Imagine the shame of not recognizing "Nightfall" or "Who Goes There?" or "Neutron Star" or "Ender's Game.") About, oh, twenty-five or thirty years ago now, this enterprising plagiarist managed to sell the same novel, not his, and not a well-known book, to two different publishers---both were out and about before anybody noticed anything.
posted
It's a tad discouraging that "editors" seem to not read much that is sent to them, and hand out rejections without turning a page.
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posted
On a bargain table at B&N recently, I found a casette tape of excerpts of The Hobbit and L.O.T.R, read by J.R.R. himself in 1952. ($2, I snagged it.) The blurb on the back said that he nearly gave up trying to get it published and was only able to do so through a former student who had started or joined a publishing company. On the other hand, I got something of a different story on the Internet.
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posted
The way I got the story, out of the annotated edition put out a few years ago, was that Tolkien had finished "The Hobbit" except for the last, oh, five or six chapters I think (and outlined them). One of his graduate students knew somebody at Allen & Unwin and passed it on to them. (I don't have the annotation in front of me, and my memory may have failed me in minor details. The account had all the names, as I recall.)
On "Lord of the Rings," Allen & Unwin encouraged him to finish, even though early on they knew they were getting more than they bargained for. When finished, Allen & Unwin were reluctant, and Tolkien passed it on to another publisher, who was willing to publish if cuts were made. While considering that, Tolkien went back to Allen & Unwin, who decided to publish even though they thought they'd lose money on the deal. (We all know how that worked out, don't we?)
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