It truly is. We're very lucky, I think, to live in an era where we can feel the validation that comes with "being seen" (i.e. read) without pretending that it's the be-all-end-all of writing. That's a luxury Scott & Zelda couldn't afford b/c it didn't exist. So I'd say we're primed to incorporate the lessons & keep on keeping on with the work that matters
Nice work, Samuél … and delighted that you will be servicing the tractor and starting the ploughing. Seeds to be sown before the harvest and all that jazz. I get that a novel is the thing … BUT … I can’t be the only reader who would relish a book of essays. You have much to say … and you say it well. If only you knew a small publishing house who would take a punt on a promising writer with a couple of excellent novels under his belt. Onwards, friend … the best way to be a writer is to ‘just write, right’!
Ahh....a curious thought, indeed, now that you mention it ... I may or may not be conspiring with an indie publisher who lives in my home about let's-call-it-a-collection of sorts, to find a home on the bookshelves of my paying subscribers in the depths of winter ...
I very much enjoyed your writing here, and deeply appreciate the message. I was just considering with a friend, to whom I write almost daily, if those emails count as part of my daily writing exercise. It has felt preparatory in a way, allowing my mind to at least be more limber as I start work on my own novel. I do craft these letters to my friend, at least to some extent, and attempt to give form to shadows with which we may otherwise not be able to interact. Isn’t that a giving of life worthy of any writer, including a novelist? I wonder if Substack is the same - does this feel like soil to you? Here you can sow ideas, and over time, see what germinates - either in you over time or your readers. Or as a novelist, does it have to be that grander arc of a story?
I would 100% say every. single. word we right contributes to our writing, however we define it. I find letters in particular to be extremely rewarding b/c a) your audience is clearly defined (a single other person) and b) I'm always more candid in letters b/c they are first and foremost personal. Substack, similarly, does feel like soil to me, and I suspect I wouldn't be as prepared to begin another novel now if I hadn't been sharing more fragmented parts of myself for the past two years. Certain stylistic choices, themes, and general patterns have emerged, which of course will now be forming parts of the skeleton of a much larger story. I do believe that I'm a novelist by affliction insofar as sooner than later when I'm away from researching/writing/editing a book, I begin to feel like I've been away from most fertile soil for too long. Good luck with your novelistic adventure. It's really the most fun part of it all, escaping into our fantastical, malleable worlds.
You know this one touches me at my core. Writing gives me purpose, a reason to get up in the morning and even passion. But the venal part of me does not want to be Van Gogh with a tombstone comment that reads anything like “neber in his life did he sell a painting”
Well correct me if I'm wrong, but you've sold more than a few books! And written multiple, too. That ain't nothing to scoff at. And, in any case, if the likes of Kafka, Emily Dickinson, HP Lovecraft and others didn't "make it," I suspect it's time we reconsider what "making it" means:
It is so tragic that F. Scott Fitzgerald's work finally attained literary and what would have been huge financial success only after he suffered a fatal heart attack. The same fate occurred for futurist author Philip K. Dick (of Bladerunner fame) who, instead of drinking too much alcohol, popped too many amphetamines. It can be very difficult to continue on to your next book after the one you sweated blood and tears over, fails to sell as well as you dreamed it would. But you create or affirm the value of your writing by moving on to the next book. Your writing journey has value from all that you have put into it and from all who read it and appreciate it. Maybe writing is like playing the stock market, in that you never know what will happen. But the intrinsic value should never be fully or only measured by the amount of money or renown received out of high sales volume. Your essay makes this very clear.
It really is a bummer given that it seemed he was on the road to recovery before his heart gave out on him. What a way to go out, standing up from your writing desk and basta. I didn't realize Philip K. Dick met a similar fate (it reminds me of Stieg Larsson, too, who never got to see his books in print). I do think when it comes to publishing books (and trying to sell them) it is very much like the stock market--the entire publishing industry attests to this. We know this and yet we still have been so pumped-full-of-ego in the USA that each of us, uniformly, expect to be the exception. That's probably where the truth of American exceptionalism lies--in its delusion--but I'm not one for politics, or rather, they aren't for me. I'm curious, though, since you're writing about Indian culture: how does the aspirational life compare in the arts in India? Is it a variation on a theme or quite different?
In India the aspirational life in the arts is similar yet different. The difficulty of becoming a huge literary success in India is similar to in America although platforms somewhat similar to Substack exist where university students can publish their novels. But the overall environment is much tougher because the overall number of people in competition to write a bestselling novel or to even get a job is so much higher than in the U.S. A million Indian students graduate each year from colleges and universities but there are only about a 100,000 decent jobs they are competing for. F. Scott Fitzgerald's going to Hollywood to make money with his work parallels extremely indigent Urdu poets and writers after the Partition of India into Pakistan and India in 1947. Some of them moved to Bombay, now Mumbai, and wrote poems for romantic Bollywood songs or scripts for Hindi cinema in the 1950s. The usual Bollywood song is kind of cheesy but usually very inventive and original. But sometimes you can come across a Bollywood song that when you read the translation is like one of Shakespeare's sonnets made into a song. I would say the aspirational life in the arts is much more rugged than in the U.S because it's not only about writing but just surviving. And it might be why many university students or anyone from India immigrates to America because they feel they will have a better chance to write an awesome novel and become a famous writer. India's artistic culture is extremely rich in quality like England's.
This is insightful and damn interesting … 1 million students each year is a wild statistic. I guess there’s a certain freedom in the inevitable the weight of anonymity that comes with such a population, if nothing else because it forces folks to think outside of a larger and larger box
That is a really interesting observation and it's really true. That statistic is from a popular reporter who left his job on a major television network in India because their top executives didn’t like his reports and were pressurizing him to do more sensationalist reporting that would get them higher TRPs for a much larger audience. So he left and put together his own network on YouTube and his reports are in Hindi but he shows these charts and video which really tells the story and he chides the government for not doing enough about it which is bold. He's a great example of your observation.
One other thing I thought of when talking about Western parallels to India is that you mentioned Steig Larsson, whose crime mysteries were adapted into three films in Sweden. There is a somewhat similar modern day hindi language crime mystery film (with English subtitles) called "Kahaani" (means story) (2012). It's an example of how the Indian myth of the goddess Durga reemerges into modern crime fiction, which doesn't seem to happen (except in westerns maybe) in American writing although it could. It's streams on Amazon Prime if you have access and it's a story Steig Larsson might have been very glad to have written.
Adding Kahaani to my list! Thanks for the reference, it’s certainly a part of the world that I’m woefully under educated about (aside from reading Rushdie and some post colonialist theory in the 1970s, I can’t say I’ve delved into the depths of the folklore and fictional worlds in India … YET)
Glad you added Kahaani to your list. One other film is Filmistaan which I think is also on Amazon Prime. I don't know enough about India, there is so much to read. A great overview of India is contained in the paperback history "India after Gandhi," by Ramachandra Guha and also his "A Corner of a Foreign Field," which is a fascinating look at colonialism through the lense of cricket and how it arrived in India. And one other film, "Lagaan." I know you are probably very busy with your writing so it's great you have an interest in India. I am going to read one of your books because you seem very thoughtful and inquisitive about everything and these days we need that sort of writing more than ever because our world is fragile.
Thanks for these references, especially the cricket book (a sport of which I know exactly nothing about), that's quite the lens through which to view colonialism, I dig it. I'm a musician and grew up listening to The Beatles thanks to my parents, which meant I've always had an adjacent curiosity about India, particularly the tabla ... something about the depth of that sound suggests to me there will be a time in my life when I go deep into studying the culture. So many places and peoples to discover ... I would recommend my latest novel, "The Requisitions," mostly b/c it's the closest I've gotten to figuring out how I feel about modern European history, through the lens of quite a few years studying WWII. Onwards and upwards.
Will be interesting to see what you write about next. I brought Kindle version of The Requisitions. I like how you define the word with all it's meanings because that advises how the story can be viewed. Great, the unique it's put together.
Ah yeah I went back and forth on that but in the end decided that when used as a noun it's a curious word since most folks think of it as a verb ... the secret is that I simply had the name "The Requisitions" in my head since early days of writing that book, and nothing else ever really made sense to me. Looking forward to hearing what you think
I've almost started the book. The word requisition like you say is a curious word. And some people aren't curious about words and they miss a lot because sometimes there is more than they think and they think writers think too much but almost any thoughts are valuable because they can help you figure things out. Then there are those who don't think things can be figured out. And there are certain things that are difficult or almost or are actually impossible to figure out. Sometimes particular words help you figure out how you feel about something because sometimes when you're writing, you might have trouble finding the word or words to convey actually how you feel. But requisition is a really interesting word because it implies something is being demanded and demand is an imperative word, a command verb and sometimes you wonder about people who get too closely attached to using too many command verbs. Words allow us space to breath and to be. I'm sort of rambling here in a general context but I think there is a lot in that word. And most people who think a lot would consider it worth thinking about. Other people might think it's a petty administrative verb best obeyed by menial clerks. Narrow short vision that misses having a wider range of observation and possibly a better understanding of cause and effect. But in the context of your book name, it sets off curiosity as to what will be going on in that book and the reader might be not notice themselves maybe somewhat unconsciously looking much more closely at what is going on in that book. So it was probably the perfect word. Starts one thinking.
Samuel,
I enjoyed this essay very much and, as a reader, I am glad you are back to the "land."
Thank you friend. I'll hold myself accountable here to this extent: it won't be taking me another decade to put out the next novel.
This is a chilling tale...
It truly is. We're very lucky, I think, to live in an era where we can feel the validation that comes with "being seen" (i.e. read) without pretending that it's the be-all-end-all of writing. That's a luxury Scott & Zelda couldn't afford b/c it didn't exist. So I'd say we're primed to incorporate the lessons & keep on keeping on with the work that matters
Bravo!
Merci!
Nice work, Samuél … and delighted that you will be servicing the tractor and starting the ploughing. Seeds to be sown before the harvest and all that jazz. I get that a novel is the thing … BUT … I can’t be the only reader who would relish a book of essays. You have much to say … and you say it well. If only you knew a small publishing house who would take a punt on a promising writer with a couple of excellent novels under his belt. Onwards, friend … the best way to be a writer is to ‘just write, right’!
Ahh....a curious thought, indeed, now that you mention it ... I may or may not be conspiring with an indie publisher who lives in my home about let's-call-it-a-collection of sorts, to find a home on the bookshelves of my paying subscribers in the depths of winter ...
Conspiring indeed! Good to hear!
I very much enjoyed your writing here, and deeply appreciate the message. I was just considering with a friend, to whom I write almost daily, if those emails count as part of my daily writing exercise. It has felt preparatory in a way, allowing my mind to at least be more limber as I start work on my own novel. I do craft these letters to my friend, at least to some extent, and attempt to give form to shadows with which we may otherwise not be able to interact. Isn’t that a giving of life worthy of any writer, including a novelist? I wonder if Substack is the same - does this feel like soil to you? Here you can sow ideas, and over time, see what germinates - either in you over time or your readers. Or as a novelist, does it have to be that grander arc of a story?
I would 100% say every. single. word we right contributes to our writing, however we define it. I find letters in particular to be extremely rewarding b/c a) your audience is clearly defined (a single other person) and b) I'm always more candid in letters b/c they are first and foremost personal. Substack, similarly, does feel like soil to me, and I suspect I wouldn't be as prepared to begin another novel now if I hadn't been sharing more fragmented parts of myself for the past two years. Certain stylistic choices, themes, and general patterns have emerged, which of course will now be forming parts of the skeleton of a much larger story. I do believe that I'm a novelist by affliction insofar as sooner than later when I'm away from researching/writing/editing a book, I begin to feel like I've been away from most fertile soil for too long. Good luck with your novelistic adventure. It's really the most fun part of it all, escaping into our fantastical, malleable worlds.
You know this one touches me at my core. Writing gives me purpose, a reason to get up in the morning and even passion. But the venal part of me does not want to be Van Gogh with a tombstone comment that reads anything like “neber in his life did he sell a painting”
Well correct me if I'm wrong, but you've sold more than a few books! And written multiple, too. That ain't nothing to scoff at. And, in any case, if the likes of Kafka, Emily Dickinson, HP Lovecraft and others didn't "make it," I suspect it's time we reconsider what "making it" means:
https://bigthink.com/high-culture/six-famous-writers-who-never-made-a-dime-writing/
It is so tragic that F. Scott Fitzgerald's work finally attained literary and what would have been huge financial success only after he suffered a fatal heart attack. The same fate occurred for futurist author Philip K. Dick (of Bladerunner fame) who, instead of drinking too much alcohol, popped too many amphetamines. It can be very difficult to continue on to your next book after the one you sweated blood and tears over, fails to sell as well as you dreamed it would. But you create or affirm the value of your writing by moving on to the next book. Your writing journey has value from all that you have put into it and from all who read it and appreciate it. Maybe writing is like playing the stock market, in that you never know what will happen. But the intrinsic value should never be fully or only measured by the amount of money or renown received out of high sales volume. Your essay makes this very clear.
It really is a bummer given that it seemed he was on the road to recovery before his heart gave out on him. What a way to go out, standing up from your writing desk and basta. I didn't realize Philip K. Dick met a similar fate (it reminds me of Stieg Larsson, too, who never got to see his books in print). I do think when it comes to publishing books (and trying to sell them) it is very much like the stock market--the entire publishing industry attests to this. We know this and yet we still have been so pumped-full-of-ego in the USA that each of us, uniformly, expect to be the exception. That's probably where the truth of American exceptionalism lies--in its delusion--but I'm not one for politics, or rather, they aren't for me. I'm curious, though, since you're writing about Indian culture: how does the aspirational life compare in the arts in India? Is it a variation on a theme or quite different?
In India the aspirational life in the arts is similar yet different. The difficulty of becoming a huge literary success in India is similar to in America although platforms somewhat similar to Substack exist where university students can publish their novels. But the overall environment is much tougher because the overall number of people in competition to write a bestselling novel or to even get a job is so much higher than in the U.S. A million Indian students graduate each year from colleges and universities but there are only about a 100,000 decent jobs they are competing for. F. Scott Fitzgerald's going to Hollywood to make money with his work parallels extremely indigent Urdu poets and writers after the Partition of India into Pakistan and India in 1947. Some of them moved to Bombay, now Mumbai, and wrote poems for romantic Bollywood songs or scripts for Hindi cinema in the 1950s. The usual Bollywood song is kind of cheesy but usually very inventive and original. But sometimes you can come across a Bollywood song that when you read the translation is like one of Shakespeare's sonnets made into a song. I would say the aspirational life in the arts is much more rugged than in the U.S because it's not only about writing but just surviving. And it might be why many university students or anyone from India immigrates to America because they feel they will have a better chance to write an awesome novel and become a famous writer. India's artistic culture is extremely rich in quality like England's.
This is insightful and damn interesting … 1 million students each year is a wild statistic. I guess there’s a certain freedom in the inevitable the weight of anonymity that comes with such a population, if nothing else because it forces folks to think outside of a larger and larger box
That is a really interesting observation and it's really true. That statistic is from a popular reporter who left his job on a major television network in India because their top executives didn’t like his reports and were pressurizing him to do more sensationalist reporting that would get them higher TRPs for a much larger audience. So he left and put together his own network on YouTube and his reports are in Hindi but he shows these charts and video which really tells the story and he chides the government for not doing enough about it which is bold. He's a great example of your observation.
Ah that's a great silver-lining story about the antiquity of legacy media and creatives taking the reigns themselves. What's his name?
One other thing I thought of when talking about Western parallels to India is that you mentioned Steig Larsson, whose crime mysteries were adapted into three films in Sweden. There is a somewhat similar modern day hindi language crime mystery film (with English subtitles) called "Kahaani" (means story) (2012). It's an example of how the Indian myth of the goddess Durga reemerges into modern crime fiction, which doesn't seem to happen (except in westerns maybe) in American writing although it could. It's streams on Amazon Prime if you have access and it's a story Steig Larsson might have been very glad to have written.
Adding Kahaani to my list! Thanks for the reference, it’s certainly a part of the world that I’m woefully under educated about (aside from reading Rushdie and some post colonialist theory in the 1970s, I can’t say I’ve delved into the depths of the folklore and fictional worlds in India … YET)
Glad you added Kahaani to your list. One other film is Filmistaan which I think is also on Amazon Prime. I don't know enough about India, there is so much to read. A great overview of India is contained in the paperback history "India after Gandhi," by Ramachandra Guha and also his "A Corner of a Foreign Field," which is a fascinating look at colonialism through the lense of cricket and how it arrived in India. And one other film, "Lagaan." I know you are probably very busy with your writing so it's great you have an interest in India. I am going to read one of your books because you seem very thoughtful and inquisitive about everything and these days we need that sort of writing more than ever because our world is fragile.
Thanks for these references, especially the cricket book (a sport of which I know exactly nothing about), that's quite the lens through which to view colonialism, I dig it. I'm a musician and grew up listening to The Beatles thanks to my parents, which meant I've always had an adjacent curiosity about India, particularly the tabla ... something about the depth of that sound suggests to me there will be a time in my life when I go deep into studying the culture. So many places and peoples to discover ... I would recommend my latest novel, "The Requisitions," mostly b/c it's the closest I've gotten to figuring out how I feel about modern European history, through the lens of quite a few years studying WWII. Onwards and upwards.
This essay is a delight (I mean a delight)! 😉
Thank you Holly! It took me a while to make sense of it, those Fitzgeralds can take the brain for a loop
Will be interesting to see what you write about next. I brought Kindle version of The Requisitions. I like how you define the word with all it's meanings because that advises how the story can be viewed. Great, the unique it's put together.
Ah yeah I went back and forth on that but in the end decided that when used as a noun it's a curious word since most folks think of it as a verb ... the secret is that I simply had the name "The Requisitions" in my head since early days of writing that book, and nothing else ever really made sense to me. Looking forward to hearing what you think
I've almost started the book. The word requisition like you say is a curious word. And some people aren't curious about words and they miss a lot because sometimes there is more than they think and they think writers think too much but almost any thoughts are valuable because they can help you figure things out. Then there are those who don't think things can be figured out. And there are certain things that are difficult or almost or are actually impossible to figure out. Sometimes particular words help you figure out how you feel about something because sometimes when you're writing, you might have trouble finding the word or words to convey actually how you feel. But requisition is a really interesting word because it implies something is being demanded and demand is an imperative word, a command verb and sometimes you wonder about people who get too closely attached to using too many command verbs. Words allow us space to breath and to be. I'm sort of rambling here in a general context but I think there is a lot in that word. And most people who think a lot would consider it worth thinking about. Other people might think it's a petty administrative verb best obeyed by menial clerks. Narrow short vision that misses having a wider range of observation and possibly a better understanding of cause and effect. But in the context of your book name, it sets off curiosity as to what will be going on in that book and the reader might be not notice themselves maybe somewhat unconsciously looking much more closely at what is going on in that book. So it was probably the perfect word. Starts one thinking.