Think Again! The Craft of Inquiry (Part 1)
Think Again! The Craft of Inquiry (Part 1)
It is a challenging question to be asked why the book you have worked on for the last couple of years needs to be published. Many of us have experienced that moment of an epiphany or, alternatively, perhaps anxiety when being asked a question which cuts to the bone and challenges some of your most basic beliefs or assumptions. It’s a sobering moment but also one that can open your eyes to unexpected currents of thought or avenues of inquiry. It is also a useful technique that can be utilised in management or even in navigating personal relationships. It plays a critical role in helping to develop people to think differently or creatively. In an earlier post I wrote about why I decided to write Palace of Ghosts (See here), but the new question of why the book needs to be published, did indeed succeed in making me think differently about my own ideas and assumptions, as well as about the art of masterful questioning more generally.
An Agent’s Question
Submitting a manuscript to a literary agent involves running through a gauntlet of challenging questions. A typical requirement listed on an agent’s website submissions page is something like “What is the book about, and why does it need to be published?” The first part of the question, though not as easy as it may at first seem once you realise there is a 15-word limit on the answer, is relatively straightforward. The second part is more challenging: for a start it is asking authors to step out of their role as a creative content producer and talk business. Having worked for a decade and a half in television I imagine it to be akin to asking a voice talent to go and negotiate a TV program distribution deal. But such is the reality of today’s publishing business, and in a world of “too many books”, (see leading literary agent Ivan Mulchay’s thoughts on this here) literary agents are in need of whatever filters they can deploy effectively to sort through the deluge of submissions they receive. So, I attempted to answer the question (one of my many attempts) in a couple of short sentences:
(1) The “Elevator Version”
“Palace of Ghosts shines a light on one of the greatest success stories in optimal urban living there is: anyone with an interest in city life should be paying careful attention to Singapore and its city-hinterland dynamic. This true story adds a new dimension to how it all happened and at a time when such episodes from history are becoming increasingly relevant.”
That is the shortest version, and if that were the only question there would be less “digital” and more “nomad” in my lifestyle. The “why publish” question is often posed along with a barrage of others asking who the target audience is, what comparable published titles there are on the market already and why you are the right person to write the book. Some also demand to know which other agents have also been approached, what sources were used to research the book and the details of your schooling. The author is no longer simply someone who aspires to produce new knowledge or understanding. They are now expected to pause for a while and think about the context of their endeavours and the broader ecosystem of the knowledge or information industry, aka the publishing industry. And this, I suppose, is the point. The questions, while superficially can be frustrating, serve the purpose of making you think in ways you may not have previously contemplated.
Introducing different ways of thinking about a challenge or opportunity is therefore part of the process. Writing seems to have an inherent risk of being potentially self-indulgent, as does many creative endeavours. Answering questions like these forces you to look upwards and outwards to the people you are supposedly writing for and to think about the other entities involved in the trade. The challenge is, however, twofold. It is not only the question itself, but the requirement to fashion the answer in a single sentence or two when you could probably easily write an entire essay, on it. In other words, think differently and respond with a searing brevity. My “elevator version” attempts to answer it in about 60 words. It needs to be shorter.
Putting aside the word count limitations for a moment, let’s delve a bit deeper into a less time constrained answer: instead of an elevator ride what if I got caught in a taxi ride with someone who asked me why Palace of Ghosts needs to be published? It would be something like this:
(2) The “Taxi Ride” Version
“In an age when globalisation is often discredited and our news is full of the degradation and even destruction of cities, Singapore shines as a beacon of peaceful, multicultural co-existence and optimal urban living. Anyone with even a passing interest in building successful cities for the future, as well as the preservation of past, should be paying keen attention. But it did not just happen by chance. Nor did it happen in just the last 60 years, as some would have us believe. For its sustained success over many centuries to be properly understood, Singapore has to be thought of in its proper historical context of a city-hinterland dynamic. Similarly, its historic multiculturalism, connectedness and openness to the outside world can teach us a lot about addressing global problems. There is nowhere else on earth that can demonstrate inter-communal harmony combined with prosperity, sustainability and innovation, among other things to the extent that Singapore can. Understanding the “why” and “how” of this from a historical perspective, one that reaches back beyond the historical compartments created as part of a simplified and more readily marketable story, and is crucial to both being able to replicate and expand upon this amazing success story.”
The Manuscript Submission Process
For aspiring authors first encountering the world of literary agents, the vital link in the writer-publisher-bookseller distribution chain, it is a fascinating and eye-opening window to the world of publishing. Navigating myriad bespoke submission requirements is only part of the story. Reading the “About” sections (their positioning in the market, how they think about the industry and their company history, among other things), the profiles of their clients and their work and the “News” sections are about as good an immersion as you can get to the day-to-day workings of the industry. Many writers I know have mixed feelings about their role as “middlemen” or “gatekeepers”, but I beg to differ. As someone who has spent a 30 year career in the media and travel business, I can say with some confidence that this particular intermediary in the distribution chain adds significant value to the overall business and to both authors and publishers alike.
Agents ask for a lot and require a brevity in response so succinct that many writers who have spent months or years writing tens of thousands of words fear the essence of their creativity will be lost. There is no shortage of advice to be found on both the agent’s websites themselves and from a multitude of other sources. Authors are advised to carefully read and strictly follow their guidance on pain of their submission being hastily transferred from the slush pile to the metaphorical rubbish basket. If the submission is deemed to deviate from the specifications given by the agent, then it’s a non-starter.
Furthermore, authors are advised to carefully customise their submission to a specific agent based on what is usually a single paragraph about him/her (mostly her, by the way), which often contain sentences like the agent is interested in a writer who has a “story to tell” or likes works of fiction that “make me cry or laugh”. We do, of course, assume positive intent, but applying what I call the “antithetical acid test” might help the agents offer something a little more helpful. The antithetical acid test is to use a simple question to sense-check a statement. So, in the case of these two statements, ask yourself, “are there any circumstances where an author would not intend to tell a story?” Or, “would a fiction author ever intend not to solicit an emotional response from the reader?” To be fair, many agents readily admit that the whole process is completely subjective. This is the nature of the beast, however, and wrestle with it we must. I have to admit that although it is a lengthy process, it is also a great learning experience and involves continually honing one’s approach, trying out new ideas and angles, and asking yourself those difficult questions. Likewise condensing a long-winded explanation down to its essence is also a great exercise that should be undertaken as a matter of habit by anyone who writes anything.
In the next posting I will present the third and most comprehensive answer to the question “why does this book need to be published?”, which is to be found in the Introduction section to the book Palace of Ghosts, and also consider the questioning and answering dynamic in the context of the art of questioning when used in a business and management context.
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