Driven by the story
To the left is a picture of a young woman. She is thirty years old, and, as you can tell by her expression, she is utterly pleased with her life. She is doing the thing she has wanted to do since she was a little girl. She has become a writer.
Her book has been bought by a senior editor and vice-president at Simon & Schuster. She has never met the man, nor, at this date, does she understand just what a name he is in New York publishing. He is Donald Hutter, former editor-in-chief of Holt, Rinehart & Winston where he had his own imprint.
The woman recognizes that she has been incredibly lucky. She doesn’t even have a writing degree. She took an undergraduate course at the University of Arkansas.
A graduate assistant suggested she send ten pages of her novel to Douglas Jones, a local novelist. She followed up with a phone call and Jones, who was ex-military and crusty, said, “Young lady, I’m not in the business of helping young writers get started. But . . . I’ll give you the name of my agent.”
To the agent, she send 100 pages and an outline. His name was George Weiser, and he was telling his client Dan Brown to write thrillers. Two weeks after receiving the young woman’s query, Weiser called. “I’m not taking any new clients. But . . . I’m going to make an exception.”
Two weeks after that, Weiser and Hutter were having drinks, and the publisher asked the agent, “Do you have anyone new?” Wiser said, “Yes, but her book’s not finished.” “Send it over anyway.” She was a kid from Arkansas. She’d never been to New York or ridden in a taxi. But the editor took her to a fancy lunch, and her agent talked about British rights and a television miniseries. Your life, he said seriously, will never be the same. She had a contract and an advance which, because she tried to be a good person, she donated to a children’s home in Honduras. She bought a KayPro computer and went to work finishing her novel. Her mom put the picture in her hometown newspaper. “Local writer signs with Simon & Schuster.” Alas. Her editor was fired. Her book was orphaned. She didn’t understand. If Hutter thought it was good, why didn’t the editor who replaced him?
The truth is that sometimes books are orphaned for various reasons. One author’s books were printed and just a few days away from being shipped to bookstores. His publisher merged with another, and it was decided that this author’s book was too similar to another that the second publisher was bringing out that season. So one author’s books were shredded before he even knew it.
Our young woman had a contract, but to pursue that she would have to hire a New York attorney. She didn’t want to sue. She wanted her book published. She borrowed the money to pay back her advance in order to regain the rights. She was shattered. She didn’t know what to do. Her agent was kind, but he didn’t shop the manuscript, and she didn’t push. For a year, she couldn’t enter a bookstore without crying. She gave up on writing. She would do other things with her life.
She started a company and two nonprofits, traveled, designed her house, taught in several universities, became a foster parent. But she never stopped thinking about writing. In middle age, she got an MFA in fiction to try again. Because now, she really has some stories to tell. The first woman only wanted to be a writer and lead a writing life. The second is passionate to tell certain unique stories. The young woman was called by the process. The more seasoned writer is driven by the story. Those are two different things.
As human persons, we search for truth and meaning. Like history our existential questions come round again and again. And certain periods of history are pivotal. The Renaissance. The Reformation. Now. How do people react under such sweeping changes in understanding? Such explosions of knowledge and technology? Such revisions of faith? Do they crumble under such pressure or turn into diamonds? These are the stories our writer now writes, and though she wonders what her life might have been if her first book had been published, she’s thinks she might never have taken the writing path she’s on now or been driven to the stories that seem to her so important and beautiful and true.