So, I’m reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and I keep finding these clever lines and pitch-perfect descriptions–writing that makes me jealous (Oh, why didn’t I write that?). But here’s the thing–the book 846 pages long (I’m on page 225 at the moment) and I’m thinking this: an agent was sitting in his office and he received this query letter and he looked at the page count and he said, “Oh, sure. I can sell that! It’s style is rahter Dickensian and it’s illustrated and it’s protagonist is a bit of a pill and some of the words are mispelled on purpose, but hey, there’s a market for that.” uh-huh. And this is Ms. Clarke’s FIRST novel.

Everything I’ve read about finding an agent and a publisher would say this can’t be done. You can’t be a first time novelist with a book that long and expect anybody to give you the time of day. Too many other less risky books to put money into. Really, the only explanation is that her agent was insane.

Thank god, because it’s a worthwhile book. But still…makes my small-minded side wonder who Ms. Clarke’s friends are just because many fantastic books never see the light day. Ever looked at the numbers? The odds? I might as well put all my money (which is hardly much of a bet) on being struck by lightening while getting run over by the proverbial bus of death when I walk out the door tomorrow morning. It helps to know people (other than Zeus and grim bus drivers).

In the movie Sideways, Miles’s agent goes on about finding a place for his novel, not knowing how to market it, blah, blah, blah, and really, I had to figure from every cliche she said that Mile’s book just wasn’t good. Maybe that’s the lesson. Maybe most books really aren’t good enough…including mine. Well, there’s always the next book and some wonderfully lunatic agent hyped up on caffeine going through those query letters looking for a dare…846 pages indeed–who does she think she is? A successful published writer–that’s who.