Big Sound Temple

Interesting article by Guardian mainman Robert McCrum on how authors such as William Golding and J.G. Ballard were once dismissed as having no potential by assorted literary agents and publishers. Not that I place myself in the same league as the above two gentleman (though, to be honest, Lord of the Flies bored the arse off me at school and I've yet to read anything by ol' J.G., partly because I'm strangely irritated by people who habitually insert initials before their surname) - but reading this article inevitably brought back memories of my own struggle to get published.

Hell, I'd been trying for years. Novels, short stories, articles, whatever. Finally, after writing a 'humourous' (but also true) A-Z about Japan, I thought I had something that stood a slim chance of publication. Some twenty rejections later, I still believed it. More so when, finally, one literary agent showed a lot of interest (he'd actually been chasing me up, rather than the other way round), stating that he was passing my submission onto a contact of his in Tokyo for 'evaluation'.

This is the email that followed (by the way, what was to become A Gaijin's Guide to Japan was at that time called The Cat's Nipples - you'll have to read the book if you want to know why... ;))

> Hi Ben

>

> Clive enjoyed THE CAT'S NIPPLES but is not wildly

> enthusiastic about it, so

> I regret that I do not feel able to take this matter

> further. I hope you

> find another literary agent to help you and I wish

> you all success with the

> book.

>

> Do you want the book back or can Clive recycle it?

>

> Clive was uncertain about what audience you are

> thinking of and in any case

> he advised me to visit the Japan Centre in

> Piccadilly to see that there

> other similar books available.

>

> Thanks for the opportunity of considering this

> project.

>

> Jeffrey

> XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX LITERARY AGENCY

Oh how my hopes were dashed. I Googled 'Clive' (I knew his surname), and discovered that he was an English teacher living in Tokyo who'd had two books (both with a Japan 'theme') published, though they were now, sadly, out of print. Without wishing to sound personal, this was not really the sort of person I wanted assessing my work, and airily decreeing whether or not it had any potential.

I replied to Jeffrey stating that my 'target audience' was anyone interested in Japan/the Far East - kind of self-evident, I thought - and that, if he cared to go to the Japan Centre for himself, he'd see that there weren't, in fact, any books like mine. (As - for good or for bad - remains the case.) I ended my polite but probably slightly terse reply by saying I hadn't a clue what 'recycle my book' meant, as I'd just submitted a few sample entries by email attachment. I won't deny that I generally felt just a little bit miffed by the whole thing.

I basically gave up, then. Although, just before I did, I emailed what I had to my writer friend Jessica Ruston, just asking if she knew anyone who might be interested etc. I'll always be glad I sent that email, just as I will always feel immense gratitude towards Jess. For within two weeks, Scott Pack at the Friday Project (who is fascinated by all things Japanese, and who really is in a position to say whether or not a book has any potential) had emailed me with an offer of publication.

After everything, it was that simple. And a few months later, another deal followed for From Lee to Li. Not that I now live in a huge (or even small) castle off the royalties or anything, but never underestimate the buzz of seeing the fruits of your labour on a shelf at your local Waterstones...