A pub tale of literary ambition
The storytelling for Bella is about control – even if the publishers don’t buy it, John Longhurst says.
Publican Bella, Mick and Bazza were teleported as they approached the bar:
“I finished my first book, so the drinks are on me.”
Mick rubbed his eyes and rubbed his chin:
“Bella by GEE, I thought you’d not read more than one book so far, but it’s never too late to start reading. Continue, it’s good for you.”
Bazza groaned and Bella shrugged her teeth:
“I finished writing my first novel Mick. In fact, I got my first rejection from the publishers.”
Mick took a sip, broke his eyebrow, and straightened his shoulders.
“Oh, right. Well, this is not a good sign, Bella. Now is my advice -“
Bella cut him with a chuckle and shaking his head:
“Save the advice, Mick. It would be great to be published, but this is not motivation.
Bella stopped and fixed her gaze to Mick:
In fact, if you don’t like them, you can write a character from the story. Anyway, Mick was rejected 12 times by various publishers Harry Potter from JK Rowling. Stephen King’s Carrie was rejected 30 times and still managed to sell and sell 350 million copies of various works. The list continues. James Joyce and George Orwell rejected things… And listen to this early response William Golding’s Lord of Flies:
Future. A ridiculous and indifferent fantasy about the explosion of an atomic bomb on the colonies. A group of children descending to the forest country near the new Guinea. Garbage and dull. Meaningless. To reject.’
Bazza cleared his throat:
“And in 2006, don’t forget the literary deception, Bella. Some of the leading publishers of Australia received a part of a seemingly ongoing novel from an unpublished writer. Wraith Picket. The article was rejected and defined as mixed and written on it. In fact, it was a copy of Patrick White’s Storm Eye. Of course, Patrick White is the only Australian who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973. “
A long pause before mick bends:
“Now, let me flatten this, Bazza. Your advice to Bella is that you should send the manuscript to publishers and agents under the name of a famous writer. Who has you in mind?”
Bella sighed.
“Oh, Mick, if I made you a character in my next novel, … Never mind, I have customers to serve.”
John Longhurst is an old industrial defender and political consultant. He is currently working as an English and history teacher on the southern coast of NSW.
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