The normal reaction of a publisher when faced with an author with a bee in his bonnet is to grab the check and run.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I became a connoisseur of that nasty thud a manuscript makes when it comes through the letter box.
As a writer, you write the book, you give it to your editor, it's copy edited, it's published, it's thrown out there, and then there's a response.
What an author likes to write most is his signature on the back of a cheque.
We actually determine whether the book is read and make payments to the publisher based on that.
Some people are just so happy to get published to, they sign anything. Next thing you know, they've signed over the rights to their book.
When you write a book for publication, you're writing it for other people to read.
It is the job of the novelist to touch the reader.
I didn't want the headache of having a publisher reviewing everything I wrote in advance.
Authors can get an attitude of us-against-them when it comes to publishers, but learning how authors and editors can work together taught me to look at my work in a different way and to make that work as solid as possible before it ever goes to the publisher.
A publisher should always be on the receiving end. He should take an interest in almost any subject and remain anonymous, letting the author take center stage.