The book world

Anne on the book world. The biggest challenge facing any young writer is getting attention for a work sufficient to generate some word of mouth. Every year New York with all its resources publishes books for which they simply cannot get real attention. Then some book, against all odds, will suddenly take off, and everybody is left breathless trying to explain why.

Well, there is no real "why." All you can say is the public liked the premise, the style, the reading experience, something — and people started telling one another about this book, and voila, you have a success. Then come the detractors screaming that the new success is a travesty, "badly written," "a rip off," and they're offended. Meaningless. The readers have made up their minds, and they're talking about the book. And so we go on.

All this mystery about success is a good thing. No one can control what readers will love and elevate. No one can "make" a bestseller. And that gives everybody a chance.