Getting Comfortable (Showcasing Your Work)
Disclaimer: This post does not focus on my efforts getting the manuscript published, nor contains excerpts. I'm still getting comfortable with showcasing it.
Over the past few months, I’ve likened trying to get the manuscript published with pregnancy. Apologies to any female readers. Of course I have no idea of how uncomfortable being pregnant can be and have absolute admiration for it (especially after re-watching House of the Dragon). The thought behind the link is how much, or how little, I want to show of what I’ve written.
Put it this way, if I had a book deal secured, I’d have a good idea of the due date of my own ‘baby’. At the moment, I have neither. At the moment, it’s as if I want to hide the bump so as not to give anything away out of fear of losing it. While I’m still sending out proposals and gaining advice from published authors, I could still be a long way away from gaining a book deal. It’s an uncomfortable balance, knowing I have something I want to show to the world but keeping it hidden for fear of ruining a surprise. There’s only ever so much of a film’s plot you want to showcase during a three-minute trailer.
How Much To Show
Ideally, with a book deal in place, you can have a good idea of how much of your manuscript you can show that won’t potentially impact sales figures. There are certain anecdotes in the manuscript that I could see serialised, similarly to celebrity books being showcased in advance via the tabloid press. Incidents occurred in the local music scene during the embryonic days of the New Yorkshire Wave, which I was wholly unaware of until I’d interviewed various individuals. I’d heard rumours of certain events yet to have the details disclosed to me during interviews from people that were there was a real thrill. That I’ve now been sitting on them for years is somewhat painful, as if I’ve been harbouring a set of secrets that are better left out in the open for others to read about.
I’m still wholly excited about revealing the full contents of the manuscript to the wider world. Only a handful of individuals have visibility of it, in various forms, and I’ve received decent reviews. The dilemma is worrying about giving too much away. Showing too much so that when a book deal comes along, people already know the best bits and are put off from reading it cover to cover.
Why I’m Holding Back
Yes, I’m sure you’re probably wondering about which incidents in the manuscript I could be referring to. But I’m holding back, largely because I want to drum up excitement for the manuscript. Much like a book being serialised, it’s key to only show so much to leave a potential audience wanting more.
There’s also the point that the manuscript pulls together so many threads. Events are described with as much detail as possible, yet the manuscript operates as a whole. Those events are exciting and they do help colour the narrative. However, you need the context of how those bands formed and the vibrancy of those scenes themselves. From venues to record producers, journalists, and club night promoters. Those individual parts all combining to form something more valuable than the sum of its parts. The success of the scene was also bound by the technology and culture that surrounded it at the time.
There’s also this, the Substack. I can show certain elements of the manuscript, receive some feedback and tweak the manuscript but still hold back on revealing all. Through these long reads, there’s also a decent opportunity to discover if there are any misquotes or misunderstandings, so I can fix them in the manuscript in good time, however minor or major. Though I do anticipate that were I to secure a book deal, it would be common courtesy to give the interviewees a look at the manuscript before it gets published. Likely to avoid getting sued at a later date.
Exclusives
In several book proposals, I’ve picked out several excerpts to try and coax some interest from a publisher or literary agent. Perhaps these excerpts are simply not as exciting as I thought or, more likely, I simply have not found the right publisher/literary agent yet. There is still an unease to sharing those exclusive excerpts. A sense that through my interviews and questioning I’ve obtained these valuable anecdotes but still feel keen to hold onto them unless required to disclose them. Whatever publishers decide to do with that information is up to them, though confidentiality remains.
Recently, I was invited to a listening party in Sheffield for the first Arctic Monkeys album. Having left Sheffield a couple of years ago, I decided it was a bit of a mission to get there and back for a single evening. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t be involved. Having spoken to the organisers, I decided to offer an exclusive. Actually, several exclusives. It took a while but I dug up the interview recordings and worked my way through the transcripts.
This is where those hours of transcribing suddenly bear fruit. I can glance through the text and pick out the juicy bits. Rather than handing over the quotes, as they appear in the manuscript, I cut the audio files for a few clips. Hearing the anecdotes in their raw form is a real thrill as there’s an element of truth in their audible delivery.
When I read over the quotes in the book, I’m aware that they’ve been cleaned up somewhat. Those little interruptions from myself, the sound of clattering cutlery, or broken speech, are all taken out. The quotes themselves appear clean, they still carry the underlying message yet listening to the audio is far more exciting.
Perhaps there’s something in there for an ambitious audiobook project, once I’ve got wholly comfortable with showcasing my own work.