Discussing disappointments, the status of literature, and the physical book
Acclaimed author and creative writing professor at University of Guelph, Lawrence Hill, introduced his editor and publisher Iris Tupholme at a book publishing event held at McLaughlin Library on Nov. 16.
Hill has been working with Tupholme since his second novel, Any Known Blood, which was published by HarperCollins Canada in 1999. Hill shared a piece of advice that Tupholme told him years ago when he was writing his highly successful novel The Book of Negroes: “You only get one chance to tell this story, so you have to make it the very best it can be.”
Tupholme is a University of Guelph alumna, senior vice-president and executive publisher at HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. She spoke about the challenges of a Canadian publishing company: how language barriers and unique histories of the different coasts of Canada make it difficult for publishers to appeal to a general audience. Tupholme emphasized the fact that, “People on the west coast of Canada often have more in common with those in Seattle than in Nova Scotia.”
Additionally, she stated that, “[Canada has] a large number of other cultural roots who understandably want to read books telling their own stories.”
Tupholme commented on the ever-evolving Canadian publishing landscape, mentioning the declining success of bricks and mortar storefronts, the domination of Canadian bestseller lists by famous U.S. and U.K. authors, and the alternate methods that consumers choose to read books.
However, despite the overwhelming takeover of book sales by online retailers, independent retailers such as Guelph’s own The Bookshelf have been on the rise thanks to consumer interest in shopping locally. She also pointed out the unexpected trends in book sales; most recently, celebrity memoirs have been quite popular. Last year’s trend was adult colouring books.
With the advent of the internet and its instant access to countless forms of entertainment, it’s a challenge to sell books these days. Why bother buying a recipe book when there are hundreds of free recipes only a click away? And yet, there is something sentimental about having a tangible piece of literature to put on your shelf.
“A book is special,” said Tupholme.“It is one of the world’s best inventions: an item so perfectly suited to readers that nothing has ever been created that can improve on its physicality, its portability, and its importance to the user.
“Even with e-books available at any place and any time, many people still love the physical book and hold it dear.”
When it comes to getting your debut novel published, Tupholme had a few considerations to share with hopeful authors from her perspective as an editor and publisher. Having a good social media presence, being willing to engage in self-promotion, and writing about accessible and relatable topics are all factors that determine whether or not there is interest in publishing your book. To be a successful author, it is beneficial for writers to know their intended audience and cater to them.
As someone who’s been involved in the publishing industry for over 30 years, Tupholme has accumulated an impressive catalogue of books that she has helped publish, ranging somewhere between 800 and 1000 books.
“I’ve probably read an entire forest,” she said with a smile. Included in the list of writers with whom she has worked closely are Timothy Findley, Emma Donoghue, Shilpi Somaya Gowda, and of course, the University of Guelph’s own Lawrence Hill.
Before Tupholme’s talk, Hill compared the feat of being instantly successful as a writer to winning the lottery. He also shared an anecdote about the disappointment he felt when he tried to get his first novel published.
“I eventually collected enough rejection slips to wallpaper my bathroom,” he explained.
After several attempts to have his debut novel Some Great Thing published, Hill was not optimistic about his last attempt when he received a package from Turnstone Press in the mail, assuming it was just another rejection.
“I was so discouraged that I did not open the envelope for a week or more,” said Hill. “Why bother opening a package that would surely say, ‘Thank you for considering us but your novel does not fit our publishing mandate?’ So the package sat on my table for five days… seven days… After 10 days, I ripped it open to find an acceptance letter inside.”
Incredulous, Hill flipped through the manuscript to find it had already been thoroughly copy-edited.
“That’s how my first novel came to be published by Turnstone Press in 1992. It took two years to write and three years to find a publisher and see it published,” he said.
Hill and Tupholme have since worked together on a number of titles, including Hill’s most recent novel, The Illegal.
Photo by Karen K. Tran.