But novels, they're another story.
A novel is something you curl up with and, if it's a good one,
lose yourself in, much the way Alice found herself getting lost
in that fantastic looking glass. Perhaps the valuable thing about
publishing a novel as an e-text is that it gives readers a taste
for the story and for the author's style, so that the reader can
then go out and purchase the published edition if they want to.
But let's get back to "Undo," and why making it available for
free in this electronic book version is so important to me. The
reason is simple: I want people to read it, and this is - so
far, anyway - the only way to make that happen. For, despite the
hard-fought efforts of not one, not two, but three very reputable
literary agents, the book, unlike Mr. Sterling's works, has not
found a trade publisher it can call home.
Why? The answer to this question is best summed up by Bantam
editor Brian Tart, in his recent letter of rejection:
- - - - - - - - - -
Ms. Juliet Nicolson
Juliet Nicolson Ltd. Literary Agency
71 Chester Row
London England SW1W 8JL
Dear Juliet:
Thank you for dropping off Joe Hutsko's ms. while you were in New
York. I must say that I am impressed with Mr. Hutsko's writing
and believe him to be a talent to watch in the future. His story,
however, seemed to me to be a bit stale - it seems to be about
six or eight years too late in the making - as I could see, and
indeed have seen, this kind of corporate intrigue take place in
the world of non-fiction.
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