Last things first – Grumpy Old Bookman has provided a damn fine summary of the whole Macmillan New Writing venture thus far over on his blog. G.O.B. has always been a great ally of the whole initiative, from his lengthy blog entries on the matter, to even turning up to the launch of the imprint. That apart, he is one of the top industry commentators, so to have that kind of support can only be a good thing.
…Despite the negative comments hurled its way from its inception, Macmillan New Writing has been largely a success. So the likes of McCrum et al must be wondering why they were so wrong. I don’t have the answers, though I suspect the success so far has been down to the optimism of the writers, the quality of the books, the hard work of the editorial staff, the support of a major publisher, and finally the faith of the book buying public…
What G.O.B. doesn’t mention in his blog entry is also the camaraderie between the writers on the list. We are all new at this game, hence why it feels like we are struggling together, sharing experiences from one blog to the next. Some suspected this camaraderie would not last beyond the first year of the imprint – yet the likes of David Isaak and Faye Booth have carried on the tradition of exposing pretty much all thought and feeling on this – well – special adventure on their blogs.
So for those nay-sayers such as McCrum, and to quote a non-literary source - Bruce Campbell as it happens (in the role of the enigmatic Ash):
“That’s right! Who’s laughing now!”
What’s in a name, again…
Okay, it’s “title time” once more. I’ve mentioned before that I’m none too keen on the working title of the follow-up to The Secret War. The Secret of Mhorrer just doesn’t do it for me, perhaps because it leads to a third book having “secret” in the title (which it won’t – the title of the third book is pretty much set in stone). And I’m not a big fan of having a fantasy name in the title – which “Mhorrer” clearly is.
So I have a few choices, and some of them stand out, and some of them don’t. I’ve listed those choices below, including previous titles that have straddled this hefty tome:
The Secret of Mhorrer (current working title)
The Burning Sands of Time
The Valley of Fire
The Eyes of Fire
Warriors between Darkness and Light
The Immortal Horde
I’ve done a quick Lulu Titlescorer rating of the titles, and of this list Warriors between Darkness and Light and The Burning Sands of Time came top, while The Secret of Mhorrer and The Valley of Fire are the weakest according to this less than scientific product. I’m obviously not going to be base my final decision on Lulu’s Titlescorer, but if anyone has an opinion on the best and the worst, please tell me!
You've been Tagged
Lucy has tagged me. I can’t blame her, and I think it’s really Faye’s fault for introducing this to the MNW lot! Still, I’m not old enough to grumble and moan convincingly, so I’ll answer the questions once I’ve completed the 3rd draft and give it some thought. Could be a few weeks though… and I’m not sure I know five other writers who have not been tagged already. Anyone here want to give it a go?
I have a couple of writers in mind…
Anyway, I must depart… The third draft beckons: 6 chapters down, only a poultry 18 more to go!
PS: Apologies for the various versions of this blog entry that have appeared in the last hour or so - if you want to point fingers, point at Google. New Blogger my arse!
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