Write from your gut

ENOLE DITSHEKO | Friday February 4, 2011 00:00

'Tell your best story from your gut, if it resonates with reality as you want to project it -- do not be bothered by the noise made by topics that sell millions of dollars, I call that obsession,' LeRoy stressed.

More than 500 writers thronged the three-day event that begun last week Friday and it is a platform where book deals are sealed and publishing contracts signed or manuscripts solicited for possible publication by literary agents and publishers.

For most writers, the annual event is the biggest in the calendar, and one that presents opportunities to be out there in the eye of the people that matter the most.

New York City is unarguably the world's capital for the book and publishing industry and the Times Square, which is an area that includes several blocks of commercial institutions, is a major landmark and iconic feature for the city.

Many major publishing houses and reputable news agencies including the New York Times, from which headquarters the square got its name.  LeRoy said as a publisher, he is keen to find writers who exploit their writing prowess to illuminate life in a human society without having to worry about making the best money to outdo another one.

'Writers and publishers have the opportunity and responsibility to be the torchbearers in our societies. Bring out all sides of the story as they take root in our real world.

There are many untold stories, which will make good read, but because they have not been made popular -- writers turn a blind eye to bring them to life in their narrative.

Books must converse with readers and readers are real people, who know what is taking place in their world -- go for real issues whether you write fiction or non-fiction,' he said.

While LeRoy does not underplay fame and popularity as well as celebrating accomplished personalities like cherishing the moment he met his idol -- Morgan Freeman and when he dined with the U. S. President Barack Obama, he insisted that his best writing moment was after an experience of passing through a ghost town in Oklahoma, which used to supply the whole of America with lead, that was used for weaponry during World War II.

Learning about this town that once thrived and flourished because of the minerals and discovering it in its 'death throes' enthralled him to tell the story and even turn it into a documentary for the television channels.

'A good writer is one who observes from his travels, the simple but powerful things around him, then depicts them on the pages like a painter does with his brush to give his audience the feel, smell and heartbeat of the community he encountered.  Writers must not just worry about making money; their role is to enrich our lives so those meaningful experiences of relationships are best illuminated. 

These are the stories that writers and publishers must not neglect -- chronicle them and move us, and to accomplish that as a writer takes a great deal of mental energy,' he emphasized.  In a separate presentation, another writer Patricia Davis underscored the importance of accepting rejection with grace instead of making it too personal that it prevents future prospects of forging relationships with the literary agents, editors and publishers.  'Lots of writers here today have come because they want to get published.

That is all good. But if you can't get an agent on your side, it does not mean you are less a writer than one who struck a good deal.

Writers hold their manuscripts so dearly close to them like mothers do their babies,' she said, adding that no parent sees fault in their babies and they think they can enter them in a beauty pageant, until someone who is removed tells them your baby has three eyes and this is not where she belongs.

'They are devastated when they hear this. Similarly, we see no fault with our manuscripts so much that we can only react with anger and frustration when agents and publishers tell us it won't work.  To avoid this heartbreak, each writer no matter how many novels he has written -- a good writer needs an editor. A manuscript without an editor is like a porn star without a fluffier,' stressed Davis to the amusement and chuckles of her audience.

The audience learnt in disbelief that the world's third most paid author Stephen King, did in fact had 41 rejections before he cracked into the book publishing. King made $45 million in 2009 coming after James Patterson who netted $50 million while J.K. Rowling of The Harry Potter series occupied position one at $300 million annual turnover.