Ted Thompson, author of The Land of Steady Habits, talks about his business in ways that make him uncomfortable. “I feel like I’m bordering on saying something sacrilegious here, but here it goes: There’s a common strain of thinking among writers, particularly literary writers and the institutions that foster them (conference/colonies/workshops), that insists a book is only as good as its writing.”

Although he still believes in the preeminence of good writing, he know believes subject is very, very, and also very important. “Once a manuscript leaves your desk, subject matter is the primary (and often only) way it is discussed. So if you haven’t figured out a quick way to answer that cringe-inducing question ‘What’s your book about?’ in a way that interests other people, somebody else will. And that will be how the book is sold…”

He goes on to say how surprised he was that people in publishing actually want to love your book and that the slowness of the whole process is understandable.