Ask the Author: R.J. Lynch
Answered Questions (7)
R.J. Lynch
Hi, Judith
Poor Law was ready to go. The e-book was formatted, the paperback was typeset. Then someone at our publicist decided that it would be a good idea to send an advance copy to the present head of a prominent family from the north-east of England who I had not dealt with very nicely in the book. (I based what I had written on rumours that had been around for 250 years, but never proved). The publicist’s idea was to try to get some advance publicity. What we got instead was a response from a heavy-duty law firm representing the family. I pointed out that, in suggesting that someone who lived in the 1760s might have been a murderer, I was not breaking any laws. No one could sue me for libelling someone who had been dead that long. And I was right. But what we were told (verbally – it was never put in writing) was that, if the book was published in its present form, the man I had annoyed was prepared to spend a considerable amount of money to launch a campaign against not just me but also against the publisher’s entire list. All of my books – and especially Poor Law – would receive multiple one star reviews on Amazon. I would be blogged against and reviled in press reviews. We were satisfied that he had the clout to make that happen, pathetic though it would make him look.
My response was to plead artistic freedom. I was free to write anything I wanted, as long as I didn’t libel a living person. And I could provide justification for what I had written. The decision (which I disagreed with, and still do) was not to publish the book in its existing form. I refused to touch it for more than a year, but in the end I climbed down and I have rewritten it without the parts that gave offence. It’s now ready, we are just agreeing the cover, and it should be out in time for Christmas.
What is particularly irritating about this is that Book 3 in the series was all ready to go, but they can’t be published out of order. Book 3 is set in the American colonies and picks up the story of Lizzie Greener’s brothers who fled England to escape a trumped up murder charge. The current plan is to publish that three months after Poor Law comes out.
I’ll let you know the minute Poor Law is available.
Best wishes
John Lynch
Poor Law was ready to go. The e-book was formatted, the paperback was typeset. Then someone at our publicist decided that it would be a good idea to send an advance copy to the present head of a prominent family from the north-east of England who I had not dealt with very nicely in the book. (I based what I had written on rumours that had been around for 250 years, but never proved). The publicist’s idea was to try to get some advance publicity. What we got instead was a response from a heavy-duty law firm representing the family. I pointed out that, in suggesting that someone who lived in the 1760s might have been a murderer, I was not breaking any laws. No one could sue me for libelling someone who had been dead that long. And I was right. But what we were told (verbally – it was never put in writing) was that, if the book was published in its present form, the man I had annoyed was prepared to spend a considerable amount of money to launch a campaign against not just me but also against the publisher’s entire list. All of my books – and especially Poor Law – would receive multiple one star reviews on Amazon. I would be blogged against and reviled in press reviews. We were satisfied that he had the clout to make that happen, pathetic though it would make him look.
My response was to plead artistic freedom. I was free to write anything I wanted, as long as I didn’t libel a living person. And I could provide justification for what I had written. The decision (which I disagreed with, and still do) was not to publish the book in its existing form. I refused to touch it for more than a year, but in the end I climbed down and I have rewritten it without the parts that gave offence. It’s now ready, we are just agreeing the cover, and it should be out in time for Christmas.
What is particularly irritating about this is that Book 3 in the series was all ready to go, but they can’t be published out of order. Book 3 is set in the American colonies and picks up the story of Lizzie Greener’s brothers who fled England to escape a trumped up murder charge. The current plan is to publish that three months after Poor Law comes out.
I’ll let you know the minute Poor Law is available.
Best wishes
John Lynch
R.J. Lynch
I can't think of an answer to that. Sorry. What I'll do is tell you the worst thing about being a writer, and that is loneliness. You have to do it on your own and you have to be on your own to do it. I need a minimum of four hours every day--frequently six--when the door is closed and I'm working. Fortunately, I get up at four every morning--if I was a late riser it would be impossible.
R.J. Lynch
I never have it. I mean, sometimes I have to struggle to find the next sentence and sometimes when I have found it I realise it's not good enough, but I never find myself in a position where I just can't write.
R.J. Lynch
Shoot yourself. But if that seems unreasonable, accept that you're in for years of hard slog as you learn how to do it. Work hard and never stop. And work with professionals: professional editors; professional cover designers; professional typesetters. Yes, I know it's expensive. So is failure.
R.J. Lynch
I've just finished The International Sales Handbook and sent it to be edited. I've spent 40 years or more as an international salesman and I've lived and worked on every continent except Antarctica. With the idea of retirement raising its head I wanted to get down on paper everything I'd learned about dealing with other peoples in other lands. And now I've gone back to Poor Law, the second in the James Blakiston series; the current file is called Version 3 revision 5, which will probably give an idea of how I work.
R.J. Lynch
I wouldn't call it inspiration :-) I sit down at the computer and start to type. Somehow, though, all sorts of things intrude--things I've done, places I've been, people I've met--and before I know what's happening I'm writing.
R.J. Lynch
My most recent book is Zappa's Mam's a Slapper, which isn't (quite) published yet--watch this space. When I wrote the first sentence I sat for ages and stared at the screen thinking, "Where did that come from?"--because the first sentence was, "All I'd said was, I wouldn't mind seeing her in her knickers." And if I knew where that idea came from, I probably wouldn't admit it.
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