All those different fragments

[dolorosa_12]

Early on in the pandemic, my friend thecelticist wrote a letter to her students (she's head of the department of the Department of Early Irish at Maynooth University) on her blog. What happened next was a weird kind of lucky serendipity that feels almost unbelievable: a literary agent somehow stumbled on the blog post, and was so entranced with what he read that he signed her — on the basis solely of the blog post — to write a memoir. This memoir then went on to sell for a six-figure advance to Penguin. Over the past two years, I've kept up with the progress of the manuscript, and, later, the various publicity and marketing activities organised by the publisher, as Lizzie has shared her experiences extensively via social media.

The book got the kind of feverish marketing push that only comes along when major publishers feel they have a bestseller on their hands — blurbs from Hilary Mantel and other major literary figures, huge amounts of publicity, vast quantities of money splashed on getting the book prominently displayed in all the major British and Irish booksellers (I saw a photo from today of the book in Grafton Street in Dublin in a display next to Colm Tóibín's latest, to give you some idea). The whole thing is like a fairy story, even more so given that Lizzie has published extensively — but only academic books and journal articles on medieval Irish history and literature, the sort of things where you certainly don't get paid, and basically no one reads it other than a small handful of fellow scholars.

I've picked up my copy of the book, but haven't read it yet. This review in the Irish Independent should give you a rough idea of what it's about: part pandemic memoir, part elegy for her father (who died in January 2020), part wide-ranging musings on her own tumultuous life, interspersed with allusions from everything to medieval Irish literature to black metal. I'm intrigued to read it, and still kind of astonished that someone I know could have this kind of publishing good fortune.

Comments

[yarnofariadne]

It is wonderful to hear about such serendipitous success ♥

[dolorosa_12]

Isn't it just? And she's a really generous person (when I first knew her, she was a postdoc, and I was doing my MPhil, and she always used to buy all the drinks/food for the MPhil and PhD students, because she said she remembered what it was like in our situation, having very little money for social activities). I couldn't be happier that success of this kind happened to her.

[kore]

Oh, super! I must get this!

[dolorosa_12]

I'm glad you like the sound of it! Just be aware that for various reasons the rights to the book haven't sold in the US (only UK/Ireland/Commonwealth), so you may have to order it from overseas.

[chestnut_pod]

This is firmly on my list now! Thank you very much for the recommendation, and many congratulations to your friend!

[dolorosa_12]

I'm glad you like the sound of it (and thanks for your congratulations — she's a lovely, generous person, so I'm pleased that she's earned such success and good fortune). Just be aware that for various reasons the rights to the book haven't sold in the US (only UK/Ireland/Commonwealth), so you may have to order it from overseas.

[chestnut_pod]

That adds a certain flair of adventure!

[lirazel]

Wow! What a story! I want to read a book about the experience of publishing this book!

Good for her!

[dolorosa_12]

We were all reading that book day by day in the serialised form of Facebook posts! But yes, her path to publication is an absolutely wonderful and astonishing story all on its own.

[el_staplador]

How very exciting! It sounds like a fascinating book.

[dolorosa_12]

I'm glad you like the sound of it.

[rmc28]

That does sound like a fascinating book, and I'm so happy for your friend's success - also that letter to students is lovely.

[dolorosa_12]

I haven't started it yet, but I'm certain it will be great. The letter to the students is really lovely — she's such a compassionate person (as the article mentions, she took in a Syrian refugee as her housemate for quite a while, and now they basically consider each other family), and it definitely comes through in her teaching.

[likeadeuce]

This book looks wonderful, thank you for sharing and congratulations to your friend!

[dolorosa_12]

I'm glad you like the sound of it!

[likeadeuce]

I'll pass this on to a local friend who's from Dublin, as well, seems like she might get a kick out of itm

I was amused at '"Most people are familiar with The Cattle Raid of Cooley from the Táin Bó Cúailnge," in the review. I assume that's something children would learn in Irish schools.

[dolorosa_12]

Oh lovely, please do feel free to pass it on to your friend.

I was amused at '"Most people are familiar with The Cattle Raid of Cooley from the Táin Bó Cúailnge," in the review. I assume that's something children would learn in Irish schools.

I think you're right!

[likeadeuce]

A sentence you would probably only see in an Irish publication but now I'm like 'I should know more about The Cattle Raid of Cooley!!'

[dolorosa_12]

Hahaha, that's amazing! For me, it was more a cause for frustration as it was clear that although the journalist knew the adapted/translated/pop culture interpretation of the Táin, she was really not up to date on the academic scholarship — although of course there was no reason why she should be. But Lizzie's interpretation (with which the journalist disagreed) is the more reasonable.

[nerakrose]

congrats to your friend!! I can easily see this become a success from the concept and cover alone, but also her agent is Robert Caskie. I realise this means very little to people outside the industry, but he's a very well known and respected agent who's peddled many bestselling and award winning books, and I can see why he'd want to champion this one based on his track record - anyway my point is, the stars aligned for this spectacularly. again, congrats to your friend!!

the book sounds fantastic and I might have to get my own copy. I don't read a lot of nonfiction but I'm trying to change that, so might as well start here!

[dolorosa_12]

That context from someone working in the industry is really interesting, and it makes a lot of sense. The thing that astonishes me is that the agent found her blog post in the first place.

If you do get a copy of the book, I hope you enjoy it.

[nerakrose]

He could’ve been actively looking! It’s very common to look at blogs and opeds and literary magazines (short form writing) to ‘scout’ for book potential. most agents/agencies delegate that kind of work to agency assistants (it’s also a good way to train them to spot good writing etc.), and some agents/agencies scout more than others, and based on my anecdata I’d say SFF agents do it more because there’s a lot of short form SFF writing outlets. “Stumbling over by chance” is a better story as it implies a lot of things like discovering diamonds in the rough/elevating somebody from obscurity/etc all of which can be useful marketing tools - not that it’s not true, he very well might have come across it by accident. Either option is equally likely, and I should probably make clear, value neutral.

Related, I think if one has an interest in something or other, intentionally going into online rabbit holes can sometimes lead to a lot of interesting stuff. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wound up on somebody’s blog because I started on Wikipedia idly looking up something I was curious about…

[dolorosa_12]

Oh yes indeed, stumbling on a hidden gem makes for a much more compelling publicity story, and having spoken to my husband (who has a better memory of Lizzie's exact path to publication) I may have skipped a few steps in the process.


Related, I think if one has an interest in something or other, intentionally going into online rabbit holes can sometimes lead to a lot of interesting stuff. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wound up on somebody’s blog because I started on Wikipedia idly looking up something I was curious about…

I totally agree!

[senmut]

That's wonderful!

[dolorosa_12]

Isn't it just?

[blackcatofmisery]

That's incredible! Like, such amazing serendipitous luck but also the you'd-never-expect-it amazing! Good for them; it's an incredible opportunity and can open some doors to a slightly off-center goal compared to their academic career, but it may get some people interested in their actual focus and passion.

Also just goes to show you never know who your audience is online.

=^..^=~

[dolorosa_12]

It really is! I genuinely can't believe that someone could have such amazing luck, especially knowing how hard it is to get professionally published, let alone professionally published with a big advance and huge amounts of marketing money behind you.

Having read the book last night, though, all that publisher clout is entirely deserved: it's an exquisite book, and I'm not just saying that because it's by my friend.

[oracne]

Go her!

[dolorosa_12]

It's pretty amazing!

[svgurl]

That sounds really interesting. Congrats to your friend! :D

[dolorosa_12]

The book is fantastic — I finished it on Thursday night. And the story behind its publication is such a fairytale, isn't it?