Thanks to Kristen of Scrappin' My Bliss, I read a fascinating article in yesterday's Boston Globe about the the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning book Tinkers. Now I'm even more excited to read this book.
Not only is Tinkers Paul Harding's first novel (!) it was published, not by a giant in the publishing world, but by a small publishing house. - Bellevue Literary Press. And its initial run was a paltry 3,500 copies. And Harding's advance? A meager $1,000 (apparently a tiny fraction of the typical advance). So how did this novel, which was originally rejected and then sat in a drawer for three years, not only get published, but win the Pulitzer? Word of mouth! I kid you not. It was a real grassroots effort sparked by "personal interactions between publishers, booksellers, and reviewers that launched the book the old-fashioned way." Wow! I love this!
And what's even more unbelievable is that no one called Harding to tell him he had won. He, of course, didn't even dream that he would be the winner and he found out when he checked online to see who had won! OMG! If this isn't a quintessential American success story, I don't know what is. Congratulations to Paul Harding. What a way to make your debut in the publishing world.
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6 comments:
I agree - what a great story! As a writer, it gives me hope to see the little guy win for a change and perseverance pay off.
Sue
I'm glad you got to read the article. I found his road to the Pulitzer so fascinating! And he is only a few years older than me, so hopefully he has a lot of stories left to tell! :-)
I love stories like that where the little guy scores. Now I'll have to look for his book.
Oh it is so great to hear success stories like this!
I love that! thanks for sharing it with us. makes me dream even more of becoming a writer someday! :)
You always just make me wanna go out there and get the book. Not so easy in my country, but I am gonna make sure that I will get my greedy eyes on that book!
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