Literary Luck

For any poor soul with a written but unpublished novel, finding an editor who says, “I love it--the contract is in the mail,” is like winning the lottery.

It’s true that sitting down at a word processor and composing a 90,000-word manuscript requires more talent and perseverance than walking into a mini mart and dropping a dollar on the counter. But luck enters in once the writer types “The End” and hits “Print.”

Unfortunately for the aspiring author, becoming the next Sue Grafton requires even more luck than buying a winning ticket. Each step in the process is another spin of the Big Wheel: getting an agent, then a contract for the first book, then a contract for each successive book (they have to be written too!), a breakout contract that includes publisher support, a spot on the bestseller list, a megabucks movie deal, and fill-in-the-blank with your own idea of the ultimate prize.

Some good manuscripts go straight to the top, while some languish for years without recognition. The difference is luck.

Even after writing eight books in a row that hit bestseller lists (from “G is for Gumshoe” through “N is for Noose”), Grafton said: “I do not feel I have beaten the odds once and for all. With each new book, I worry that I won’t make it this time. The loyalty of my fans is a constant source of amazement.”

Authors Richard Barre and Jerry Freedman (who, like Grafton, live in Santa Barbara), Studio City author Thomas Perry, Pasadena author William Relling Jr. and Camarillo author Paul Bishop have each won the publishing lottery many times over.

Barre, Perry and Relling will celebrate their latest books with appearances at local bookstores. Freedman and Bishop don’t have promotional appearances scheduled, but each has a paperback version of last year’s hardcover available for summer reading.

Signings don’t guarantee success, of course, but the sense is that one can’t win without them. Richard Barre is first up. He will sign books in Santa Barbara on Friday and in Thousand Oaks on Saturday.

At the Thousand Oaks appearance, buy a book and the lunch is free, courtesy of Mysteries to Die For owner Audrey Moore. She is an avowed fan, describing Barre’s new book, “The Ghosts of Morning,” as “an absolutely outstanding read, one to savor.” Barre called it “a story in which everybody is haunted by something--even Wil Hardesty,” the protagonist.

Barre’s first novel, “The Innocents,” won a Shamus Award for best first novel from the Private Eye Writers of America. For his third book featuring private eye Hardesty, Barre switched publishers.

A mid-series move generally means a much better contract--another lottery win--but Barre was unwilling to discuss his good fortune at length.

“Hardesty will return next summer with ‘Blackheart Highway,’ just sent off to Berkley,” was his only comment on his new publisher.

When asked how he felt about the lottery issue, Thomas Perry said, “Don’t remind us.” He said that worrying about the things a writer can’t control is like worrying about the weather.

Perry has other kinds of worries with each new book: “You don’t want to disappoint people who have been with you for a while. You hope they will be surprised and amazed each time out.”

Perry’s first novel, “The Butcher’s Boy,” won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His new book, “The Face-Changers,” is his fourth with protagonist Jane Whitefield, whose specialty is helping people disappear. Asked to describe the new book, he said, “It’s spectacular and everyone should buy it.” He’ll be signing copies of this book--and his earlier ones--in Thousand Oaks on June 13.

Relling will be at the same bookstore June 20, signing “Sweet Poison.” This second novel featuring former Treasury agent-turned-reluctant-detective Jack Donne is set at the fictional Donne’s winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. Relling admits that his model for the series is the Gainey Winery. Fortunately, owner Dan Gainey is a mystery fan. In fact, Gainey hosts a mystery dinner at the winery every December, and he has promised to make “Sweet Poison” the theme of this year’s party.

Relling agreed that the life of a writer is a series of gambles, and he believes he has had a couple of wins. But when asked about winning a big contract with a hefty advance, he responded, “I don’t know what that feels like.”

He described “Sweet Poison” as a Nero Wolfe-type detective story. “Specifically, it’s the origin of Wolfe’s relationship with [leg man] Archie Goodwin. I would never be so presumptuous as to think I could match, much less top, Rex Stout at his own game. He’s one of my literary heroes. But if the millions of Nero Wolfe fans out there each bought one copy of ‘Sweet Poison,’ I’d be one very happy author.”

Two other authors--Jerry Freedman of Santa Barbara and Paul Bishop of Camarillo--have paperback versions of last year’s hardbacks due to be released in time to be carried to the beach.

Freedman wasn’t sure about the lottery metaphor, given his own experience. “My first book sold for a large sum of money. It was on the bestseller list. So one could say I hit it large, in multiples.”

The following books didn’t have quite the same numbers, but Freedman has stayed with his original publisher. “There’s tremendous pressure to top your last book, sell more, get higher on the list, better reviews. Publishers don’t stick with you, as they did in the old days.

“When I signed my first contract with Penguin, Peter Mayer, who owned and ran it out of his vest pockets, told me: ‘We will be your publishers for life. We’ll publish everything you write.’ And he meant it.”

Freedman’s “Key West” is out in paperback in August, and his latest novel, “The Disappearance,” will be published in hardcover a month later.

Paul Bishop, whose day job is as a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, liked the notion of publishing as a lottery.

“Finishing your first novel is no more than rolling the dice,” he said. “There’s a long way to go. And even getting an agent is no more than winning $5 on a scratcher ticket. Getting that first novel published is the first number on a ‘pick six.’ ”

Bishop found a publisher for his first novel, “Citadel Run,” but his experience was different than Freedman’s. When Bishop asked his publisher about promoting the book, he said the response was, “We’ll do everything we can up to the point where it costs money.”

Not surprisingly, his first novel with Det. Fey Croaker, “Kill Me Again,” was with a different publisher. And his third Croaker novel, “Tequila Mockingbird,” is with yet another publisher.

This one, Scribners, will also publish the fourth Fey Croaker novel, “Chalk Whispers,” due early next year. In the meantime, watch for the “Tequila Mockingbird” paperback, out in September.

BE THERE

Richard Barre will sign books in Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Friday at Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St., Santa Barbara (805) 965-0926, and Saturday at noon at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; (805) 374-0084.

Thomas Perry will sign books at Mysteries to Die For on June 13.

William Relling will be at Mysteries to Die For on June 20, and at Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St., Santa Barbara, on Aug. 9 at 2 p.m.; (805) 682-6787)