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Reflections of a working writer and reader

 

 

Pride and Prejudice resubmitted

john baker, July 19th, 2007. No comments. Filed under literature, quotations, writing.

The Guardian covers a nice story about publishers in Britain reacting to the work of Jane Austen.

From Penguin: “Thank you for your recent letter and chapters from your book First Impressions. It seems like a really original and interesting read.”

David Lassman, the director of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath decided to find out what sort of reception the writer might get if she approached publishers and agents in the age of Harry Potter and the airport blockbuster.

After making only minor changes, he sent off opening chapters and plot synopses to 18 of the UK’s biggest publishers and agents. He was amazed when they all sent the manuscripts back with polite but firm “no-thank-you’s” and almost all failed to spot that he was ripping off one of the world’s most famous literary figures.

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