In the wake of the acceptance of my first novel Pop Apocalypse by a publisher, I’ve spent the last few weeks scrambling to find a literary agent. I’m learning a lot about the book publishing business in short order–ironically, more than I have ever learned in any of my academic literature classes–but am reticent to post anything substantial here about these experiences until everything is settled. I haven’t found an agent yet. I haven’t signed a contract.
Once I do, the more serious business of reorganizing this blog, and (more generally) my online presence, will begin. Looking at the academic job list, one thing has become certain: when I go on the job market next (academic) year, I will definitely consider applying for positions as an assistant professor of creative writing. That would be such a trip.
For the curious, a little bit about the novel: Pop Apocalypse is a dystopian political satire set in a near future US. Its protagonist is Eliot R. Vanderthorpe, Jr., celebrity heir to a billion dollar fortune. Eliot, a grad school dropout, is the son of the founder and CEO of the Omni Science Corporation, a company that makes video search software, a kind of “evil” Google. The novel begins when, after a summer of debauched partying, Eliot tries to straighten himself up by listing his name on the New York Reputations Exchange (NYRE). After “going public,” Eliot discovers that the Market has some unsettling plans for his future, of which I can only say the novel’s title is the major clue.
I want to make Pop Apocalypse the first of three novels set in this same near future, each of which tells a distinctly different story, with different characters. More to come.