Steve Hely - How I Became a Famous Novelist

I picked up this satiric novel whilst browsing last week in Berkelouw books.

(On a side note, it is rare these days that I get time out to myself without a toddler in tow, so a big shout-out to Biblio-hubby for granting me that delicious hour, especially in circumstances where he was fully aware that any bookstore visit would involve a purchase or two. Or three.)

Perhaps it is because I am myself trying to get published that I was drawn to the title of this book, but I also remember hearing about it somewhere, sometime on the interweb. In any case, it looked diverting and so it was.

Steve Hely has written for 30 Rock, The Office and American Dad, three of my favourite shows, so I thought this book would have me laughing out loud. It didn't, not really. It's amusing,  but the heavy cynicism underpinning Hely's writing is quite dark, and that tempers the humour. In some ways it's a bit of a depressing read for anyone involved in the book industry or seriously interested in books.

Pete Tarslaw, the narrator of the novel, is a young apathetic college grad whose job involves writing fake college application essays for people who can't write or aren't smart enough or diligent enough to do it themselves. The only thing that gets Pete hot under the collar is his ex-girlfriend, so when she sends him an invitation to her wedding he decides he will attend, but only in order to show her up. In the meantime, with an astounding lack of knowledge or insight about the modern publishing industry, he decides he will write a book, become a bestseller, develop fame and fortune - all of which will, he presumes, allow him to land at her wedding in his own plane, splashing Krug liberally on all of the smitten guests. In order to achieve this spectacular success he analyses the New York Times bestseller list and determines what elements a book should contain in order to achieve optimum sales - for example, he soon concludes that any bestselling book must include a murder, secrets / mysterious missions, scenes on highways (to make driving seem poetic and magical), an ending evoking confusing sadness, and that the prose should be lyrical.

Armed with these 'rules', he sets off to a his aunt's house in a quiet rural location (figuring this will later go some way to proving his voice has authenticity) and, particularly improbably, writes his book within a week, albeit with the help of not-yet-FDA-approved pills provided by his researcher roommate. After a series of coincidences that play up the desperate state of modern print publishing, his book is sold. After another series of unusual coincidences, it climbs up the sales list until he is giving television interviews and rubbing shoulders with precisely the bestselling authors whose styles he aped in the first place.

Of course Pete is confronted by a number of cruel realities along the way - when his book sells, for example, he is astonished by the paltry sum of money he is offered as an advance (he had been imagining millions, book-writing being the biggest scam of the century). And ultimately, if somewhat unconvincingly, he comes to recognise that writing is more (means more) than he had thought. But overall, the impression that remains is of a spoilt, cynical young person whose sense of entitlement far outweighs any shred of integrity. If the future of books is indeed left in the hands of such a self-interested instant-gratification generation, it is no future at all.

Favourite / notable part(s):

"They're talking lawyers over here. Okay? Laywers! You might have to apologise to Oprah."

"What'd I do to her?"

"She's just - that's who you apologise to."

(love this thinly veiled reference to the James Frey scandal, which I wrote about here: http://nomadsbynecessity.blogspot.com.au/search?updated-max=2009-09-23T04:19:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=14&by-date=false)

Overall assessment (Note: I don't like having to reduce my feelings about a book to stars, but Goodreads makes me do it so I may as well carry it on here): 3 out of 5 stars.

It's well-written (the excerpts of other, fake novels contained within this one make me think Steve Hely is probably a genius writer and we should wait eagerly for any serious novels he writes in the future), and a good entertaining read, and it made me think about writing and publishing and what it all means. But I wouldn't read it again and it's not going on my 'special bookshelf'.