J.P. Cunningham nominated for GA Author of Year award in First Novel category

J.P. Cunningham, author of the novel SOMERSET, is one of five nominees for the Georgia Author of the Year Award in the First Novel category.   The award is sponsored by the GA Writers Association.

Somerset, a novel by J.P. Cunningham in Second Round of ABNA contest

SOMERSET, the novel by J.P. Cunningham, has advanced to the Second Round within the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.  5000 original entrants were reduced to 1000 contestants on February 24th, 2011.  Later in March, the 1000 current contestants will be reduced to 250 quarter-finalists.
   ISBN 9781453839515

SOMERSET now available at Baker & Taylor & also Ingraham

SOMERSET, the novel by J.P. Cunningham, is now available through nationwide book wholesaler
Baker & Taylor and also through Ingraham LSI.  These are two large distributors of books in the United States, selling to libraries and book stores across the country.  Meanwhile, it can also be purchased at amazon.com in either Kindle version or trade paperback, and can be bought on-line at barnesandnoble.com in Nook version.  ISBN No. 9781453839515.

Subjectivity?

In terms of authors submitting either to literary agencies or directly to targeted publishing houses, a great deal is said about toughening up to resist rejection and at the same time to understand how subjective the whole topic of quality is.

The fact is that subjectivity comes into it less than does the business aspect of rejection. Publishing houses are overwhelmed by the volume of submissions and are, I'm sure, under enormous pressure to keep staff at a minimum...at an insufficient level. Literary agents are up against the wall more than ever, having found ways to deal with the same basic economics. The problem isn't really subjectivity and actual quality of work as much as it is a very, very low signal to noise ratio. Agency readers and publishing house editors simple cannot pay equal attention to each and every submission coming in. So they have to find "artificial" ways to screen. Self-published works are easy targets for exclusion as a group.

If a self-published author gets any response at all, he or she is doing pretty well. Same with an unpublished, unrepresented, unrecognized author. Being ignored entirely is the coldest and worst insult. The key is to remain focused on the work...on producing the finest copy possible and then on persisting  trying to find an audience for it. There's nothing truly subjective about extremely well-crafted fiction artfully done. It's either ignored or noticed. There lies  the distinction that matters.

Why fiction at all?

The focus of fiction should always be the human spirit...its fragility and its resilience.