In preparation for its US release, I have just completed the first edit of Mop Men. Having written the book over four years ago I was unsure how I would find this process going into it. I knew I had to pull out a lot of content, sections that tied the book to 2003; like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s governor campaign, news clippings about the Washington Sniper and the death of Elliot Smith. I was concerned because the editor at Thomas Dunn Books had already told me, had even included it in the contract, that they wanted 20,000 words more than the UK edition, and here I was pulling stuff out. I didn’t know if I could just slip back into the project after all this time. Where were these 20,000 words going to come from?
The first phase turned out to be a lot of fun. It felt like something very intimate and I was quickly able to place myself back in certain scenes that I had written about. The editorial phase of the UK edition was quite gruelling at times. Julia Rochester of Corvo Books really pushed me as a writer (as she did again with my second book two years later), and I felt I left the original Mop Men project a better writer, with a better understanding of what my job was. Over the years my reasons for writing have also changed, and so my handling of Mop Men today is different. I didn’t want to rewrite the book, but often found myself on familiar ground with unfamiliar eyes. This had me scribbling on paper and dashing back to my laptop to bash away at the keypad.
I don’t have an extra 20,000 words after this first phase, but I do have another 12,000. Right now I have handed it to Peter Joseph at TDB and to a handful of close friends, fellow writers, whose input and opinions I respect and am looking forward to gathering.
I know I am lucky to have sold the US rights, but I feel even luckier that the sale meant I had to get reacquainted with Mop Men. It has been a lot of fun, to see how I have evolved and grown over the years, both as a writer and a person, and to have, hopefully, taken Mop Men on a similar journey.
It’s hard waiting for feedback though. I will sit bold upright the next time I see Peter Joseph’s name in my inbox. I will skip a step when I see the proof copies I handed to friends coming back to me. I am expecting the email and the returned copies in the coming week and am going to find it hard to amuse myself in the meantime.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Mop Men: Reloaded
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9 comments:
Hi Alan, I have just finished reading your book 31 Days: A New York Street Diary. It was brilliant, congratulations on taking part and writing such a good book! I have been to New York and London (yesterday actually...London not New York) and I definitely agree that the homeless in London are scarier than in New York. But I think the Homeless in Manchester are possibly scarier than them put together...I am very much looking forward to reading Mop Men next..just about to purchase a copy online! Do you have any plans to write another book? I do hope so. Anyway good luck with your next adventure and all you do.
Great you're breathing new life into Mop Men. It's a brilliant book.
I'm in the process of reading Mop Men, and I'd like to compliment you by saying I suspect that there wasn't anyone better in the world to have written that book but you.
I am very touched by some of the personal feelings and experiences you've included. Usually, I don't go for that type of reporting. Perhaps it's the subject matter but I think it may be something more personal (about you) than that. I couldn't really say, as this writing is the only knowledge I have of you. Which gets back to the idea that you were the only person perfect enough to have written this particular book. How do I know that? I'd really like to be able to say how I know.
I'd like you to drop me a line so that I can tell you a couple of other things I would not want to be posted publically. I'm probably going to finish reading your book tonight, so also if you have any specific questions for a very recent reader, you're free to ask them to me if you wish.
Thanks,
Lil
New York City
ldemidoff@gmail.com
Correction made the same evening as my last post: the pain has hit me now, so my reading the rest of your book will be a bit slower than what I said. Any questions you still have about Alco might be a good place for you to start. My weird methodology will be brought up immediately that way, and then you'll be able to decide whether you have an interest in my opinions & experiences. And, if I don't hear from you, thank you for writing Mop Men.
--Lil
Just finished Mop Men. Very informative and enjoyable. One tiny correction needs to be made. On page 297, paragraph one, line one you wrote "...432 acres of land in Mary County, California." That's actually Marin County.
I'm almost done reading this book now, and I wish the bit about Elliott Smith was still in there! Curious....
Plus, being in marketing your book could almost be a case study on how to brand yourself - Seth Godin would be proud of Crime Scene Cleaners! Makes me amazed at how his decisions to run the business have given him so much word of mouth. His website and online exposure needs help, but I guess they're fine without it!
Thank you for "Mop Men". Somebody's gotta do it! The fact that book was based in Bay Area made it more enjoyable for me that was my former home. You could probably right a sequel based in Oakland alone, it gets really bloody there what with gang wars etc. Thanks again.
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