Books on Film: The Bell Jar

Lots of readers make the argument that books, which are so rich and full, cannot possibly fit into a movie that offers only a few hours of entertainment at best. There is perhaps one book that makes this argument more eloquently than any other: The Bell Jar. The trouble is, someone did try to turn it into a movie...and all the book fans just hated it.

The Book

The only book Sylvia Plath ever wrote, The Bell Jar was published very close to the time of her suicide in 1963. From what we know about Plath's short life, most critics speculate that she was writing about many of the personal experiences she had during the summer of 1953.

That's the setting of the book. It's hot in New York City, and Esther Greenwood is a young writer full of dreams. The story opens as Esther is thinking about the execution of the Rosenbergs, convicted communists. She's in the big city for the first time, seemingly with the world at her feet...and she's terrified. She's one of several girls who have won the joy of working at a women's magazine (loosely based on Mademoiselle, for which Plath did intern). 

There's Doreen, who always has a quick quip. And there's Betsy, nicknamed "Pollyanna Cowgirl," a bubbly sorority girl. And there are others, but Esther hasn't really made any close friendships during her internship as an editor. She's uncomfortable at the final banquet and her mind is scattered -- filled with thoughts of home and thoughts of the Rosenbergs. 

She's hoping for something wonderful to happen during the internship...but the only thing that happens is the execution. She returns home to Massachusetts instead, feeling defeated. Esther is a writer, so she decides to start writing a book. 

But what will she write about? Esther has spent her life being a student, not actually living, so she ends up staring at blank pages for hours and hours. What will she do instead of writing? She's a woman, it's the 1950s, and Esther has absolutely no idea. She has no interest in being married, which is what women are expected to do, and traditional "womanly" careers (like being a stenographer) don't really appeal to her. 

She is sinking ever-deeper into mind-numbing depression, and her mother begins to notice. She forces Esther to begin seeing Dr. Gordon, whom Esther immediately dislikes. He prescribes electroconvulsive therapy, also known as electric shock. It makes her think, of course, of the Rosenbergs being electrified to death.

Things get worse. Esther begins to obsess about suicide, and even makes some fledgling attempts toward this end. Finally her attempts get more serious, and she swallows a bottle of sleeping pills after leaving a good-bye note. She's discovered under her own house, survives, and is sent to a mental hospital. This is where she meets Dr. Nolan. At the hospital, Esther receives therapy and more shock treatments.

At the end of the book, Esther is preparing herself to walk into the interview room of the hospital where it will be decided if she may return back home.

This book is about suicide, but it's about a whole lot more. Esther is too smart for her own good, too filled with dreams and too eager to prove herself. She puts so much pressure on herself, the weight of it begins to crush her. I can identify with that, and I think many authors can also identify with it. Esther is also a product of her times, and trapped by her gender. What she wants feels impossible in 1953: sex without children, men without marriage, career without boundaries.

It's not possible to talk about The Bell Jar without talking about Sylvia Plath. It was her only book and by all accounts it was semi-autobiographical. We know, now, that Plath finally succumbed to the madness she found in the bell jar -- that stifling, trapped feeling where thoughts and emotions swirl around and around in your head without end. 

It's a well-loved book, but lots of readers agree that it's just not filmable. Filmmakers, naturally, are inclined to disagree. 

The Film

 Many readers have a great love for The Bell Jar, but very few have love for the 1979 film. It is, to date, the only feature-length film adaptation of the book...but there is reason to hope that may change.

And you should, because by all accounts the film is fairly terrible if you try to compare it against the book. As a novel, The Bell Jar is largely considered to be an epic narrative of teen angst. Marilyn Hassett, who played Esther Greenwood in the '79 flick, was 32. This immediately throws off the film.

 She's not the biggest name, and I am not a fan of 70s-era movies, so I've never seen any of her other work. She may, in fact, be a brilliant actress. She is not so convincing as Esther. In the film, Esther isn't depressed -- she's more manic than anything, and there's even some suggestion that she might be schizophrenic. No one seems to have a real clear grasp on Esther's mental trouble, least of all the lead actress. She goes from high to low like it's nothing, and might be giddy one second and furious in the next. In the book, Esther is very quietly suffering and doing her very best to remain self-contained (that's why she's in a bell jar, after all).

What Got Adapted?

The film adds quite a bit of dialogue and several scenes that don't occur in the book. Throughout the film, a voice-over quotes some of Sylvia Plath's most famous poetry, an addition that many readers have found offensive and, at best, distracting. The character of Joan, whom Esther meets in the hospital, tries to convince Esther to strike up a suicide pact. This doesn't happen in the book.

Casual reviewers and critics have all panned the film, but some credit has to go to the cast and the crew for attempting to adapt the book in the first place. Plum Pictures has been laboring for years to do the same. They announced a Bell Jar project in 2008 with Julia Stiles starring as Esther and Rose McGowan as her outgoing friend Doreen. We're still waiting.

Focusing on The Tower

"Jade Varden does it again!  There's just something about her writing style that makes you want to read more and more and more."

 "There is never a moment where I find myself skimming, or wanting to fall asleep." 

Erin at Bookluvrs Haven has posted her review of The Tower, and it's spoiler-free so feel free to go and check it out. You'll find links to the entire Deck of Lies series while you're there!

Why Self-Publish?

 I've dedicated an entire blog to what it takes to be an indie author, all the many different tasks one must complete. So why self-publish? Why not go the traditional route, like so many greats, and start hammering away at agents and publishers? It's a valid question, and one I've been asked more than once. The thing is, there's really no easy answer to it. 

Traditional Publishing

There are a lot of advantages to traditional publishing, that's for sure, but only in the best of cases. The nitty-gritty of traditional publishing is actually a whole lot like self-publishing. Not everyone is Stephen King, and even if your writing is better you probably don't have his connections (because if you are married to a relative of the acquisitions editor at a huge publishing firm, you probably haven't read this far into the post).  Before getting into self-publishing pros and cons, let's debunk some of the myths that shroud traditional publishing. 

• The literary agent. 

Is life as a writer a lot easier when you have an agent? Yes, absolutely. Getting one, however, is a tedious process. The best way to do it is to get yourself a copy of The Writer's Market (or a similar reference volume), and do some online searches (AgentQuery has a big database). Before you solicit, you need a completed manuscript that's polished to heck and back, and the first two chapters have to utterly gripping and perfectly error-free. Then you need a great query letter, something that grabs the attention without going overboard and delivers all pertinent information. Make it the best letter of your life. Then, you send out 500 hundred of them. You respond when they ask for chapters. And you cry a little, because rejections will come back. Brush them off. Do it for many years with many different projects, and you may get yourself an agent. This agent will be responsible for getting you a publishing deal. That's all. 

• Publishing. 

If you've got yourself an agent, great. You just have to wait, and of course do what they say to do with your book to make it more appealing to publishers. Or, you can strike out on your own, act as your own agent, and find your own publisher. Get out your Writer's Market and put together a list. All of the Big 6 publishing houses are now eliminated from the list; they only accept agented queries. Write a new letter for the publishers. This time, you'll want to promote yourself -- think like a salesman. Explain your book's marketability, talk about the audience and sell, sell, sell. Send your chapters when they ask. Write a great outline and a fantastic synopsis when they want those things. And hope. 

• Pricing.

Now matter how small or large the publishing house, the pricing is out of your hands once they accept the book. They might set the price of your book at $20 USD if they like, or more. Your piece of the action? In the beginning, it'll be less than 10 percent. At a 6 percent rate (which is standard), you'll get $1.20 for every single book you sell (at $20 per book) -- at first. Let us not forget that the agent will take anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of everything you make, if you've got an agent. 

• Cover.

You will get a cursory, courteous look at your cover at any publishing company worth their letterhead. If you absolutely hate it, they'll probably change it for you -- especially if you simply want to tweak something small, like the color of the title for instance. But in the main, you're expected to nod your head and approve. 

• Editing.

The final proofreading will rest upon your shoulders. After the publishing company's editors have done with your manuscript, you'll get it back so you can read it one last time. This time, the pages will be laid out in the same fashion as they will be when they are printed. So you're expected to proofread carefully, down to every little bit of punctuation. You are only allowed to make the most minor of changes, and only then to correct error. You may also be told that you can make no changes to the punctuation.

• Printing.

From the day you get the letter or the phone call saying your book was selected for publishing, you'll have to wait 1 year or longer before you hold a copy of that book in your hands. As for free copies, you won't get as many as you think you ought to have.

• Marketing. 

If you have been fortunate enough to get an amazing agent and land a publishing deal with one of the Big 6 publishers, it's true that much of the marketing burden won't rest upon your shoulder. But no matter who your publisher happens to be, you'll be expected to promote yourself and your book through social media -- like Facebook and Twitter. Sound familiar? At a smaller publishing house, forget it. You'll be lucky if you get a sliver of space on the company website. You'll have to do all your own marketing, print up your own bookmarks and whatnot, and in some cases you might even have to contact your own book distributors and bookstores in an attempt to get your titles on the shelves. And once again, it's not really your agent's job to promote you to the general public. It's still yours. At a bigger publishing house, you may even get put on a book tour and travel 'round the country to do signings and readings. You probably won't get to have any say on your travel arrangements or where you stay, where you appear, or when the tour takes place -- particularly not if this is your first book and/or your first traditional publishing experience. 

Traditional publishing does have its perks, so there is a bigger picture. Potentially you could have a huge distribution -- your book might be in superstores, grocery stores and bookstores everywhere. It'll be online, too, just like all those self-published books. But potentially, it'll be nowhere. And in either scenario, you don't control the price. If it's beyond the basic budget of your friends and family, that's just too bad. 

Self-Publishing

Sounds terrible, right? Well don't run right out and get your ebook formatting software just yet, because self-publishing has its dark side, too. As for pricing, cover design, editing and everything else, you'll have the final (and only) say on all of that stuff. Forget about all that letter-writing nonsense; you're going to focus on writing emails. To book bloggers. And book reviewers. And everybody you haven't talked to in years who may or may not be willing to write you a review. You'll have total, ultimate control over everything. Sometimes that feels like a perk...sometimes it's a massive burden. 

Not only will you have to do all of your marketing (and all on your own dime), no one will care if you do it or not. You won't get any sort of monetary advance so you can take some time off work to promote yourself, because who's going to pay for that? Bookstores are more likely to brush you off, just like the local media when you attempt to contact them about reviews, interviews, and whatnot. Your friends and family might wrinkle their noses when you try to explain it to them, and you might feel like you aren't a "real" author because of the way others react (and they will). 

And that's not all. The indie author stigma extends to everything. You'll have to price your books a little bit lower, fight a little bit harder and grow emotional skin that's a few layers thicker. You'll also be swimming in a sea with self-published authors a lot like you, and you're going to need that community so treat them well.

Going Mad for The Tower

"This book was amazing."

"The story is fast-paced and keeps you hanging on for dear life."

The lovely Ariel Avalon has reviewed The Tower at her blog. There are some spoilers, so don't read the review unless you've also read Justice! 

While you're at Ariel's blog, check out her reviews of Justice and Death as well.

Writing 101: Making Money as an Indie Author

Even after you learn how to master grammar, punctuation and descriptive language, the self-publishing journey is far from over. You've still got to figure out how to make money as an indie author -- and trust me, it's not easy.

The Road to Self-Publishing Success is Paved with Broken Indies

You may have an amazing book on your hands, a story so pure and so good it absolutely deserves to be a bestseller. But there are thousands of writers just like you, people who have created truly exceptional work, and we may never learn their names. After you write the book, format the book and self-publish the book, you've got all the easy stuff out of the way. You were born to write stories, weave plots and entertain the masses -- so of course you wrote the book. Actually promoting the damn thing, now that's hard. 

And it's where lots of indie authors fail. Too many writers have a dream that they're going to write a book, publish that book and then, magically, the universe will respond. Yes, it has happened once or twice -- but lightning may not strike you just because it struck a few lucky others. Most of us have to create our own lightning; you can't even wait for the sky to get cloudy before you've got to get out there with your key and your kite (Benjamin Franklin reference). You cannot wait for the universe to discover your book. Under almost all circumstances, you aren't going to self-publish a book and have a bestseller on your hands a few weeks later.

Making Money as a Self-Published Author

It's much more likely that you'll publish a book, get a few purchases from friends and family members, and then nothing will happen. That's why you've got to promote to make something happen.

• Price. Set a reasonable price for your self-published book. Like it or not, indies have a bit of a tarnished reputation. Your book might be even better than the leading bestsellers being churned out by the top publishing houses, but no one is going to find out if you've priced your work as high as theirs. Self-published books are priced lower; that's your market. Stay competitive in your market. Once you've established yourself and you've got a lot of fans and you actually are making money, then you can re-visit the issue of price. 
• Get reviews. Selling books is a pretty simple formula: readers like what other readers like. The more reviews your book has, the more interest it's going to generate. I live by a personal philosophy that there's no such thing as bad press. Even if you have nothing but 1-star reviews, that can be an asset. People like what's good, but they're fascinated by what's bad. Take a look at reality TV, and you'll see what I mean. If people are passionately screaming that your book is terrible, it can be a good thing. Remember that Mark Twain's books still get burned in great big piles, and the more controversial Catcher in the Rye gets the more people run out to buy it. Don't be afraid of reviews; chase after them like it's your only job. 
• Toot your horn. You can be however you want to be when you're at home, surrounded by friends and family. I happen to like shy, self-effacing types. But when you're in indie author mode, you are the greatest author ever. Your book is the greatest book ever written. Anyone who doesn't read this book is missing out on the experience of a lifetime. You are the best. Put yourself in that mindset, and start tooting your own horn. Get on Twitter and Facebook and everything else and post your links, show off your good reviews, offer up snippets of your sensational writing. Your agenda is to sell books, so get out there on social media and start selling them. There's a lot of talk about finding a good balance for promoting oneself, and it's valid to assume you shouldn't be running self-promoting ads every other minute on Twitter. But if you're doing it once or twice an hour, that's not too much at all. 
• Sell, sell, sell. If you really want to sell books, you'll start selling them everywhere. Get on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords and every other selling site you can find (as long as it's free; see the next point). Plaster links where people can buy these books everywhere. Put them on your blog, your social media profiles, in your email signature, in your forums signatures, and anywhere else I might have missed.
• Don't spend. If you want to make money selling your self-published books, don't start off in debt. Do as much of the work on the book yourself as possible. Do your own formatting, a good portion of your own editing, make your own trailer and, if you can, design your own cover. Before you purchase anything, like a cover or editing services, do some shopping around first to make sure you're getting a good price and a good product. Spend as little as possible, and only on the essentials you've got to have (like the copyright). 
• Write more books. Legitimize yourself by continuing to write and self-publish. Amanda Hocking didn't come to the self-publishing party with one book that suddenly became popular; she published 9 books very quickly. The more books you have, the more legitimate you look as an author. Readers will take you more seriously when you have more books out there, but don't ever fail to make each one exceptional. Make sure they're well-edited, beautifully formatted and all that other stuff I won't stop blogging about. 

And here's the most important step of all: keep doing all of that stuff. When you're an indie author, self-promotion is constant and it's every single day. Re-arrange your schedule and re-organize your life, if necessary, to give yourself time every single day to promote your books, your links and yourself as an author. You should tweet daily, Facebook daily, offer up something new on your blog daily whenever possible. 

Find a balance, and make sure you continue putting your family and your needs first. Take care of your job and continue doing good work there, because in the interim you still need money from somewhere. But when you're not working and seeing to your other responsibilities, you'd better be out there promoting. Otherwise, making money as an indie author is a dream you may never quite reach. The secret ingredient to success, in any field, is tenacity. Be stubborn, be hard-headed, be unable to hear the word no, and you've got a good shot at reaching your self-publishing goals.

An Un-Original Idea: Unofficial Sequels

Some authors invent amazing new worlds and rich characters unlike anything readers have ever seen. L. Frank Baum, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkein -- these are the greats. But it's not easy to invent an amazing new world; just ask any other author. You don't need to come up with something completely new to be a hit. Some authors have done very, very well with an un-original idea. Let us not forget that Fifty Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fan fiction. You might be inspired by something old, and end up creating something new. Have you ever thought about writing an unofficial sequel?

New Author, Old Story

Some authors have taken the work of other authors and added to it, successfully. Alice Randall wrote a book called The Wind Done Gone, a novel based upon Gone With the Wind that was not approved through Margaret Mitchell's estate. The Wind Done Gone is a re-telling of the original tale, this time from the point of view of a slave at Tara. There was some legal trouble with the story, of course, but in the end the courts ruled that the novel is a parody -- and that means it's publishable.

Some unofficial sequels have won critical acclaim and managed to stand out for their own merits. The Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys, is a modern prequel to the 1847 Bronte classic Jane Eyre. It was even cited by Time as one of the best novels written since 1923.

Would Bronte appreciate the new story? The world will never know -- but it's pretty clear that J. D. Salinger didn't care for the unofficial sequel of his famous book that was first brought to public attention in 2009. 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye went through all sorts of legal trouble when the Catcher in the Rye author reacted with fury. Printing of the book was halted, and many legal processes later the book did get published -- in 2011, after Salinger died.

But even official sequels don't always work out. Margaret Mitchell's estate did approve a sequel to Gone With the Wind, a critical flop called Scarlett that wasn't at all popular with fans. However, the book did have all that Wind power behind it. Though poorly-received by almost everyone, it become a bestseller.

Every author draws inspiration from other authors, from stories they've read, from books that have touched them in the past. If you feel compelled to stick with certain characters or stories, why not? Always follow fancy when it tempts you, because you never know just where the next bestseller will come from. But if you're lucky, you'll be compelled to write a sequel or a prequel for a book that's a hundred years old or better. Otherwise, you could be facing serious legal melodrama.

Serving Justice

"Damn engrossing."

"It was simply superb!"

Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Reading 24/7. Go check it out before you get your copy of the book!

Writing 101: Adding Quotes and Song Lyrics to Self-Published Books

I once read a romance novel where every single chapter started with a quote from one of William Shakespeare's many works. To really drive the point home, one of the characters in the story was obsessed with the Bard; she, too, quoted him incessantly. Lots of books feature quotes at the start of chapters. I've also seen quotes from poems, songs and other books inside the text itself. Quoting is a great way to pay homage to someone else's work. It's also a great way to get yourself in serious trouble if you're a self-published author. Before you add quotes from songs, poems or other books to anything you're writing, make sure you're doing it without breaking copyright laws.

 

Copyright Laws

I've blogged about using brand names and celebrity names in self-published books in the past, and using song lyrics and other quotes is pretty similar. What I'm saying here is, you can get sued. Since you're not the creator of those lyrics, that poem or that other book, legally it's not yours to use -- up to a point. 

If you've just got to use a quote or a lyric to really make your book's plot sing, you do have some wiggle room. There is something called the Fair Use law, and this states that authors (and other copyright holders) can use very brief portions of other copyrighted materials in their works. In other words, yes you can use song lyrics and quotes written by other people -- but only in very small amounts. The Fair Use law is purposefully ambiguous, in fact, and I can't tell you a certain stopping point you've got to hit. The law doesn't say you can only use 8 words of a song, for example. The law says you can use insignificant amounts, and if a copyright holder decides to take issue with something of theirs you have quoted the two of you may have to hash it out in court.

A certain criteria is used to determined whether or not use of copyrighted work falls under the heading of Fair Use: the purpose of usage, how much money will be made from the usage of the work, the type of work it is, how much of the copyrighted materials were used and the overall effect on the marketability of the copyrighted work.

You can always attempt to obtain permission to quote another author, poet or songwriter, however. Send  an email and/or fax to them or to their representative explaining precisely what you want to use and how, but don't hold your breath waiting for a reply. You may not get one at all, and you should take that as a no if this is the case. You may simply receive a no, and in this case it's advisable to use none of that artist's material. If they say yes, obviously you're good to go. 

And because I love finding the path of least resistance, I can offer you a workaround that makes quoting much, much easier: public domain. 

No Law, No Problem

At some point, all great artists (and even not-so-great artists) die. That's a fact of life, and I'm sorry to bring it up -- but it is relevant. After the author of a work dies and a certain amount of time passes, the work they produced will eventually be deemed public domain. This means that copyright laws are no longer applicable. That means that you're free to quote away, and there's nothing that can stop you from it.

According to my resources, which may be sketchy and should absolutely be double-checked because I am not a lawyer, works created and published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain. Anything produced after 1989 in the United States will remain protected for 70 years until after the author has died (not when the work was first published).

In other words, there's a whole bunch of stuff out there that you're welcome to use for free. Here's a list of public domain music you can quote all book long if you like. The list includes classic standards like "Danny Boy" and "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." There's a great many Christmas carols that are public domain, including favorites like "Deck the Halls" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." Quote them as much as you like. 

And if you decide you want to quote Shakespeare a whole bunch? It's perfectly okay -- all of his works are in the public domain. However, as a general courtesy you should include the specific copyright information for whichever version of any song or book you use from which to pull your quotes and lyrics.