So last week I promised that this week I'd apply my pea brain to the subject of what agents and editors can do in a bad economy. Warning: It's been Crazy Time for me today, so the following will be somewhat scattershot, but hey, sometimes you just have to go with whatever you've got to get the job done.

What I'm about to say may get me killed, and I never dreamed I'd be one of the people saying this, but there you go:

There are too many books in the world.

There, I've said it.

For those of you who don't know, I'm an obsessive reader, always have been. In 2005, I set myself the task of reading 365 books in a single calendar year. I did it and even kept the pace going for two more years until this one, where I've slacked off a bit. Still, I probably read more than most people. And here's what I've learned from all that reading:

There are too many mediocre books.

To be good, a book needs to have something going for it, needs to have at least one of the following: an unusual plot (harder than you think), memorable characters (don't have to be likable), great dialogue (sometimes I care what you're having for dinner, but often I do not), fabulous writing (Hel-lo, Senor Garcia Marquez! - well, actually, he's got everything). But the sad truth is, in this overabundance of books I read, most books don't even contain one, never mind four. They're not bad books. They're simply serviceable - serviceable prose involving nothing-special characters who aren't particularly witty or clever or poignant in a plot that you've seen a thousand times before - and ergo, forgettable.

I do realize I'll probably hate myself in the morning for what I've said this afternoon, but why stop now?

Whenever I've seen this topic come up before - that there are too many books being published - I've been one of the balkers. "Who's going to be the judge of what's worth letting in or not," I say to whoever's espousing the unpopular view, "you?" Truthfully, someone does have to be the judge, and those people are usually called agents or editors. Since I've somehow managed to get sidetracked into talking about what authors are/aren't doing right, perhaps I need to refocus my attention on those two other components of the triangle again: agents and editors.

Here's the thing: While I think in theory all agents and all editors fall in love with all the books they represent and publish, I fear that is not always the case. Yes, there's always some love going on, somewhere, but I fear that too often the Velcro School of Business applies: throw enough similar items at a wall and something is bound to stick.

Before I start issuing advice, a caveat: Every time I write a piece like this, inevitable someone takes offense and thinks I'm talking specifically about them. The truth is, something like this is just a general-audience piece, but it's not intended as one size fits all, meaning that while I hope you get some benefit out of reading it, should you invest the time, if I'm talking about killing mothers and you never killed your mother, I'm not talking about you! So please, whenever you see me use the words "authors," "agents" and "editors," assume there's a "some" inserted ahead of it and that I by no means mean all. (It's just awkward to have so many qualifying "somes" in a piece, plus leaving them out saves my wrists some typing.)

OK, then.

Agents: Be more committed. I know a lot of you are. Certainly mine is and I absolutely adore her, but since the laws of physics prevent her from being everyone's agent... Really, be more committed. I hear authors talk all the time about signing with this agent or that agent, there's love in the beginning, but then the agent only submits the book to a half dozen houses, all come back rejections, and the agent cools quicker than a stranger on the morning after. Really? A half dozen and it's over?

Editors: Be more committed. Many authors think it's a guarantee: you sell to a big name publisher and now things are going to go well, right? HA! No matter who your publisher is, if enthusiasm isn't maintained from start to finish - something that's rarely guaranteed unless you're a lead title - your book may not make it into the chains, in which case, you might as well be self-published.

Agents: Be more selective. I think one reason the love cools so quickly goes back to what I opened with: the idea of too many books. And I do think agents, like authors, sometimes follow hot genres or trends, putting stuff out there because it fills a hot slot rather than because it's special on some level.

Editors: Be more selective. (See what was said to agents about filling a slot.) (Also, see what was said last week about vampire novels. Come on, you know you do this.)

Agents and Editors: Take more chances. This would seem to fly in the face of "be more selective," but it really doesn't, and even if it does, it's true. Agents and Editors, in the race for the next bandwagon, sometimes miss out on the original and the special. I've heard of agents who passed on a book that I consider brilliant because even though everyone loved the book, people were scared that the public wouldn't - you know, all those stupid readers? - because the main character did something unsympathetic. Someone did agent that book, someone did finally publish it, and the result was NYT Best-seller List for that book and every other book since by that author. Sometimes, you need to trust your own instincts more. "I love it but don't know how to position it so I'm passing" happens and it really shouldn't. It should be "I love it so others will too and I'm going to find a way to position it" (think Jeffrey Eugenides or anyone else who is monumentally original).

Agents: Be like my agent. Really, she's terrific. Not only does she submit my stuff, not only does she sell my stuff, not only does she stay committed to me and my career - but she puts up with, you know, me.

Editors: Be like my editor at Houghton Mifflin Children's Books. Ironic, isn't it, that this mini-series of blogs began with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt calling a temporary halt to acquisitions in the adult division but now ends with me singing the virtues of my editor in the children's division there? Well, it's true. All my editors in my career have been good on many levels, but my HM editor really is the gold standard. She keeps all the stages in a book's life running on a reasonable track so that authors aren't working on last-minute copyedits long after they've moved on to other projects etc, and the love for the book remains constant throughout; plus, she has an incisive and egoless red pencil. Really, I can't say enough good things about working with her, but if I did today's post would be twice as long.  

You want to know the truth, come to think of it and now that we're almost done here? I don't think there are too many books in the world. I think there are too few good books. So if you've written a book with an original plot and/or interesting characters and/or great dialogue and/or fabulous writing, I definitely want to see your book get published. It's the seviceable just-filling-a-slot ones we can all hold back on for now. 

We want to solve the problems of the publishing industry? It starts with writers writing books that are more than serviceable, it starts with agents agenting and editors editing books they love and are committed to. In other words, it involves all of us doing our jobs - what we were supposed to be doing all along, and that includes me.

So that's it for now really. Please feel free to tell me how wrong I am about everything but keep in mind: The above is only a fragment of my thoughts covering only a fragment of a major issue. To discuss the whole adequately, we'd need to write a whole book here. Or, you know, have you weigh in. Which I hope you will.

Be well. Don't forget to write.