Publishing: A Writer’s Memoir

I have long admired Gail Godwin’s writing, however, this book isn’t up to her usual standard; it reads like a telephone directory, and is just as boring. Perhaps if I was more aware of the world of publishing and the give and take between writers and publishers, I might appreciate this book a little better. The book is not really a memoir of the writer, but a record of her publishing history. It is difficult for me to imagine whom this book was written for or if Godwin’s status allows her to publish just anything. It is disjointed and hard to follow. Because Kurt Vonnegut was her writing teacher at Iowa Writers’ Workshop, one would expect more interesting anecdotes. It is hard to find anything of interest in this vanity publication. Godwin has written fourteen novels and is highly honored with awards. In a current interview Godwin says: “My current work in progress all but devours me. I lie in bed at night and let it fill up my head with sentences for the next day. It’s called Publishing, and gives me a chance to tell everything I know about that consuming state of affairs.” One would hope for greater distance in the writing of her next work.