Rising literary celebrity Foer '99 makes return visit to campus

"You know, I really don't write anymore."

It may seem strange to hear these words from bestselling author Jonathan Safran Foer '99, but on Dec. 9 in his lecture to the students of English 351 he confessed to just that.

With the recent success of his first book, Everything is Illuminated, Foer has been so busy promoting his novel that it has been difficult for him to find time to work on his next project.

"I wrote a lot of my new novel over the summer," Foer said, "but now, with all of the publicity that [Everything is Illuminated] is getting, I've only had time to read SkyMall."

Foer represents a publishing trend that has become increasingly important in an age of media, technology and consumerism — the need for the author to exert as much energy promoting his book as he does actually writing it.

"We look for authors who have both a great voice and a great story, but we are also looking for authors who are serious about having a writing career," said Marcela Landres, a fiction editor in the Touchstone Fireside Division of Simon & Schuster. "Writers must have some knowledge of the business side of publishing, and they have to be willing to work hard to promote their books."

Promoting a book often means doing extensive readings, interviews and book signings around the country, especially for a writer like Foer who has made it to the New York Times Bestseller list. That act of balancing creativity with practicality and business skills can often be a challenge.

"We receive nearly two hundred manuscripts a day, not including the ones referred to us by agents," said Landres. "The writers who stand out are not only those who write strong manuscripts but also those who realize that publishing is a team effort."

While Foer acknowledges the importance of both sides of the writing life, he also emphasizes the need to keep them separate.

"Being a professional writer is a tradition that I consider it an honor to be a part of," he said in an interview. "Writing is more than just explosive expression. It's about being part of the community. On the other hand, I never want to think of myself as a professional writer. I only write to express myself and while books are an efficient way of getting to where I want to go they are not the end themselves."

Foer's work — about a young man searching for the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II — has struck readers with its stylistic experimentation and painfully vivid memories of the Holocaust.

While strong work is rarely enough to get a writer a contract, Foer is fortunate to be well connected in the publishing business, having studied under Joyce Carol Oates and Jeffrey Eugenides — author of The Virgin Suicides — while at Princeton. He did not find his agent, Nicole Aragi, through either of them, but their blurbs appear prominently both on the cover and inside his book's jacket.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"Networking is one of the most important things a writer can do for himself," Landres said. "Creative writing classes are important because they allow a writer to work with published authors who are willing to mentor them and introduce them to their agent and editors. No one makes the New York Times bestseller list without contacts."

Despite the difficulties of succeeding as a professional writer, many Princeton students pursue their craft by writing creative theses and submitting their work.

Philip Isles '03 is currently working with Edmund White, the director of the creative writing program, on a screenplay centered on a young magician. Isles hopes to someday have the script produced, and is including the script in his applications to graduate schools.

While many undergraduates aspire to publish their work, others such as Brian DeLeeuw '03, write mainly for their own pleasure rather than in the hopes of getting published.

"I'm working on a book of short stories for my thesis, but while I'd like to write professionally I'd rather do more music criticism, opinion pieces or journalism," said DeLeeuw. "Right now I'm just waiting to see where it all takes me."