Some are predestined to sell their literary novels; others are predestined to fail

And there's no way to tell who is in which category

I knew a very smart kid in high school who had an aneurysm his first year of college. Apparently from birth he’d had a weak spot in his brain’s blood vessels, and the spot suddenly collapsed and then he was dead. That was his fate, just as yours is to never sell your literary novel.

The thing in the publishing industry that is perhaps most shrouded in mystery is “How do I sell my literary novel”. For every other genre of fiction, the rules are relatively simple: you write something publishers want, and they buy it. That’s why for every other genre of fiction, there are a plethora of blog posts and guides and online groups that’ll teach you how to sell your book.

NB: A reader told me it was annoying to read far into the article and find out it was paywalled, so I am putting the paywall early.