One of my favorite lines from Elizabeth Peter’s “SUMMER OF THE DRAGON” related to the heroine’s father – a classical archaeologist — who felt all nice boys and girls should be classical archaeologists. He also felt all nasty boys and girls should be classical archaeologists. Substitute ‘writer or reader’ for classical archaeologist, and you have Dave’s attitude. I love writing, and I love to read books that I enjoy. I want everyone to have that pleasure, that deep satisfaction, that escape, that comfort…
It is easy to forget here among the folk contributing to MGC, that there are a lot of people who don’t want you to be a writer.
Some of these are motivated by a belief that the pie is too small, and discouraging competition is the best way ensuring their success. Some are piteously inadequate as human beings, let alone writers, and feel the only way to elevate their work is to tear down the work of others, especially the better known better loved writers, whom, as often as not, they stole from… Sneering at Tolkien or Lovecraft or Heinlein. Some are terrified that your ‘message’ in your books might be more attractive to readers than theirs. Some are just miserable bastiches out to break anyone they can, just because that pleases them. Others cling to coat-tails when they can – and then kick any ‘competition’ in the teeth. And, of course combinations of the above.
Let me start by reminding you all how big pi is. It goes on and on. And seriously, the pie is potentially FAR bigger than it is now. A large part of that has been a gatekeeper attitude of traditional publishing which dictated that if you didn’t conform to their current (and ever changing) socio-political worldview, well you either read their choice of re-education, or did without. So, a lot of people who found themselves either in disagreement or disinterest did without. The end result is only a small percentage of the population read after the have a choice about reading. It’s a long haul, but the fight to go back to providing people with what they choose to read is ongoing. But self-publishing is now an option. And slowly it is eating trad’s lunch.
Secondly: all work is to some extent derivative. You can really not start from first principles (ug, mean hot) and rise to anything much. Getting higher means standing on the shoulders of giants. If you’re such a useless writer that you feel your only way to recognition is to tear down the competition… you can’t be much good.
Thirdly: If your ‘message’ is so unappealing that shutting up the competition is the only way you think it could be heard… maybe you need to write something more appealing. Just an idea, wild, and bizarre, I know, but if your idea really is the best, surely merit will help it rise? If not… does it have merit?
And there is deep satisfaction in making those would tear others down wrong. If you find them in your writer’s group, critics, hell, life… just walk away. Nothing upsets them more than failing.
Finally: virtually any person can write. With some learning and some effort, it is possible to reach a reasonable size audience, even one that pays money for the pleasure of reading your books. I might not be it, but I will always encourage and support anyone on that journey. You might give me a great read, and I want that. You might have joy and satisfaction doing it, and why should I not wish you to have that? If I don’t like your book, I won’t read it. But if you don’t write it neither of us will know.
Mad Genius Club 
10 responses to “Malice and misery”
While I never really cared to be a writer, I do like seeing what you lot can get up to.
As someone who’s been doing this professionally for a long time, I — like you — am weary of the shitbirds who are determined to chase away from writing everyone they fear might be competition.
My attitude about writing fiction has always been “If you love it, do it. If you’re awful at it, you’ll still have fun doing the work, and if you’re great at it, well… that’s just more for me to read.
There is enough malice and misery in this world that I don’t need to be adding to it.
I may not manage light and fluffy, but I can write things ending well, and work toward that in real life, too.
You write extremely well!
Aw, thank you! I’m still learning, and have so much more ahead of me to learn! I’m glad I entertain others with the skill I have, even as I set out to learn more with every story.
Some day, I want to learn to span genres like you. And to write steampunk like you did in the coal-fired cuttlefish, because that was awesome!
No one can possibly write as fast as readers can read, so why get upset that someone else is also a writer?
Different readers like different books!
We always say more people would read if only they could find the books that speak to them. Limit the writers and you limit the readers.
In my rare charitable moments, I wonder if some of the pie-limiters still believe in the old Trad-Pub slot system, where print and shelf capacity limited how many books a house was willing to release per season.
Otherwise? This idea that “people will have to buy my book if no one else writes” should have died the death once Amazon, Kobo/Rakuten, B&N, and others made indie publishing easy. It’s selfish. There might not be a huge market for every book, but there IS a market.*
*Depending on local, state, and national statutes concerning subject matter et cetera, the market might prefer to buy under an assumed name through third and fourth-party purchasers, but there will be a market.
Also, I think a lot of the limited -pie crowd looks at these facts:
1. Over a quarter of Americans don’t read books;
2. The average number of books read per person yearly is twelve;
3. Fewer than 50% of Americans read more than four books a year;
And freak out, forgetting that there are over 330 million people in America alone. If your book sells to one ten-thousandth of the reading public, that’s over 20,000 sales right there.
Of people who don’t read, some listen to audiobooks.
And some, they don’t read right now, but that could always change in the future. I guess it’s been a thing for long enough now that popular culture has forgotten how *very many* people who Don’t Read… tried Harry Potter, because their friends / significant other / kids loved it… and became readers.
It was a very informative lesson, that, on how many people Don’t Read… because they haven’t found something they liked.
The challenge is not to fight for the readers; it’s to make something good enough your audience wants to read it, whether or not they normally read.
And, no matter what the age of the readers your books are aimed at, every year millions of Americans are growing up and reaching that age. Every year. Millions.