How Far Should We Go to Support Writers We Know?

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I’m a writer so it probably won’t come as any great shock that I know other writers. People I’ve studied with, people I’ve worked with, people I’ve been published with, people I’ve been shortlisted for awards with. Some of these people I know better than others. Some I know only a little. But at some point in the past, our paths crossed.

Whenever these writers I know release a new book, I’m the first in line at a bricks-and-mortar book store to buy a paperback if they’re being physically published or online if they’re only being released as an ebook. Sometimes I’ll buy more than one copy and give them to other people I know. I always read them and I always review them honestly (I’m probably very lucky that none of the writers I know have ever written a terrible book so I haven’t been faced with a difficult decision in that respect.)

Books by writers that I know include Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian (winner of the Text Prize 2016), How to Make a Movie in 12 Days by Fiona Hardy (shortlisted for the Text Prize 2016), Pickle to Pie and Something Missing by Glenice Whitting (Glenice and I studied writing together at Holmesglen TAFE), the Lachlan Fox series, the Jed Walker series, the Alone series and The Last Thirteen series by James Phelan (James and I studied writing together at Swinburne University), The Girl from France by Laurent Boulanger (Laurent was one of my tutors at Swinburne University), Messenger, Visioner and Destroyer by KK Ness (KK is a friend of a friend who did a beta read of one of my books) and The Ultimate SMSF Trustee’s Guide by Reece Agland (Reece is a friend and former colleague from when I worked in the accounting industry and okay, I’m going to confess that I’ve never read his book but I did buy a copy of it and give it to my dad to read because he has a self-managed superannuation fund).

Another friend of mine has just released his first book, a non-fiction investigative piece about an industry he has significant experience in. He’s been spruiking its impending release for months and last week he announced it was finally available for purchase. He provided a link to his publisher’s website and I clicked through to the main page, fully expecting that my next step would be to find his book and order a copy.

But the main page of his publisher’s website stopped me cold. It listed all the latest books in its stable and as I scrolled through them, I realised it was a who’s who of Australian far right conservatives. People I have little respect for. People with whom I fundamentally disagree. People who have made their names discriminating against and belittling minorities and the many, many other classes of people they don’t like.

I know this friend of mine is a conservative. He watches and promotes Sky News After Dark (Murdoch far right propaganda for anyone not in Australia) relentlessly. But despite that, I’ve always found him to be a reasonable person. He likes rules, he likes fairness, he likes checks and balances. I suspect, even without having read his book, that it will be a perfectly fine book, supported by meticulous research and logical conclusions. But I am conflicted about how supporting him by buying a copy of his book might also be supporting these other authors.

My purchase – or lack thereof – won’t be the difference between this new author making it or not. It will only reflect how far I’m prepared to go. I don’t know how far that is yet. I’ll let you know.