So I Pissed Off The Internet Again
So, yeah, a lot of people took umbrage at my taking umbrage at Sherman Alexie's request for authors to work for free at a bookstore. I'd like to explain a little bit about where I was coming from and answer a few of the most-repeated questions and criticisms of my piece.
Without getting too into detail, I've been feeling pretty alienated from the middle class recently. This is due to a number of factors, but one of them is that I work with a bunch of really bright, talented, and hardworking young people, some of whom, through no fault of their own, are really staring into the cracks in society that people fall through. I have had students have crises about getting to work because they don't have train fare. In Boston, this is two dollars.
This is the country in which we live. There are people whose livelihood is literally at risk because they can't scrape up the cost of a tall Starbucks coffee in order to get to work. Which is not Sherman Alexie's fault, or the fault of indpendent bookstores, but in light of this, yeah, the rally the troops cry to go volunteer at a for-profit enterprise rubbed me the wrong way.
Now to the frequently asked questions/frequently made comments!
Q: Why do you hate independent bookstores?
A: I don't! I just don't think people should work there for free! Haven't you ever had a vehement disagreement with someone you care about? Are any of you people in long-term relationships?
Q: It's okay to disagree with something, but why do you have to voice your objection?
A: We're so far apart here that I literally cannot understand why you would ask something like that.
Q: Why is the distinction between libraries and bookstores so important to you?
A: Because one is a public service and the other is a business. Apparently a lot of people don't think this distinction matters. It matters to me. It doesn't mean that bookstores are evil or anything, but they are different.
Q: Why are you so hung up on money, and connecting work to money?
A: I don't love trotting this stuff out, but there's a pretty big red flag of class privilege right there. The answer is that I, like a lot of people, have to be. I have done volunteer work and will continue to volunteer in service of schools and libraries and other nonprofit organizations, but if the organization where I'm working is making money, I should be making money. I know bookstore margins are very small, but they're not charities.
Q: But you would benefit! It's a win-win!
A: It's a lose-lose. I'm not a big enough name to draw people into the store, and I'm not going to sell more than a handful of books in a day. Hell, we can even imagine that my normal awkwardness in one-to-one interactions disappears and I wind up selling 20 books in a day. Remember that I'm making in the neighborhood of 10% (or 8% for a paperback) of the cover price. You can do the math. It's an even bigger loss for a writer of Alexie's stature. Even if he sells 100 of his books in 8 hours, that's not a great hourly wage for someone at his income level. If he wants to do that, cool, but for at least ninety percent of writers, this is not a moneymaking proposition.
Q: This is not going to get anybody to buy your books/This is why you can't afford to write full time/I hope you enjoy teaching!
A: I find your sudden concern for my book sales a little odd. Have you been this concerned all along and just now chose to speak out? But yeah. look at how being an opinionated loudmouth has crippled the careers of Jonathan Franzen and Bret Easton Ellis. Jennifer Weiner is making a second career out of going after Franzen, and you never hear about her anymore. Is she still around?
I don't write full time because, like the overwhelming majority of writers, including those who only ever blog and tweet about unicorns and rainbows, my book sales can't generate a full-time income. Also I like seeing people during the day. It makes me a better person.
I think you are being sarcastic, but I do enjoy teaching very much. It's a great job that I'm lucky to have.
Q: You clearly have no understanding of how the book business works.
A: I've been writing professionally for eleven years. I've done dozens of book events in that time. There are parts of the design process I don't get, and the oft-mentioned editorial meetings and sales meetings remain mysterious to me, but I do get this end of stuff pretty well.
Q: You are a twat, a jerk, and idiot, an asshole and an assclown.
A: Is it my lack of deference to Sherman Alexie or my insistance that businesses are businesses that's provoked this level of outrage? Honestly, you'd think I kicked a puppy or something.
I thought about what provoked my outrage--I invite you to think about where yours is coming from. Also, isn't assclown sort of a homophobic insult? It sounds like it.
