Badly Behaved Authors
I've been a tad under the weather for the past few days, so ended up missing a blog. In compensation we'll do a double whammy this week. Today we'll look at a blight on the community - the types of guys (and girls) who give writers a bad name.
Authors are a funny bunch. Quite aside from the oddness of their vocation (only pretending to be other people is weirder), they're often the wallflowers who hang out in the kitchen at parties, talking about kids' TV programmes. (Guilty as charged).
So what happens when an essentially introverted person gets shoved into the limelight?
It seems to go either of two ways. In the best case scenario, they rise to the occasion and are utterly delightful. Look at Sarah Waters or Ian Rankin: both are natural interviewees, do the circuit, are refreshingly modest and down to earth. They appreciate their fans, acknowledging they're the ones who put them where they are.
And then you get the badly behaved authors.
Perhaps they're the overnight hit who starts to believe their hype. Maybe they're an established name, but arrogantly believe their sales give them a Get Out of Jail Free card. But these capers don't go unnoticed - it only takes a few murmurs here and there to topple the work of years.
Here are some of the catastrophic mistakes made by these discount Mozarts. Legend has it he once made 100 enemies at a party - not something to aspire to!
1) Forgetting they were beginners once
This is the most inexplicable error an author can make. Unless they were scribbling in utero, they were once in the position of many an unpublished writer, dreaming about packing in the day job and counting rejection slips. So why do luckier writers hold them in contempt, calling them "amateurs" or "wannabes"?
Such a mindset's even more staggering when they're supposed to be offering advice. Not long ago I bought a book about self publishing - and oh my goodness, I've never read anything more abrasive and unpleasant in my life. Not only did the author assume her way was law, and any other method doomed to failure, but she seemed to view sci fi and gay authors with disdain, implying anyone who wrote these genres was a deluded, unpublishable weirdo. Delete!
2) Getting up on their soap box
Writing is the art of a good story well told. Yet some writers use it as a licence to vent, believing their celebrity lends a credibility they would otherwise lack. This isn't so bad if they're enthusing about origami or Morris dancing, but if they hold harmful opinions, it may do serious damage.
For every hundred or so sane authors, there's one who believes minorities shouldn't be represented in mainstream fiction, or that women have no right to play an active role. Fortunately readers are wising up to their antics and treating them with the scorn they deserve.
3) Lambasting readers
Every writer has received a review that makes them want to bury their knuckles in their eyes. If it's
the work of a troll, you want to treat them to a blistering put down; if they misunderstood it, you want to put them straight. Right?
Don't. Your reader isn't trying to besmirch you personally - as far as they're concerned, they're simply reviewing a book they didn't like. If you give them a piece of your mind, they'll feel justified in their view that not only is your book trash, but you're a novice who can't take criticism.
4) Roasting other writers
Yes, we can all think of writers we don't like, or we think are hogging the best seller lists. But once you make the transition from reader to author, the best policy is to keep schtum on these matters. Think of that friend with the boyfriend you can't abide - yes, he may be absolutely vile, but he's not worth losing a long standing friendship over. Likewise, laying into a popular author only makes you seem jealous, petty and childish, and can ruin your reputation.
5) All round obnoxiousness
Believe it or not, there are authors out there with a curious antipathy to what writers actually do. They don't engage their fans, behave abominably at events, and are scathing of any adaptations of their work, never mind it brings them plenty of free publicity. Some resort to devious measures, planting 'sock puppet' reviews that praise their books and run down their rivals.
This can't be impressed enough: as an author, you are a brand. Your agent or publisher can only do so much - and, indeed, if you're self published, you are your sole employee. And just as you wouldn't shop with a firm that gave lousy customer service, nobody will buy books from Offensive Jones.
Authors are a funny bunch. Quite aside from the oddness of their vocation (only pretending to be other people is weirder), they're often the wallflowers who hang out in the kitchen at parties, talking about kids' TV programmes. (Guilty as charged).
So what happens when an essentially introverted person gets shoved into the limelight?
It seems to go either of two ways. In the best case scenario, they rise to the occasion and are utterly delightful. Look at Sarah Waters or Ian Rankin: both are natural interviewees, do the circuit, are refreshingly modest and down to earth. They appreciate their fans, acknowledging they're the ones who put them where they are.
And then you get the badly behaved authors.
Perhaps they're the overnight hit who starts to believe their hype. Maybe they're an established name, but arrogantly believe their sales give them a Get Out of Jail Free card. But these capers don't go unnoticed - it only takes a few murmurs here and there to topple the work of years.
Here are some of the catastrophic mistakes made by these discount Mozarts. Legend has it he once made 100 enemies at a party - not something to aspire to!
1) Forgetting they were beginners once
This is the most inexplicable error an author can make. Unless they were scribbling in utero, they were once in the position of many an unpublished writer, dreaming about packing in the day job and counting rejection slips. So why do luckier writers hold them in contempt, calling them "amateurs" or "wannabes"?
Such a mindset's even more staggering when they're supposed to be offering advice. Not long ago I bought a book about self publishing - and oh my goodness, I've never read anything more abrasive and unpleasant in my life. Not only did the author assume her way was law, and any other method doomed to failure, but she seemed to view sci fi and gay authors with disdain, implying anyone who wrote these genres was a deluded, unpublishable weirdo. Delete!
2) Getting up on their soap box
Writing is the art of a good story well told. Yet some writers use it as a licence to vent, believing their celebrity lends a credibility they would otherwise lack. This isn't so bad if they're enthusing about origami or Morris dancing, but if they hold harmful opinions, it may do serious damage.
For every hundred or so sane authors, there's one who believes minorities shouldn't be represented in mainstream fiction, or that women have no right to play an active role. Fortunately readers are wising up to their antics and treating them with the scorn they deserve.
3) Lambasting readers
Every writer has received a review that makes them want to bury their knuckles in their eyes. If it's
the work of a troll, you want to treat them to a blistering put down; if they misunderstood it, you want to put them straight. Right?
Don't. Your reader isn't trying to besmirch you personally - as far as they're concerned, they're simply reviewing a book they didn't like. If you give them a piece of your mind, they'll feel justified in their view that not only is your book trash, but you're a novice who can't take criticism.
4) Roasting other writers
Yes, we can all think of writers we don't like, or we think are hogging the best seller lists. But once you make the transition from reader to author, the best policy is to keep schtum on these matters. Think of that friend with the boyfriend you can't abide - yes, he may be absolutely vile, but he's not worth losing a long standing friendship over. Likewise, laying into a popular author only makes you seem jealous, petty and childish, and can ruin your reputation.
5) All round obnoxiousness
Believe it or not, there are authors out there with a curious antipathy to what writers actually do. They don't engage their fans, behave abominably at events, and are scathing of any adaptations of their work, never mind it brings them plenty of free publicity. Some resort to devious measures, planting 'sock puppet' reviews that praise their books and run down their rivals.
This can't be impressed enough: as an author, you are a brand. Your agent or publisher can only do so much - and, indeed, if you're self published, you are your sole employee. And just as you wouldn't shop with a firm that gave lousy customer service, nobody will buy books from Offensive Jones.
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