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Blogs by Laurel A. Johnson
Author slams on Amazon.
10/24/2003 2:52:24 PM
Many authors write me discouraged because they are slammed on amazon by their peers. They don't understand this practice and neither do I. It seems childish and unprofessional. It would never occur to a professional writer to do such a thing. I wrote this article by request.
Why Do Authors Eat Their Young?
Commentary by Laurel Johnson
Senior Reviewer – Midwest Book Review
In the decades before I became an author and reviewer, my profession was that of Registered Nurse. As nursing reinvented itself in the 20th century, there was an often-repeated lament:
"How can we hope to continue attracting nurses to the field when nursing has such a history of 'eating their young'?"
By that, the nursing hierarchy meant that historically, experienced nurses do not nurture and mentor new graduates. Instead, inexperienced nurses were the object of gossip and ridicule, to their faces and behind their backs. Already insecure new graduates were often devastated by such treatment and moved from job to job or left the field altogether. That had not changed when I retired from Nursing and moved on to literary pursuits. My thinking at the time was that at least writers would be supportive of each other and share their experiences in a positive way, give new writers a leg up so to speak. In many cases, I was wrong. Many in the literary field are no more inclined than nursing to nurture their young.
Perhaps best selling authors adopt and mentor fledgling writers of promise. I have no proof of that, but hope that is the case. My concerns, addressed in this commentary, are midlist and backlist authors. These are 'unfamous' wordsmiths who create in a vacuum of anonymity. Read just about any message board where writers gather and you will see examples of writers, agents, or publishers eating their young. Or ask any mainline bookstore owner. You will hear the same dogma, spoken to discourage and wreck creativity:
· Being published by a print on demand publisher means you're mediocre or worse and no REAL publisher wanted your work. Don't quit your day job.
· No writer worth reading would pay to have a book published.
· Hahaha! You should see the typos in that book! That writer either does not know how to write, or can't afford an editor.
· That 5-star review on Amazon had to be a fake. No one could possibly have liked that stupid book.
And then there are writers who -- without reading the book in question and for their own unfathomable reasons -- post scathing anonymous reviews of another author's book in public places. Such acts are unprofessional, unkind, and unacceptable. Writers, if you want to be taken seriously and respected by your peers, don't gossip about or take potshots at other authors. It's as simple as that.
As a reviewer, I hear from writers every day who have been wounded and demoralized by their literary colleagues. I personally have not been the recipient of such treatment, but those who have are floundering and hurt. I often wonder if the next Hemingway, King, Camus, Nin, or Descartes has been chewed up and spit out by fellow authors.
There are writers, reviewers, agents, and publishers who will say, "Not everyone can be a best selling author. There are too many books in print already." My response is that every writer should have that equal opportunity. How many books of prose and poetry are too many? Instead of cutting unknown authors off at the knees, let the reading public decide. What does any profession gain by eating its young?
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October 2003 Blogs
• Author slams on Amazon. - Friday, October 24, 2003
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