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Oct. 28th, 2010 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrockwellWriting
Some of you may be aware of the whole "Fatties" controversy sparked by Maura Kelly's extremely insensitive blog post over at Marie Claire (a magazine I do not -- and now never will -- read). As a Person of Weight (ha!), who has battled both anorexia and bulimia in the past, I find Ms. Kelly's remarks abhorrent (so, sorry Maura, your own eating disordered history does NOT mean you get a pass on this) and I question the sincerity of her apology -- it seems far more likely that she is only sorry for the backlash caused by her comments, rather than actually regretting the comments themselves.
Regardless, you may wonder what this has to do with writing. Well, if you take a gander at the link above, you'll notice the first sentence in the "About the Author" section:
Maura Kelly is a freelance writer who is working on a novel.
Yeah, aren't we all? Anyway, the moment I saw that, I thought, "Well, good luck with that. I'm sure as hell never going to buy any book you ever manage to actually write."
I'm not going to spend my money to support an author who treats other people like crap (even if just via the words on their blog), and I know I am not alone in this. There are some great writers whose work I will never read, because they have proven themselves to be asshats, either in their meanderings through the blogosphere or in personal interactions.
So, what's my point? Am I saying that authors are not entitled to their own opinions? Perish the thought! But writing is a business, and we, the writers, are selling a product -- our writing. We are the CEO, CFO, Production Line, Accounting Department, Marketing Department and Spokesperson all rolled into one. We are the public faces of our work, and as such, we have the same constraints on us as any spokesperson does -- don't do anything to blemish the brand!
Now, some authors can get away with being asshats, because that's part of their shtick. But for the vast majority of us, being a jerk just isn't conducive to sales, period. So it should be avoided as much as possible (and, you know, that's pretty good advice, even if you aren't trying to sell something). That doesn't mean you, as a writer, can't have -- and voice -- your opinions. I'm just saying that you need to think long and hard before you do, because what you say can cost you readers.
Maura Kelly is the case in point du jour. She had her opinion about "fatties," she voiced it, and it cost her (and Marie Claire) readers, both current and future (assuming that novel of hers ever gets published).
Did it also get her some publicity? Sure -- I'm writing a whole blog post about her, aren't I? But I don't necessarily agree that "any publicity is good publicity." Not when you're an aspiring novelist and you've managed to alienate a large portion (no pun intended) of your potential readers before you even get into the gate.
Because, at the end of the day, it's all about getting -- and keeping -- readers. Who also happen to be, you know, people. When a writer forgets that, their career is over. In some cases, even before it began.
Everything Else
I gave at the office. Heh.
Some of you may be aware of the whole "Fatties" controversy sparked by Maura Kelly's extremely insensitive blog post over at Marie Claire (a magazine I do not -- and now never will -- read). As a Person of Weight (ha!), who has battled both anorexia and bulimia in the past, I find Ms. Kelly's remarks abhorrent (so, sorry Maura, your own eating disordered history does NOT mean you get a pass on this) and I question the sincerity of her apology -- it seems far more likely that she is only sorry for the backlash caused by her comments, rather than actually regretting the comments themselves.
Regardless, you may wonder what this has to do with writing. Well, if you take a gander at the link above, you'll notice the first sentence in the "About the Author" section:
Maura Kelly is a freelance writer who is working on a novel.
Yeah, aren't we all? Anyway, the moment I saw that, I thought, "Well, good luck with that. I'm sure as hell never going to buy any book you ever manage to actually write."
I'm not going to spend my money to support an author who treats other people like crap (even if just via the words on their blog), and I know I am not alone in this. There are some great writers whose work I will never read, because they have proven themselves to be asshats, either in their meanderings through the blogosphere or in personal interactions.
So, what's my point? Am I saying that authors are not entitled to their own opinions? Perish the thought! But writing is a business, and we, the writers, are selling a product -- our writing. We are the CEO, CFO, Production Line, Accounting Department, Marketing Department and Spokesperson all rolled into one. We are the public faces of our work, and as such, we have the same constraints on us as any spokesperson does -- don't do anything to blemish the brand!
Now, some authors can get away with being asshats, because that's part of their shtick. But for the vast majority of us, being a jerk just isn't conducive to sales, period. So it should be avoided as much as possible (and, you know, that's pretty good advice, even if you aren't trying to sell something). That doesn't mean you, as a writer, can't have -- and voice -- your opinions. I'm just saying that you need to think long and hard before you do, because what you say can cost you readers.
Maura Kelly is the case in point du jour. She had her opinion about "fatties," she voiced it, and it cost her (and Marie Claire) readers, both current and future (assuming that novel of hers ever gets published).
Did it also get her some publicity? Sure -- I'm writing a whole blog post about her, aren't I? But I don't necessarily agree that "any publicity is good publicity." Not when you're an aspiring novelist and you've managed to alienate a large portion (no pun intended) of your potential readers before you even get into the gate.
Because, at the end of the day, it's all about getting -- and keeping -- readers. Who also happen to be, you know, people. When a writer forgets that, their career is over. In some cases, even before it began.
Everything Else
I gave at the office. Heh.
