I thought long and hard about whether or not to write the following diatribe. I then thought long and hard about how to say it. I don't believe in trashing people online, but there are things that need to be said.
One thing you learn as an attorney is you can't take someone at their word. Everything that's said must be analyzed in terms of what the opposing party (or even your own client) wants and what they're afraid of.
And it's becoming very, VERY obvious there are those who are very, VERY scared of the rapid changes in the publishing. And they have no clue on how to deal with these changes so they lash out.
Over the last few weeks I've seen tweets from an editor who claimed everything would be okay if they could just get the writers under control. Another tweet from an agent berated writers for using the term "indie" because it made us sound ignorant.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm offended. Really offended. As in I had to walk away from the laptop three times over the last two weeks because the urge to use profanity was overwhelming.
To the agents and editors from the publishing houses out there: I realize it was a buyer's market. That's changing. Get over it. And insulting writers is not the way to keep the old system going.
Agreed. I've seen people I used to respect lash out, flailing and ranting and making claims that make them look either ignorant or horribly biased. (And yeah, I've seen someone -- maybe the same person -- pop up on more than one discussion thread to explain with great condescension why everyone but him is using the term "indie" wrong. [eyeroll])
ReplyDeleteI also know people I still respect who have questions or reservations, and are able to express them rationally, without trashing anyone. I agree that there are things to think about, things to be cautious of, and wild, pie-in-the-sky enthusing to take with a large chunk of salt. I'm smart enough to understand that and make my own judgements, which is what the folks in the first group don't seem to get. I'm offended by that too.
All things considered, I'm taking this as a way to separate out the people I want to listen to from the people I don't. [shrug]
Angie
Oh, hell, I have reservations, too, Angie. No one, not even me, knows what's going to happen once the fallout trickles down through the atmosphere. All we as writers can do is make the best decision for each of ourselves we can with the information we have at the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, there are definitely people I used to respect that I just don't anymore because of their diatribes against anyone who tries something new in this crazy world.
I will give agent Jenny Bent a hell of a lot of credit for acknowledging the changing publisher scene and embracing it rather than acting like a spoiled be-yotch. So major kudos, Jenny! Thanks for being a class act.
Well, I had a longish comment typed in here, but the comment system ate it. :(
ReplyDeleteBasically, what's really pissing me off about this clash isn't that people disagree with me (or more practically, with other people I think are making some good sense), but that they're making it clear that they think I'm a brainless sheep, a moronic idiot who buys into whatever is said by the last person who asserts something strongly in my presence, because I disagree with them. Anyone who's stupid enough to even think about self-publishing must believe that all they have to do is throw a couple of e-books at Amazon and that's enough to make them the next Amanda Hocking. There's no acknowledgement that anyone who's interested in indie publishing might be smart enough to realize that's probably not going to happen.
The way they talk, they have all the answers and anyone who doesn't agree with them a hundred percent is obviously stupid. They hold up the most ridiculous, extreme case as though it's the norm. It's a straw man, and an insulting one. That's what loses my respect, not the difference of opinion itself.
I don't know Jenny Bent, but right now I'm all for anyone who's treating this rationally, whichever side they're ultimately on.
Angie
Here's the URL for Jenny's blog from last week.
ReplyDeletehttp://jennybent.blogspot.com/2011/04/think-of-me-as-conduit-not-gatekeeper.html
And I totally agree what you said about people treating others as brainless sheep. Geez, I've worked for a Fortune 100, run my own law office and done a million things in between. I think I have a clue, can analyze a business opportunity, and make my own GD decisions.
Baaaa!