Monday, January 19th, 2009 by Sasha White
Back In August Agent Jenny Bent. did her first guest blog with us, and I’m thrilled to say she’s BACK!
Please make her feel welcome!
Archive for January 19th, 2009
Monday, January 19th, 2009 by Alison Kent
If you’re a genre author, unpublished or pro, you’ve likely taken a hit that smacks of disrespect – and if you haven’t yet, duck. The swing, it’s a-comin’, whether an offhand remark from a family member, “helpful” support from a non-writing friend, a teasing jab from a co-worker, a twist of your words by an interviewer, even a derisive insult from a stranger who walks up to your table at a booksigning. It’s all part of the GenReality of writing commercial fiction, popular fiction, fiction that’s published in a mass market format because it’s what the masses read.
As an author writing in what’s undoubtedly the least respected genre (Is there another where a publisher’s name has become derogatory shorthand for crap?), I’ve heard it all: “When are you going to write a *real* book?” “Oh, you write those trashy novels!” “Hey, baby, need any help with your sex research?” I’d like to say I shrug them off and laugh all the way to the bank.
I do shrug them off. The bank part . . . unfortunately, not so much. But I don’t get angry and defensive. I don’t campaign to set the record straight. I don’t try to “educate” these “misguided” souls; half the time, the readers calling what I write trashy, who refer to my books as guilty pleasures, are those who buy romance in bulk and will sell their firstborn for an ARC.
I don’t spend hours on forums venting over insulting remarks. I’m rarely insulted. I have no reason to be. The people who say these things – and who mean them – are not my audience. For me, getting up in arms or firing back a biting retort is a waste of energy. YMMV, but I’ve been at this a long LONG time. It’s gonna take something really sharp and cutting to pierce my tough rhino hide. No show of disrespect, whether made jokingly or with serious intent, has stopped me from doing what I love to do, or thinking less of myself for doing it.
Now, if someone who *is* a romance reader tells me my writing is trash (note: not the same as fondly referring to a beloved genre as trashy reads, guilty pleasures, etc.) then I’ll perk up because it means I’ve gone off track, and have failed to give my books the respect they deserve. That’s right. The only respect I worry about is the respect I give to my work.
