First, an apology. Yesterday, I mis-titled Mur Lafferty’s Infinite Archive as Infinity Archive because not only am I dumb, I am also apparently blind. Apologies to Ms. Lafferty and anyone who tried to find the Infinity Archive. You should still go buy the book — it really is good, regardless of the title. No on to the regularly scheduled nonsense.
We are apparently in another round of “gatekeepers bad!”, this time cloaked in the idea that popular books are driving away “real” literature. It is silly, as always, and based on a handful of ideas that really don’t match how the world in general works. You might want to grab a snack; this one could ramble.
First, popular does not mean bad. I know that is heresy to a lot of people, but it is true. Shakespeare was really popular, as was Austin, to name just a couple. Things become classic literature because they speak to something that people need spoken too, not because they have the most beautiful sentences. Having beautiful words can help — I love both Austin and Shakespeare’s use of language — but it is not required. Stories move people with or without eloquence, and every generation decides for itself what stories it is moved by.
Second, the presence of gatekeepers is likely not keeping your work from being published or popular. Your stuff just likely is not good enough. Yes, traditional publishers do sometimes miss on things that later turn out to be massive sellers. But that does not happen as much as people would leave you to believe — publishing is a business and the people in it want to keep being paid. No one deliberately turns down good work that can sell. It is unlikely that no one sees your unique genius and much more likely that you just aren’t a good enough writer. It sucks, and I share your pain, but it is most likely the truth. I am a failed writer, and I doubt that is because no one can see my innate genius. My work, whether on a technical level or on a story and emotional level, just isn’t good enough. And yours almost certainly isn’t either. Sorry.
Finally, there will always be gatekeepers. There is simply too much written today for everyone to be aware of it all, much less read it all. People need some mechanism to help them find the stories that interest them in the ocean of words. Being traditionally published suggests a certain level of professionalism in the writing. Having good reviews indicates that someone liked something about the work. Even in self-publishing, having the algorithm push the work implies that some people have read and purchased it, making it slightly more likely to have some quality to it. Gatekeepers are the Coast Guard of the literary world, whether they are people at publishing houses or the people who write the discovery algorithms. They haul you out of the turbulent seas of the written word, dry you off, hand you a cup of cocoa, and give you some manageable number of things to choose from. Otherwise, we’d all drown.
Weekly World Count
Not much. I am waiting on feedback for the thriller. In the meantime, I have started playing with the plot and background for a fantasy novel, kind of One Punch Man meets Guards! Guards!, with the satirical edge that last implies. I am not sure who the more interesting POV character is right now and am still playing with the ideas. I really like the world, but it remains to be seen if I can make a story out of it. And, of course, trying to approach Pratchett in any fashion is likely a fool’s errand.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Sharp as usual.
Minor correction: "Austin"=Austen. :-)