What do we owe, and to whom?
Over the last few months, the recurring debate of appropriation (be it race, sexuality, disability etc) has reared its head several times. I'm not going to go into my position on these, because it is not relevant to the following discussion. What is relevant is that I've kept on seeing the following phrase "You owe it to the reader."
In commercial fiction (and I use this in the sense of selling fiction to a publisher or through an agent) the writer's relationship is initially with the publisher or agent, and through them with the reader. The writer is (most often) given a front end advance by the publisher, goes through the editing process, and produces a book which is positioned and chosen to make money for the publisher. The writer therefore (due to the financial contract with the publisher) owes the publisher a limited amount of editorial input to produce a book which is commercially viable. Only after satisfying this commercial proposition does the writer have a relationship with the reader. The reader, by purchasing the book, is entering into a relationship with the publisher of said book by saying "this book is commercially viable" and through that to the writer who is encouraged to write more books and gets more lucrative contracts.
I'm going to be very direct here. The writer does not owe the reader a thing. The reader -- by purchasing the books -- holds all the commercial cards. If they do not like the writer, the writer's politics, the writer's gender identity, or if they feel the writer is being appropriative, they should NOT BUY THE BOOK. This would result in publishers dropping the writer(s), genre(s) etc. that the readers find appropriative.
A book is a set-entity at the time of purchase, it does not change between being purchased and being read. It is therefore up to the reader to make the decision as to what they want to read and what they'd be promoting by buying it. All the railing in the world will not change the commercial reality that publishers will publish books that sell. If you want to change what is published, put your money where you mouth is. If readers want a change, they're going to have to show the publishers that change is commercially sound.
PS. Please note the debate above. It is not about anything-fail! Any comments which start on anything-fail and do not directly pertain to the concept of "writer owing reader" will be summarily deleted. Oh, and I reserve the right to shut down all comments if this starts to get out of hand. ETA. Actually, going to moderate comments. Massive pain in the arse but would rather that then get involved in wank so non-friend comments are screened.
- What do we owe, and to whom?
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chris_smith_atr- February 3rd, 2010
2010-02-03 11:14 am (UTC)
I don’t think an author owes any responsibility. Not to the reader. Even INSIDE the book. Why should they? No-one OWES anyone anything in that respect. Perhaps I owe my parents respect, but that’s the only obligation I can think of (other than legal obligations like contractual or legal ones and then if I break them that’s my look out) and people saying “authors MUST do this or MUST consider that” do this is an absolute pile of poo.
I do consider my characterisation of course, but only because I want to get things right, not because I owe my reader anything—or even some people who haven’t read an m/m book in their life. I owe it to my own self respect. Does this kind of holier than thou stuff go on in other genres than romance? Are there people demanding that murder mystery writers MUST consider victim support and how they are upsetting the survivors of crime? Are there people saying that sci fi writers MUST consider that alien invasion is a bad thing. Probably. How depressing.
I agree the cover issue is wrong,(putting white characters on a book where the main character/s are non-white, and publishers need to be rapped on the knuckles for that, and not allowed to get away with it, but blaming the author that is as bad as blaming them for the price it’s sold at.
The thing about voting with the dollar is already happening, I think. But people still give their views about how things should be done, even if they've never read a gay historical (for instance) in their entire lives.
2010-02-03 11:22 am (UTC)
The idea that there is a list of things a writer owes it to the reader to consider is both assinine and impractical. Imagine a PWP which examines your list above.
Re covers, yes. Covers should be appropriate. Which also means that MM covers should have the right garb and feeling rather than "generic toned torso."
2010-02-03 03:37 pm (UTC)
On one side, writers are lambasted for writing only characters that reflect the writer's own race/gender/sexuality/etc. How dare we be so self-absorbed as to ignore the diversity around us? We must be deliberately spreading -isms!
On the other side, writers are pilloried for writing characters whose race/gender/sexuality/etc. is different from their own. How dare we write something other than our exact autobiographical experience? We are appropriating!
The writer cannot win with everyone all the time. And this is why I reject rules and exhortations from anyone who does not hand me a check for my work.
2010-02-03 05:36 pm (UTC)
2010-02-03 04:12 pm (UTC)
That's it.
Have you had the "I have a story for you to write!" letters yet? You will. They usually go, "I read your story X and liked it a lot, and I have a story idea for you--" generally accompanied by a business proposition: he (so far it is always "he") will tell you what it's about and you will write it for him. What could be better? There seems to be a general notion floating about that creative people are basically like horses--you find one you like, climb aboard, and tell it where to carry you.
Um. No. The person writing the story gets to decide what the story is about. The compensation for the work of writing is the right to choose the story one tells.
I don't read "inspirational" books. I don't like pseudo-Christian propaganda. (I say 'pseudo' because most of what I've seen has less to do with JC than with current political agendas.) Do I think the writers of such tripe ought to stop? Hell, what business is it of mine? I would love to see a Pagan inspirational, or Taoist, or Buddhist... because at its best, fiction with a spiritual aspect can be very good indeed. But to start railing against it and call it 'dogma-fail?' I just don't see what good that would do, and I have better ways to spend my time.
There's no doubt that many writers could handle racial issues better. I read an excerpt a few days ago from some godawful het thing where the POV character was actually referring to a prospective bed-partner as a 'Negro.' I had a WTF moment approximately equivalent to a full stop from 60 mph. That author could use a gentle reminder that we are no longer in 1960... but that can be handled with a personal letter to the author first. (And no, I don't remember the author or title, only that I deleted the digest email as fast as I could.)
Tacking 'fail' onto anything that displeases people is not only a cheap tactic to gain the high ground (YOU have FAILED and I am HERE TO JUDGE YOU!), it makes open discussion pretty much impossible...
When a corporate gorilla like Amazon tramples people, when a publisher blatantly ignores the content of a book and sticks on a cover that 'marketing' says will sell -- those are abuses that must be countered with mass action. Corporations are pretty much indifferent to anything that doesn't threaten their bottom line.
Authors are much easier targets. We have websites, LJs, etc. and these days, we're also expected to wear the PR hat and try to keep everybody happy, which is impossible.
Oh, one other thing the author owes. We owe it to ourselves to speak our own truth. Not what someone else believes our truth should be.
2010-02-03 05:42 pm (UTC)
I think the entire "fail" mentality is absolutely bollocks. I am very much of the "if you think you're sitting in judgement, you've already lost the argument". This is the internet. Feel free to de-friend people who you don't agree with if it incenses you. But don't take it upon yourself to sit in judgement.
Re the accessibility of authors -- I know it is very important for sales but at times I think it is a damn shame. You expend a lot of energy on things that are in the end pointless. You may as well shout at a lake.
(And LOL. No one has asked me to write their book yet. If one day they do, I will possibly attack. A lot. And mock.)
2010-02-03 09:21 pm (UTC)
Exactly that and no more.
Oh, and there is a pagan inspirational. M/m even. I know. I wrote it. Shell-Shocked GLBT bookshelf link because I can't access my publisher's site at the moment. (frustrating. I'm the only one who can't. It breaks down around Dallas)
2010-02-04 11:50 pm (UTC)
2010-02-03 05:07 pm (UTC)
2010-02-03 06:11 pm (UTC)
The logic goes something like this -- and pardon me for any bias, I'm trying damn hard not to be while thinking of examples and removing all identifying traits:
Regardless of the setting, the author should take care to represent people of a different background in their work. However, one should only represent these people by dint of careful research and that however careful your research, your entire novel can be called sexist, racists, non-representational, and appropriative because it does not approximate the experience of a reader of that minority group, even if the novel is historical and the minority group character has absolutely no similarities to the reader concerned.
Sorry if that sounds a bit biased, but that has been my friends' experience of the entire thing. No matter what they do, they're either branded racist or appropriative. Let alone the poor female MM writers. How dare we write stories about gay men! We are neither gay, nor men. By this logic no book would ever be written about anything other than the author's life.
Sorry to rant. :)
2010-02-04 12:12 pm (UTC)
I was a gay man in a previous life. Does that count? ;-)
2010-02-05 01:30 am (UTC)
2010-02-05 08:28 pm (UTC)
2010-02-04 12:12 pm (UTC)
2010-02-06 09:44 pm (UTC)
2010-02-04 03:06 pm (UTC)
2010-02-04 03:07 pm (UTC)
Beery says happy birthday. I DRINK BEERY! *hic*
2010-02-05 03:45 am (UTC)
Happy birthday! Sorry I missed it in your time zone.
2010-02-06 09:44 pm (UTC)