what is a “writer”?
I guiltily enjoyed this rant by Timothy Egan in the NY Times about people who become “writers” as a result of celebrity or unusual life experiences rather than the possession of actual writing ability.
Most of the writers I know work every day, in obscurity and close to poverty, trying to say one thing well and true. Day in, day out, they labor to find their voice, to learn their trade, to understand nuance and pace. And then, facing a sea of rejections, they hear about something like Barbara Bush’s dog getting a book deal.
Although the egalitarian part of me thinks that anyone seeking to express themself in written form is a good thing (and for some, the ability to write at all is impressive), it’s undeniable that a vast amount of poor quality writing gets published every day on a variety of inane subjects, whilst many good writers seem to struggle to find a tiny public space within which to have their voices heard.
It’s all well and good to want everyone to have an ‘equal opportunity’ (for want of a better idiom)to express themselves in written form, but it doesn’t mean that they should be paid to do it! I agree with Egan – stop soaking up precious advance money.
I have a solution: a law (surprise surprise) that prohibits people profiting from their stupidity, something similar to the laws that prevent people profiting from crime. (Ok this is completely ridiculous, have you got a better idea?)
I have no confess I now feel a great pressure not to waste precious bandwidth with boring or nonsensical comments lest I be labelled a hypocrite. ( am sure it wont last).