Those of you that have tuned in yet again, know that I have a bit of a 'reputation', as it were. Certain terms have been thrown around, such as 'infamous', or 'Elitist Smasher' and so on. If you've read a few of my blog posts thus far, you'd probably be inclined to agree.
I just CAN'T tolerate bullying, and in the literary world, literary Elitists are the worst. They hit new Authors where it hurts the most, right in the ol' 'Hopes And Dreams'.
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Coincidentally, 'Hopes And Dreams' are primarily located in the crotchetal area.
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They will try to discourage you, mock you, nit-pick at your work, and sometimes even go as low as to outright insult you, all from atop their self-constructed pedestal all for the sole purpose of telling you that you aren't good enough to play with the big kids, hoping you'll leave the playground and go home.
My advice? Stand your ground and proclaim your right to be in this playground, it's big enough for everybody. How you do so is completely up to you, but do
something.
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| I wont name any names, but one of them in particular kinda looks like this guy here. |
They will often mock you from behind such ironclad defenses known as 'degrees' because they feel that it gives them the 'right' or 'authority' to do so. It absolutely fucking does NOT. They want you to think that THEY are the ones you need to impress to 'make it', and if you fail to do so, you're worthless. The funny thing is that if you do a little digging and look into these people, you'll often find the reason for their unwarranted bitterness with Indies as a whole. They couldn't/ can't hack it in 'Traditional Publishing' and refuse to get with the times, and channel their frustration on the more 'evolved' Authors. Some even go so far as to create a publishing house for themselves to create the illusion of being 'Traditionally Published', even though they're every bit as Indie as the rest of us.
It's kinda sad if you stop and think about that for a moment.
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| This is how they secretly see themselves, and in turn, expect from you. |
In writing, there is only ONE entity you need to be concerned about impressing, that would be yourself. If you want to be successful, you'll want to add a second: The Reader. And when The Reader comes into play, your satisfaction with your work is secondary. Your future in this business lies solely with THEM, no one else. Just how far you go, depends on who your readers are. Be it an agent, a representative of a Publisher, or just a rabidly voracious 'casual' reader. If you can reach out and touch these readers appropriately (Or inappropriately, if you write Erotica) you're already in the game.
The Elitists and Trolls don't even factor into it at all, they don't get to make the decision on your worth, after all you're not writing for them, ARE you? You better not be, or I'll get out the ol' 'Learnin' Stick.'
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| AKA: The Board Of Education. |
They say that there is a book for every reader, and in turn a reader for every book. It doesn't matter if you've written a brochure depicting a step by step hand sanitizing technique if you ever find yourself without toilet paper or the mind blowing adventures of a paraplegic chimney sweep in Victorian Era London. Someone, somewhere WILL want to read it. Will you be able to retire from your day job and live it up in a castle like J.K. Rowling after publishing? That's not for me to say, nor anyone else. Write whatever you want, whatever is in your heart of hearts, if you try hard enough, you WILL connect with someone.
Maybe your book on Amish Blacksmithing Techniques will be all the rage if we ever get roundhouse kicked back to the stone age, hey, you never know...
