A couple of recent incidents have had me thinking of entitlement—both, interestingly enough, involving my favorite baseball team, The Florida Marlins. (Bear with me, I’m a baseball nut.) Anyhow, I love the Marlins. They’re the most bargain basement team in the majors, in terms of their salaries and as such, they’re also one of the youngest, most enthusiastic teams and a lot of fun to watch play.
Anyhow, a few weeks ago Chris Coghlan, a Marlin rookie just three or four days out of being called up, hit his first major league home run. Has to be one of the most exciting moments ever, right? And I’m sure it was, but the shine was somewhat taken off by what happened afterward. See, he hit the dinger at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers, unfortunately, have among their fan ranks, a guy who calls himself “The Happy Youngster.” (Website, t-shirts, and all.) The guy is a self-professed ballhawk, living out in the bleachers for the purpose of catching home run balls. And he happened to catch Coghlan’s homer. Now, it’s a common practice in baseball for a player to exchange a signed ball or bat in order to get a personal milestone home run ball returned. So it’s not a surprise that Happy Youngster expected a trade to happen. This guy was downright organized. By the next inning, when the network’s roving reporter caught up to the guy, he had his list of demandsrequests, written out on a piece of paper that he proudly held up for the camera. He didn’t simply want a ball or bat signed by Coghlan, he wanted the signed ball and bat, plus a signed bat from All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez, plus a pair of tickets to the upcoming Marlins/Yankees game. Oh, and a picture with Coghlan. His reasoning? Coghplan should be happy to hand over everything and with a smile on his face. After all, the fans pay, right? It’s no less than what they deserve.
“I explained that ballhawking is my hobby and that what I was asking in return was fair,” Yohanek said Thursday, in an e-mail to the Associated Press. “I told him I make $50,000 a year working in law enforcement and that I didn’t feel like I was asking for too much. He responded, ‘Good for you.’ Real classy. Way to respect law enforcement. Way to respect a fan.”
‘Scuse me while I call foul. Way to respect a fan? He’s acting as if he’s… entitled to all those goodies. No. No, he’s not. And let me say it once more with a Whitney Houston emphasis, oh, hell to the no. He paid to watch nine innings of baseball. That’s precisely what he got. Anything else, extra innings, a picture flash on the big screen, a ball caught, whether a foul or a homer or just an extra tossed into the stands by a player in between innings… bonus and nothing more and certainly not to be expected.
Contrast that with earlier this week. Another Marlins rookie, Brett Carroll, hits his first major league home run, off 300-game and future Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson. Again, a fan in the bleachers caught it. The roving reporter asked what he wanted in exchange for the ball—all the fan wanted was to shake Carroll’s hand and congratulate him. The reporter then asked “and if Carroll offers a signed ball or bat?” the fan laughed and said, no, he wouldn’t turn it down. (He got a signed bat.)
By now you’re probably saying, “So okay, Barb, what does this have to do with writing and/or reading?”
More than you’d think, actually. Around the same time that Coghlan vs. the Over Entitled Nitwit situation was making the national sports news, Neil Gaiman posted a blog on, you guessed it, entitlement. A fan had written him complaining about George R.R. Martin’s lack of communication on the progress of his next A Song of Ice and Fire novel and wanted some of Neil’s insight as to what responsibility he thought George owed his fans and wasn’t George letting his fans down by, you know, having a life and having the nerve to blog about it, instead of writing the book, right now.
Neil’s response? “George R.R. Martin is not your bitch.”
Pithiness aside, what I really liked about Neil’s response goes right back to the whole theme of entitlement. He pointed out that there has recently been this trend among readers whereupon they believe that by buying the first book in a series, the reader has entered into some sort of contract requiring the writer to devote themselves exclusively to writing each subsequent book until the series is complete. His take? A reader pays their money for a book. That one book.
I think this was especially resonant because lately, I’ve been seeing variations of this same theme of entitlement and it’s been fairly universal. There’s wonder as to what writers could possibly be doing that could take them away from writing The Next Book. And upon discovery that a writer is doing something other than writing The Next Book, readers coming back with commentary that could be interpreted as veiled (and not-so-veiled) threats—step it up, Sparky, or that reader can easily move on to another writer. (Uh, you really think writers don’t know that? C’mon.) Not only that, but that writers should be downright grateful (groveling welcome) and apply themselves diligently to serve the needs of their readers.
Really? I mean, it’s not that I’m not grateful for the people who have read my books and who share with me their enjoyment—believe me, I am. I cherish each and every reader who has gone out of their way to tell me they loved something I wrote. But see, herein lies the difference—being “grateful for” is not the same as being “beholden to”, which is the tone this commentary is starting to take on. Also, writers don’t necessarily set out to serve the needs of readers. Speaking for myself, I set out to serve something within myself. I choose to share it with readers—I want to share it—and I work darned hard to do so.
And really isn’t that what every reader should want? That a writer take the time to write the best possible book? I mean, not only does the writer benefit from the sense of accomplishment from a job well done, not simply for themselves, but for the publisher who’s actually paying them for the manuscript, but the reader benefits as well by getting their money’s worth for that one book. Sounds like a win/win situation to me.
No related posts.
Yeahbut, each author is dependent on each reader to buy a book New in order to earn anything. And behind each reader is five more readers who might buy that author’s book New based on the original reader’s enthusiasm. Professional Standards imply that the author will continue to create stories the readers will love and deliver them in a timely manner. When authors fail to live up to that standard, the readers are suffering a far greater emotional let-down than when McDonald’s doesn’t get the order right.
Reading is an enormous emotional investment, secondary to the financial one, but an author can’t have one without the other.
In the Internet Age, it’s simply not enough to be a good storyteller. An author also needs to be a good ‘people person’ and communicate that well.
During this recession, mid-list authors are not getting contracts renewed and otherwise great stories are not getting published.
I think this business is very different from baseball.
Personally, if I was a published author and a reader complained that I wasn’t getting the next story out fast enough, goshdarnit, I would be soooo incredibly flattered! I would apologize profusely and re-commit myself to getting the goods out even better and faster.
Well, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this count. A writer can exist quite well by just being a good/great/exceptionally storyteller. Most writers are drawn to the profession because they live so far inside their own heads– they’re introverts and quite happy with their own company and prefer to play and manipulate the words rather than engage other people.
As wonderful as the Internet is and as much as it’s opened the world up to us, I think the biggest error its users can make is to assume it’s the sum total of any given experience. It’s very key and those people who communicate about books and reading and writing on the net are very vocal, but in all honesty, at this point in time, they comprise a fairly small percentage of the reading and book buying public. Is it going to continue to grow? Sure and it behooves us to keep abreast of that portion of the audience, but I think it sets a dangerous precedent if we direct our energies solely in its direction.
Grrr. Give me back my half of the brain. Don’t you know I’m under deadline??
Um… whoops?
“In the Internet Age, it’s simply not enough to be a good storyteller. An author also needs to be a good ‘people person’ and communicate that well.”
On one level, absolutely true. But that isn’t the POINT. You can be the best people-person EVER and you might still not get anywhere… because it’s still the story, dammit. You have best buddies out there in the real world. The writer can be nice, polite, pleasant, enthusiastic, any or all of that… but if you don’t like the STORY the author’s being a “people person” is going to become merely annoying.
Also, this:
“Personally, if I was a published author and a reader complained that I wasn’t getting the next story out fast enough, goshdarnit, I would be soooo incredibly flattered! I would apologize profusely and re-commit myself to getting the goods out even better and faster.”
I hate to burst your bubble but sometimes it ISN’T the author. It’s the contract negotiation. It’s the publishing climate. It’s a change in editor or a change in editorial policy. It’s a more stringent-than-usual editorial letter.
And that’s leaving out the inside-track emergencies like an illness in the family or a major breakup or even just a house-move (have you ever moved? have you EVER found some of the stuff that you could have sworn that you packed…?)
I would apologise profusely for not writing fast enough, I would, but at the risk of not getting stuff published at all I am writing things the quality of which is high enough for me to put my name on them. If that means not churning out a book a year, then that’s what it means. I like to think that the people who REALLY like what I, or any other authors out there, produce would be willing to wait for the next QUALITY installment of the same instead of demanding that simply another book-shaped object is out on the shelves this time next year…
I really enjoyed Gaiman’s post, but it was one of the rare occasions I wasn’t sure that I agreed with him.
Leaving George R.R. Martin aside – because I don’t know about his work – if I buy from Anne Author ‘Very Exciting Story: Part 1′ – for me, there’s an implicit promise that I can thereafter buy ‘Very Exciting Story: Part 2′.
I’m not unreasonable – I know the author may, one way or another, never write Part 2, or that it may take longer that I expect – but I still think that paying for Part 1 has given me a legitimate interest in when Part 2 might arrive: I’m entitled to feel entitled.
Now, that’s not true of all series – if an author’s books are like Terry Pratchett’s with each book complete in itself, I wouldn’t feel entitled to anything.
But if the author chooses to write something incomplete, and sell it, that’s their choice, and implicit in that choice is that they are going to create a readership who want the end of the story.
And I don’t see that as necessarily a bad thing – while it must be annoying if readers pester a writer, it’s that eagerness that has them at the bookshop on the day the book is released.
Yes. That. Buying Book 1 of anything is an implicit contract: I fork out for an incomplete story, you do your best to give me the rest of it even if I decide not to buy it after all.
I dunno, I get that you expect that second book, especially if the first one leads you to believe that there will be a second book (or a third, or whatever), but at the same time, so many factors go into whether or not a series can continue.
That’s why I said ‘do your best’. I understand that life intervenes and publishers might make it difficult, but if I didn’t trust the writer to give me the following parts, I’d wait until they were all out and available; which would make sales worse and actually lessen the chances that future books will be published.
I agree. If a book is meant to also stand alone, then fine. But if you leave your readers on the hook… I expect you’re at least TRYING to get the next book done. You don’t need to blog about it, circs might dictate that you can’t finish it, etc. But I would hope the author feels it’s an important writing goal! …But I would never harass a writer about that, or expect communication on the topic.
(And in my heart of hearts I still hope Caleb Carr will write a 3rd book with the Alienist characters. Sigh. But the books are stand alones, so I don’t curse him for writing other things… too much.)
Heh–speaking only for myself, if I was writing something I envisioned as a series, I wouldn’t be able to stop until I was actually done and the overall story finished to my satisfaction. But then again, I’m a neurotic, perfectionist Virgo. At least, that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!
I don’t disagree that if an author writes a series with an ongoing storyline, that as a reader, you have a vested interest in seeing the next book–asking about it certainly reassures most authors and lets them know that yes, there is still interest in the books and the characters. It’s when the interest and good-natured queries veer into demanding that it starts to make me twitch.
And you’re absolutely right in pointing out that there are different types of series– there are those where each book is a complete story and while it might rely on the world of the overall series, the next book doesn’t necessarily hinge on the previous one.
Sheesh – I know I often wait for books from authors I like, and sometimes I get frustrated when they deviate from a series character I like, but … sheesh. It would never occur to me to think that they OWE me. Sheesh.
Seriously– if only I could get Diana Gabaldon to write a book that’s All About Roger Sans Brianna, I’d be soooo happy.
(What? He’s my favorite beta hero EVAR.)
What I think it’s important for readers to realize (and perhaps authors should try to convey it more clearly in their websites) is that there are other forces at work.
For example, Sara Reinke’s Brethren’s books. She planned three, but was under contract only for two and her original publisher didn’t buy the third one. Fans wanted it, and Ms Reinke definitely wanted to write it, but there was no publisher. [That has changed now, by the way--hooray!]
This is such a great comment, and is a nice accompaniment to Allison’s, below. As you said, it’s important for readers to realize that there are other forces at work and you’re not wrong in saying that readers should try to convey that, but also, as she said, sometimes, it’s hard to convey the message about those other forces. Sometimes, there are contractual reasons something can’t be said, sometimes, it’s just plain hard. I know that when I had a book canceled last year after working on it for the publisher for fifteen months, it was very, very difficult thing for me to admit. That the publisher wound up deciding not to go forward with publication was beyond my control and rationally, I knew it had nothing to do with my ability. But it was really hard not to feel that somehow, I’d failed to measure up. Ultimately, however, I decided to ‘fess up, as it were, feeling that it was kind of an important lesson not so much for readers, but for writers coming up. It’s too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that just because a book’s been sold, that it’s all smooth sailing from there.
This is so much more common than I think a lot of people realize. The same thing had happened to a friend of mine and also, happily for her, the situation has changed and the concluding book in her series will be coming out.
I planned a 3 part novella series (the first one being Selling Forever) but the publisher wasn’t interested in the 2nd novella so that’s that (at least for now).
It is a tricky business. On one hand, as a writer, you want buying your books to be a habit for readers. I have a new book out every February. I want readers to think ‘Oh, it is February, I should buy Kimber’s books.’ That helps with sales.
But on the other hand, being a habit means doing the same ol’, same ol’, meeting deadlines, sticking with genres, etc. etc. Many many ‘have-to’s’ which are tough, especially for creative folks.
You can’t have it both ways. Dependable releases = dependable sales. Random releases = Random sales.
It’s probably some mix of the two, in a perfect world, Kimber. I think as a writer who’s starting out, if you can possibly have a regular release coming out once a year where you can build your audience, then I think once you’re established, you can become a little more elastic with the release dates. However, at the same time, the publishers are going to want you to maintain a fairly regular release schedule.
I have to wonder if readers were educated on how little writers make for the corresponding amount of work they put in, the readers might be a little more understanding. I think readers mistakenly believe that if a writer has a book on bookstore shelves, she (he) is a Very Successful Published Writer who must make the kind of coin as Stephen King or Nora Roberts. Thus, they expect that the writer SHOULD be completely focused on writing that next story and earning those big bucks.
The reality of tiny advances and tinier royalty checks means that many writers are writing as their second job. They may WANT to write faster, but they only have so many hours in the day. Not to mention family requirements and the need for a personal life. If someone was paying me a couple million dollars to write a book, I could afford to put everything else on hold and focus exclusively on writing it. But the reality is only a handful of writers have that luxury.
I agree that if a writer leaves a book on a cliff hanger or is clear up front that they are beginning a series with a continuing story arc, it does behoove them to be as sure as possible (publishing issues not withstanding) that the next installments are coming ASAP. But this doesn’t give readers the right to badger or harass. That’s just poor manners. Paying $7.99 does not mean a reader owns that writer’s life or creative energy for all eternity.
Keeping with the baseball analogies, it’s as if writers who are starting out are A or AA minor leaguers– those guys play for a relative pittance and most of them have jobs during the winter. Mid-listers could be considered at the AAA level– they earn enough to where they can continue to play ball during the winter in places like Venezuela or the Dominican Republic and the superstars are the major leaguers.
Word.
Azteclady is right on the money–some times (a lot of the time) authors don’t have control over whether they finish a series or not. And few authors will post that they were let go by their publisher, because that implies to the reader that they are “not good enough” (which may or may not be true–often not true and based on bottom line numbers in a tough time.)
Then there’s the issue of writing connected books. I’ve had emails about characters I never intended to write a book about, and sometimes I feel bad that I’m not going to write that book. I’ll email and tell them I don’t intend to, but still . . . and even when you’re a NYT bestselling author, and you pitch a story idea, your publisher might say, “We’d like you do to something else because this is good, but we think something else will do better in this market.”
re: set release months. Authors have little to no control over their release months. I asked for April 2010 for my first deadly sins book, they gave me March. It looks like my Lucy Kincaid series will be out every October, but they only schedule 18-24 months out (depending on the publisher) so that could change. Your book can be done and in production, but pulled and re-slotted because of a dozen reasons absolutely not related to you and your book.
And then there’s life issues. A friend of mine had a book crashed (pushed through production extremely fast) because her mother died and she couldn’t write for awhile. Another author I know lost her husband. Death, illness, and major catastrophes affect everyone, but when you’re a creative person and need to dig deep into your own emotions in order to write a good book, when those emotions are to hard to face on a daily basis, you freeze. And then you feel awful that you’re not writing, and that adds additional stress.
I think authors should respect their readers, should be honest when and if a series is ending, and be polite in communications. But readers should understand that sometimes, things are not in an authors control.
Isn’t that just the absolute truth?
that is SPOT on.
Thanks for this great post. (Anyone who combines writing and baseball in a post is a goddess.) Now on the Yankees and the Red Sox… oh, wait.
We’re in a free market economy (for now *cough*) in Marlin territory. If you don’t like the product, or lack of product, you go somewhere else. Maybe it’s bad business for someone to abandon a series, but perhaps it’s creatively appropriate for the writer at that time. Publishing may be a machine, but writers are not.
I think society (and boomer parents) have created an entitlement culture. We give our kids medals for participating, not teaching them how to lose and congratulate winners. We take frustrations to the courtroom.
I interview people for positions at a large institution, and the number of people (in this economy!) who lead off with “how much vacation do I get” astounds me.
I had someone write me because my free story wasn’t long enough and she felt cheated.
As a no-name small press writer, I don’t have your problems, especially. But it’s not fun to see my books posted digitally for all to steal. But that’s a whole nuther can o worms.
I lived in Cleveland for ten years. There, the argument is who on earth do you want to lose more when they’re playing each other? *g*
Oh, this is so unbelievably true and it’s something I find myself fighting continually where my kids are concerned. Not so much they themselves, but that culture you’ve described. They’re both competitive and they recognize the every kid gets a trophy for the pablum that it is and as such, they have little meaning to them. The thing I’m having to work hardest at is the teaching them how to lose, because of their competitive natures and the fact that it’s not something they get to practice in everyday life, at least at school.
In the Internet Age, it’s simply not enough to be a good storyteller. An author also needs to be a good ‘people person’ and communicate that well.
I strongly disagree with this statement.
Does it help to be a good “people person?” Sure. But I can list several authors who do just fine without a significant Internet presence, or with an Internet presence that doesn’t pander to his/her readership. Many, many readers (most, even?) don’t yet use the Internet as part of their reading experience.
The word “yet” may very well be key to the above sentence, but as for now, author personality is less important than book quality, and thank heaven for that.
Can an author who’s just starting out do as well without knocking herself out to make buddies of her readers? I believe she can, if her writing is good enough.
I don’t write to make friends. I have friends. I write and offer my work for publication in order to share it with people who might enjoy it. A cult of personality holds no interest for me, so I hope quality of storytelling continues to be paramount in how readers choose books.
Otherwise, it’s just another bad knock-off of American Idol, wherein how cute and personable you are is as important as how well you sing. That particular mindset isn’t doing much for the music industry, in my opinion, and I’d hate to see it happen to the publishing industry as well.
Oh dear God, YES. This. So very much this.
Y’know, sometimes it really isn’t simply a matter of discipline, of sitting down and putting the words on paper. Or hard drive, whatever. Sometimes, Life slaps the writer upside the head. Sometimes, the well runs dry. Sometimes what seemed perfectly feasible at the beginning of the journey runs into unforeseen snags in the middle.
For the words to get onto the page, they have to be there to begin with. And when outside stuff messes with your head — or worse, your heart — that delicate mechanism that produces stories out of ether goes kaput. If you think that’s frustrating for the reader, imagine how terrifying it is for an author. And the reader may have no idea how often the author sincerely tried to MAKE the writing happen…except for some writers it just doesn’t work that way.
Look, I ran a mail order crafts business for years before I started writing. No matter what was going on — short of complete physical incapacitation — I was able to fulfill my orders by the date I promised the customer. My brain could be on Mars, but my hands still knew what to do.
Writing isn’t like that. In fact, writing isn’t like any work I’ve ever done in forty years of being part of the work force. Some writers never seem to lose track of the muse, but mine likes to slip out to go party or whatever on a regular basis. Sometimes I can find her and drag her skinny butt back to work; other times she’s just…gone. Some writers can write through whatever’s going on in their lives, in twenty minute snatches or at 4 a.m., never losing their train of thought no matter how often they’re interrupted. Me…not so much.
Sure, I could force dreck onto the page — and have, plenty of times — but contrary to common wisdom, not all dreck can be fixed. Sometimes it’s just dreck and the only remedy is the delete key. Do that enough days in a row and lookie there — was that a deadline whooshing past (TM Douglas Adams
)?
Absolutely, I feel I owe my readers something — my best work. And I’m about as conscientious as it gets when it comes to meeting deadlines. Most of us are. But writers don’t relinquish their humanness once they publish a book, even if it’s the first book in a series, even if it’s a book so well received readers are almost desperate the for the next one. Taking time to recharge is vital for many writers…because they DO want to give their readers their best work, not something forced out of them under duress.
Besides…isn’t there something else they could be reading while they wait?
What she said. All of it. Every single blippin’ word. Twice.
OMG, no kidding. There are so many great books and authors out there and how narcissistic do you have to be to think you’re the only one? This is why that threat of a reader going to another author just kind of leaves me shaking my head. I mean, what’s one of amazon’s strongest sales techniques? “If you enjoyed books by this author, you might like… ”
For us not to be aware of all the other authors and books out there, we’d have to be living under a pretty massive rock.
Apparently, all fans are not created equal. Before I started writing I never thought I was entitled to the next book. Yes, I sometimes wished the author wrote faster, but, wow.
Now as an author I do worry about not getting the next book out fast enough. May be why I haven’t branched out into a series.
But, wow, I’m still stunned some readers feel this way.
I don’t know any one of us who, as readers, hasn’t wished for a favorite writer to get a book out faster.
I guess I’m just used to being patient since one of my favorites is Diana Gabaldon. (I’m just thrilled the wait for the next book is almost over…)
I’m from Milwaukee(ish), and I apologize on behalf of everyone who ever lived in Wisconsin for that ballhawk guy’s behavior. That’s ridiculous.
I actually love it when readers nudge me for more books faster, because it means they’re invested in my work and are looking for me by name–not just because I have purple covers that say “Harlequin Intrigue.” I’ve taken some time off for health reasons, and even though those emails can cause a panic spiral, I appreciate them.
But the ones who have written are always gracious. If someone came at me with the ballhawk’s attitude, that would be a completely different story.
On a side note, I’ve had people ask for me to write a certain character’s story, and it never bothers me–once, it actually inspired a story. One time, however, the character was named after a good friend of mine, and I just COULDN’T write a romance novel starring her. AWKwwwwaaaarrrrd. So I explained that to the reader, and she was very sweet about accepting defeat on that front.
Tracy
Heh– thanks, Tracy. I got the distinct impression that Happy Youngster wasn’t such a popular guy even amongst his own people, given some of the comments I read in the wake of the incident. (I mean, dude, when you’ve got Milwaukee fans coming to the Miami Herald site to apologize for the guy’s behavior…)
I think that’s so key– the underlying tone of the request. So many readers are so polite and so excited for us and our characters and really, it does make me want to get that next book done and as you said, may even make you think about characters whose stories you might not have considered otherwise.
(But not with characters named after good friends! ACK!)
Great post, Barbara! I must say, I am very lucky in that when my readers bug me to “write faster! write faster!” they tend to do it in the most flattering of ways. I love knowing they’re salivating for the next book in a series or even just the next story I write.
But Azteclady is so right about there being other factors involved in writing a book & getting it into the hands of readers. It is NEVER just about the writing. So many other things come up, both writing & non-writing related. There are revisions & copyedits & publishing schedules…there’s writing more than one type of book for more than one publisher & trying to keep up with multiple deadlines…there’s the blogging & promotion & putting out various fires that crop up without warning. Never mind health issues & family obligations & life in general.
We really do try our best & we really do love what we do, but you have to remember that a person can *read* a book a heck of a lot faster than s/he can write one!
Thanks, Heidi!
Hee, so true! I have a friend who was saying she has readers write her on release day and say “I just devoured the book and LOVED it– when’s the next one?”
Talk about a mixed blessing!
I’m a reader, and am completely puzzled by the idea that authors have any kind of obligation to readers at all. An obligation implies some kind of personal relationship, and as much as developing a fan base, or having a loyal readership might work for some authors, the truth is that those usually aren’t real relationships.
I might like an author’s online presence, I might wait eagerly for her next book, I might be very, very disappointed if the next book in a series never materialized, but I’m completely clear on the fact that she owes me nothing at all. My power, if that’s what you want to call it, resides in the fact that I can choose to buy a book. If an author suddenly begins to write complete dreck, I can choose to stop buying the author’s work. The author is under no “obligation” to produce quality work, although she would be wise to do so if she wants to have any kind of career, much less write more quickly.
Exactly this. And hopefully, that the decision as to whether or not to purchase a book lies with the quality of the work the author produces and not with the author themselves. An author can be a giant crank, and I could care less, provided the work is good. (Funny, though, how a male author can be irascible and cranky and misanthropic and it’s generally accepted as part of the author mystique, whereas a female author is somehow supposed to be more pleasant and accessible.)
Now, admittedly, there are some authors whose public persona/presence has done them more harm than good, what with irrational outbursts and such, however, even that’s not enough to completely turn me away from an author unless the outburst has to do with the perceived sanctity of their writing. Anne Rice declaring she didn’t need editing, for example– if I hadn’t quit reading her before that point, that might have done it for me. No writer’s above being edited, period.
Thanks for you comments!
Seems to me, it’s a symbiotic relationship. Without the one, the other doesn’t thrive. A reader without her favorite books would be a sad thing, and a writer without readers is even sadder.
I’ve been the reader desperately jonesing for a next installment. I was never rude to the author, of course, but I would willingly have taken their dog for a walk if it meant getting words on the page faster.
The new barter economy — dog walking, dish washing and laundry in exchange for chapters
Later, I’ll sing for my supper.
Heh– I hear ya, Jessa– I would’ve gone for the barter system in order to get some books a little sooner, but you know, I’d rather have the best possible book, whenever it can happen for the author. Sometimes… as Karen said upthread, you just can’t squeeze the words out, even under the most optimum conditions. I have a lot of friends who’ve convinced themselves that they need their rituals in order to be able to write. They have to have the candles of a particular scent lit, the legal pad has to be fresh, there must be just so many lined index cards available, the right music must be playing, the humidity must be at fifty percent or less and then they can write. Except, they get everything just so and… they can’t. It just happens that way, no matter how much we might wish it weren’t so.
You’re right, of course, that it’s symbiotic, but personally, I think it’s the other way around for me– that the reader without books is potentially the sadder individual. The writer will always have herself as a reader (for better or worse!
).
Luckily, though, the reader never has to be without books, either. It’s just like so many other things, finding that right balance.
I think the business of publishing has pushed some reader expectations to ridiculous lengths. Maybe because I haven’t always been a romance reader, but the idea that authors MUST publish multiple books a year to make it in this business still floors me. But then coming to it as a mystery reader, I sort of “grew up” with the “one book a year” model. I knew I was going to get a new book by my favorites “once a year.” No more, and no less.
Part of it is that romance readers are so voracious. They literally read hundreds of books a year. So the pressure is on authors to make themselves stand out in a crowded market-place. You do that partly by word of mouth, but also if you publish a TON, your name is always going to be smacking the reader in the face every time they’re in the bookstore or library.
The problem is that all writers are different. Some of them are “fast” – and some of them aren’t. Some of them have a day job, and some of them don’t. They’re not robots chained to a desk. And as a reader, it’s painfully easy to spot a writer who is being spread too thin. I’ve read some books by fairly prolific authors that read more like outlines than finished product. I’d rather have less with a higher quality, than more with lesser quality.
I’ve got nuthin’ to say in response other than rock on!
Okay, I lied. I perhaps had more to say.
But this highlights a really important point, I think. Not only does the traditional print model encourage this mindset, but the fact that it was through the romance genre that the e-publishing business really got a foothold encourages this mindset further. It’s possible for an author to have literally, a release every one or two months, further feeding the beast, as it were, so the tolerance for an author who wants to take their time lessens considerably, with whines of “But author X doesn’t take so long to get their books out– it’s not as if you’re writing the Great American Novel or anything.”
(Which, actually, is annoying, in and of itself, because it also feeds into the idea of romance not being Important Enough for an author to take their time to produce the best possible work.
Guess I had lots more to say.
Oh, God, THIS.
It often seems as if the same people from whom we hear the constant refrain, “Give us something DIFFERENT, something BETTER, we expect QUALITY WRITING and ORIGINAL CHARACTERIZATION and STUNNING PLOTS in our genre romance!” are the same ones who insist we pick up the frickin’ pace, already, because it’s not like we’re creating real ART, or anything. After all, it’s “just romance.”
Pick a lane, will ya?
Ooh, I just redlined the Crabby Bitch Meter again, didn’t I? Ten lashes for me a dirty gym sock.
There are a lot of great comments that hit on a lot of my feelings regarding an author or readers sense of entitlement. I only really feel I’m entitled to the next book when they leave me hanging at the end of one. If I don’t know how the story “ends” and I paid for the story – I am owed the ending. How quickly the ending comes out I am not freaked out about, I’ll wait 2 years if I have to.
And, if a publisher pulls out – there still needs to be closure even if it’s self published digitally.
“And, if a publisher pulls out – there still needs to be closure even if it’s self published digitally.”
Sometimes-most times she can’t. There are stipulations in contracts that give the characters/world to the publisher so she would be in breach of contract to write the ending and self publish it.
::And, if a publisher pulls out – there still needs to be closure even if it’s self published digitally.::
And maybe the author has to take on other income-producing projects and doesn’t have the time or energy to produce that book, especially if she’s not likely to make much money on that self-publishing venture.
In the past year or so my husband and I have watched two British TV series that ended abruptly, with no closure at all. One, THE AMAZING MRS. PRITCHARD, was even shown as a Masterpiece Theater, with no warning that the series hadn’t been renewed, and that there would be no resolution to the cliffhanger. Annoying? You bet. But after a day or so of grumbling, we got over it.
Sure, it’s far more expensive for a production company to finish off a series that isn’t pulling in the numbers than, in theory, for an author to write an ending to a series that wasn’t. Except…it isn’t, really.
First off, unless the writer will absolutely expire if she doesn’t get that last book out of her system (and certainly, that is true in some cases), it can be pretty demoralizing to force yourself to spend months on a rejected project. ESPECIALLY if sales weren’t great on its predecessor(s). And believe me, if one’s heart is no longer in the story, it will show, all good intentions to honor your promise to readers notwithstanding.
The fact is, sometimes a writer just has to move on. Unless she has either oodles of time, still believes in the project, and/or has someone else supporting her while she completes something that may only sell a handful of copies, the finish-it-anyway model simply isn’t viable in the real world.
And trust me, as frustrating as an incomplete series is for the reader, it can be a lot more heartbreaking for the author, whose investment in the project far surpasses any individual reader’s.
The fact is, there are no guarantees in any aspect of this business. Certainly not for authors, and not for readers, either. The best any of us can do, when a new book by a fave author is released, is cherish it. Because you never know if it’ll be that author’s last.
This certainly touches a nerve with me since I just went through this exact thing. After the first 2 books of a series, I became ill, and my publishing schedule had to be pushed back a year. I did tell my readers that I was sorry for the delay and would get back on track as soon as I could, and they were overwhelmingly gracious and understanding, for the most part. Or at least the ones who were ticked off with me didn’t email me!! But as my agent says, creating books is not like manufacturing widgets. Health and mood and creativity all must be aligned in order to create a book good enough to deserve to be published, not just one an author “slaps together” to satisfy voracious readers. I’ll never publish a book that I just think is “good enough.”
Never. My readers deserve better than that, even if it takes longer than I (and they) had hoped.
And this week has shown the power of understanding and forgiving readers, at least for me – my wonderful, fabulous, more beautiful and sexy than any other readers (!!) put Atlantis Unleashed on the NYT bestseller list. I am so happy and honored!!
And the wait was so well worth it as the sales and the bestseller lists so heartily attest!
Not to mention, you have a very wise (and generous) agent– while the external geegaws, the candles and mood lighting and music can become crutches, it’s so true that mood and health and creativity have to be in their right and proper places for the magic to happen.
Wow. Very interesting post, Barbara (Alison’s blog pointed me to this). That’s crazy–I’m not big on entitlement, period. As much as I love certain authors’ books, when I say, “Hey, could you please write faster?” I don’t expect them to jump to it! I wouldn’t mind if they did, but they don’t answer only to me! And I get that most writers have many other responsibilities–that’s the real world. If there’s a universe where I can afford to personally pay a writer to have her/him write exclusively for me, then that’s a different story. Until then, I’ll keeping shopping off my extremely long TBB and rereading favorites until their next book comes out…
As you can no doubt tell, neither am I. In fact, my husband jokes that it gets me in a cranky mood much like a cornered badger. It’s a very stifling feeling and makes one want to just go underground and not answer to anyone.
Others have said the same throughout the responses and honestly, it can’t be emphasized enough. There are so many good books and good authors out there. Readers SHOULD be enjoying all that’s out there, because it benefits all of us. The more the publishers sell, the more they have to give in contracts overall and the more books readers have to read. Totally win/win.
Cursingmama said: I only really feel I’m entitled to the next book when they leave me hanging at the end of one. If I don’t know how the story “ends†and I paid for the story – I am owed the ending.
I apologise for picking out this one quote, when others have expressed similar thoughts, but this is exactly the mindframe that confuses me.
Why? When I buy a book there is no implied contract or agreement for anything but that book. The only “story” I bought, and the only one I am entitled to is the one within the pages of that book. I bought it, I read it, and if I enjoyed it and it’s part of a series, I may keep my fingers crossed that the author will write a great sequel, preferably soon, and that a publisher will print it. That’s it. How does the author “owe” me anything? It is definitely frustrating when a favorite series gets dropped. One of my favorite authors, Barbara Hambly, had to sign a contract with a British publishing house to continue her wonderful, critically acclaimed Benjamin January series. So I get how upsetting being left dangling is when you as a reader really want to know what comes next. But, still. “Owed”?
Buying a book, even if it is part of a series, doesn’t entitle the reader to part ownership in the author’s future work. We’re buying books, not shares, and not the inside track on the author’s future output.
That’s a great way of putting it.
If it helps clarify things, I think that I see the story as one product.
My analogy would be that’s it’s the same as if you bought a – ‘Build your own model Titanic’ – magazine in 300 parts (get one piece of the model every fortnight, and within four years you’ve built a scale model of the Titanic!)
Be no good if you bought 62 issues, then the publisher felt his muse had deserted him and started a ‘Build your own Spitfire’ magazine instead.
Obviously, the Titanic publisher may go broke – the readership can’t know they will get the whole ship – but it’s not unreasonable for them to expect that – everything being equal – the publisher will try to complete the series, try to provide them with the entire work.
They’re entitled to feel entitled.
That’s how I see a continuing story: you don’t have to sell a story in installments, but if you do, and I start buying it that way, I’m entitled to expect that you’ll try to complete the series.
I can see that’s a minority opinion, but it’s how I feel.
I’ve read the series George RR is writing and each book is over 1,000 pages. That’s a finished draft -which means he may have written 8,000 during rewrites or edits. In Fantasy he has Kingdoms, tons of characters (followed in the first 3-4 books) and an ongoing complex plot threads.
That doesn’t count the weapons, clothing, food, everything else he invented from the start and keeps inventing with each of the complex parts of the books/characters/on going. To me, it’s much easier to write two characters in an era I know or research, or even 10 characters – who show up in a series set in modern day, where I don’t have to remember what I invented in the last books.
So, lol, for George’s sake, I hope the reader gets a clue as to how a fantasy series comes together in the firstdrafts/final book, and how complicated it is and time consuming to carefully follow plot threads weaved through one book of multi kingdoms and characters, let alone the progression of three.
Having said all of that, other points, writing a series is different and more time consuming than writing stand alone (keeping up with time/plot progression of characters) Drafts go through a lot of slash and burn before anyone sees a book (
writers are suppose to make it look easy so when you pick it up, it looks like that’s all they wrote, just those pages and passages.)
I’ve written 2nd and 3rd and odd character take off’s for readers, but I didn’t find it easy or a fast process, and I’m a fast writer. I still question it, everytime I do it. But don’t we writers do that with every book (grin)
The other thing is expectation, if you take away the part about what goes on with writing the story before the book is in the final package–You have readers who are awesome and just like your books and buy them, or don’t like them and won’t. And you have people, whom I am not sure we’d call our readers anyway, who demand a lot from writers, as in everything free, and every story written pretty much like the first book, first characters they enjoyed, all sorts of things. I’ve come to the conclusion that a writer’s job is to write the best book they can, in whatever genre, hopefully something they enjoyed doing instead of feeling they had to The rest is a crap shoot so far as who will buy you, who will read everything you write or love it, or whatever.
It is flattering when readers get into your books, into those characters you love too, and if a writer can give the reader more, great. If they cannot, a reader who leaves them because of it (and the different reasons why you can’t may vary) isn’t going to dig everything you write anyway, and that’s okay. They have that choice. You cannot control that.
I think the difference is when there is some public spewing at the author, or some subtle revenge going on–and that bespeaks a person who has issues beyond people who read and enjoy books. It is not a person you could ever satisfy, unless you want someone to dictate to you or else. Who can write under that kind of pressure?
Ever author has to find some relationship with readers that is comfortable, and some authors are not good or at ease with any kind of communication–outside speaking about the story only–some are everywhere, all the time
chatting with them.
I still recall when I all I knew about my fav authors was on the book jacket with a black and white photo. However, times have changed and I am…um…older than some readers.
Authors, who are not rich and famous, don’t have a PR team or someone to filter for them, have to do the line drawing themselves and separate in some sense, the book readers loved to read, from themselves. You are going to have all sorts of uncomfortable situations and pressures. You are going have people who don’t understand the process and what writing a story takes. Most readers I think, do understand. But decide how you are going to handle those who don’t in a cool way, because it is likely going to be a reality, like freebies and everything else a writer sometimes has to explain. (We gotta eat and we pay for those freebies) writing freebies takes as much time and research as writing a book for market yada yada…
I have written 30 plus books/stories (various pen names) and some of them made 300 pages in a month first draft, but I have been writing on a fantasy and UF’s for three years and I am nowhere near ready to submit those. The guy who dissed George scares the crap out of me
I have 8 notebooks of nothing but world building; characters and such- I cannot imagine trying to crank out a mega fantasy with a cast of 200 in a single year (finished product that is)
Many of us who have been around awhile are still getting used to the instant access and daily reader/author interaction. I still remind myself to go write, that is my job. I accommodate when I can, and when I can’t I try and give the reason why. Then go work on what I am due to work on, editing or something else.
As a reader, I wait for a book I want, but I read around 30 authors so I never mind waiting and I discover new writers sometimes between books. My hubby waited over 10 years for Donaldson’s final Fantasy in a series he began reading in 79-(as did I later) and it finished up in 2008. I bought him book 3 when we were newly wed and he was 20 something, I got to buy him the final book when he turned 50, so how cool is that.
Maybe writers need to talk more up front about the process and about the reality of their profession/ time/ the job/ the avg writer vs someone with best sellers and a big income/ all the time in the world. It can’t hurt to do so in an informative tone. Writers can sound resentful, lol. But much of that may be a simple lack of giving readers an idea of all sides of what writing a book and making a living at this is like.
s’cuse any type-o’s, I’ve been editing 9 hrs
Happy reading, all. Eve.
You are brilliant, you know. I was thinking this exact stuff when I read Gaiman’s post. THANK YOU for writing this.
Thank you, babe, although I don’t know about that brilliant stuff. I was just riffing on the craziness of baseball and Neil’s brilliance.
BTW, did you see his post where he accidentally walked in on a couple doing the wild thing in the hotel room he’d been given the key for?
WHOOPS. Now there’s a story.
Off to find that one now!
It was on Twitter, actually– this is what he wrote:
Can you IMAGINE?
I can imagine running evey time I thought I saw them. But it still makes me laugh. Cuddling rythmically…that’s good.
Having never been to Neil’s site can you post a link to that story? Thanks
Lindsey, it was linked within my post, but here it is again: Neil Gaiman on entitlement.
Just because nobody has said it, I think I should say that I don’t think the average reader has ANY IDEA how much work it takes to produce a book – especially in comparison to how long it takes to read. They certainly don’t have any perception of the vagaries and long-windedness of the industry. Many don’t believe it, even when informed. Honestly, compared to many industries, publishing seems insane and to march to a whole different set of drums. This probably influences reader impatience, if they are impatient.
I think we can all agree that people wanting more of your work is flattering. But there is no contractual relationship between author and reader. REaders can hope, expect and ask, but just like with anything else, sometimes they will be disappointed. (and perhaps especially if the product is a creative and subjective one) If they can’t cope with that, I think the issue is a societal one, as Barbara said. It’s not just, or even mostly, about books, as her baseball analogy shows.
We seem to think now that just because we want it, someone should provide. Once upon a time, this attitude was a phase kids went through (around about 4!) but they came out the other side because their parents taught them that rewards come to those who work for them and that life (and other people) doesn’t actually owe you anything. But it seems now that people are making it to adulthood never having heard the word ‘no’. The result is adults who have tantrums when they are denied – regardless of the validity of the reason.
I think it cuts both ways. If you know that people are expecting or hoping for a delivery from you, it is polite to let them know if and when they can expect it, and to update them if something changes. (Assuming you have a presence that allows you to do that, such as a website or blog.) It’s also sensible, if you want to keep those readers as potential future sales. But in the case of books, it is just a courtesy. If it turns out that it can’t be delivered at all, I as the reader have to just accept that and move on. Flinging my weight around as though I have any say in the matter is ridiculous as well as rude.
At least, it seems so to me. After all, as someone else said, it’s not as though there isn’t anything else to read!
I find it interesting that every time a writer posts about this readerly sense of entitlement, fans pop up explaining exactly why they’re entitled after all.
@Marianne: “you don’t have to sell a story in installments”. Actually, if you knew anything at all about publishing, you’d realise that you do.
And while there are plenty of circumstances beyond the control of the writer, that’s dangerously close to an excuse for something that requires no excuse. The reader deserves that the writer writes the best thing they can write each time, and nothing more. The reader is entitled to the book they paid for, the writer’s best effort and their own opinion as long as they don’t insist it’s some kind of natural law.