Grr. Argh.

[megwrites]

Since when the hell did aspiring authors become the whipping boys and girls of the writing world? Because apparently it's okay to treat us the way bullies treat high school freshmen. Complete with derisive comments and stereotyped generalization. Because we're not people or anything like that. Not at all.

For instance, did you know that all aspiring writers hate Harry Potter and Twilight? They're jealous and just like to tear down wonderful published authors and their completely flawless works for no good reason. Because there could never be any legitimate criticism of such books. Never.

Not to mention the many agents who apparently regard us in the same way one would regard bubblegum on the bottom of one's shoe. It's so nice to know that dealing with us and our queries and manuscripts is so unpleasant that it is the bane of an agent's existence and makes their lives nearly unbearable.

Sarcasm aside, I'm getting a bit tired of this. What exactly would these folks like me to do? Stop aspiring? Because I refuse to stop trying and I can't get published any faster than I'm trying to. You can't just pop out of the womb with a publishing deal in hand. You have to aspire and write in order to get one. So, to sum up: Fuck you, I'm an anteater aspiring writer.

Comments

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

Please take this as the light, witty and silly humor it is intended to be (because I do know how frustrating the process of trying to write for publication is, I really do):

Don't worry, published writers are treated the exact same way -- it's just not discussed as often!

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Trying to break in is frustrating in and of itself, but it becomes more difficult, I think, after reading the things that others say about aspiring writers.

We all seem to be lumped into the same category, even though we're all very different animals.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

We all seem to be lumped into the same category, even though we're all very different animals.

I know. And I hate that when one person does something stupid in sending a query that suddenly all first timers or aspiring authors are guilty of the same, even though many of us do our absolute best to follow all the submission guidelines and read fifty bajillion How To guides before we even write our queries.

[lilacfield.livejournal.com]

I personally like the HP books. If nothing else, Rowling is a great storyteller, and the way I'm going now, telling an engaging story might be the skill I need most.
Er, as you were.

[fashionista-35.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the many agents who apparently regard us in the same way one would regard bubblegum on the bottom of one's shoe. It's so nice to know that dealing with us and our queries and manuscripts is so unpleasant that it is the bane of an agent's existence and makes their lives nearly unbearable.

This is why I hate, hate, hate the sheep mentality that arises via Twitter and blogs and the like. Too often, agents have complained about writers spending time on social networking sites when they should be working, I say the same for agents who spend time on social networking sites.

And that blog post was so wrong, it had a wrong sauce on the side with wrong sprinkles on top. Published authors bitch every bit as much, it's just that not many of them do it publicly because of the "nice girl" syndrome. No one wants to be perceived as stomping on someone else's success or God forbid, have it seen as sour grapes. To which, you know, I tend to call bullshit.

I can't stand the Twilight books. They're flat out not well-written and the message they contain, however unintentional it might have been, is execrable. I especially despise the community that has sprung up around the books, because of the closed-mindedness that doesn't allow for any critique. However, I'm one of the few who actually says so publicly. I have a friend of mine who hates far more books than I do, but she'll never say that she dislikes a book publicly because as she puts it, "We know better than anyone else how much work goes into writing a book-- I'm not going to stomp on anyone's work."

Frankly, what the hell does Steph Meyer care if I like her book or not? She's laughing all the way to the bank and I have my opinion and the sense of comfort of knowing that I'm not perpetuating the sheep mentality.

With the HP books, they're certainly more well-written, but even the last three books could have been edited a bit better.