Thinking: A Dangerous Occupation

Photo by Janetmck (So much love!)

My life has been one strange swirl of riot grrl theory, comic books, and daily writing, and the culmination of such. Dakota Lane, who is awesome, sent me a couple of books as a thank you for the writeup on BUST. It made me think of her, of Zoe Trope, and the book-lover culture online.

Why do we revere some authors and shun others? There seems to be this undertone of resentment for young authors, or ones that write a bit too close to home, like Zoe did. Instead of seeing a rich memoir, one of the first that dared to speak of post modern sexuality, readers screamed that she had the audacity to publish her LiveJournal (not true), and how could she get a book deal and not them?

The industry goes like this: hopeful author shops their book around, and if they're lucky, they get an agent. If the agent's lucky, they get a sale. If the publisher's lucky, they have a new author for the roster. If the author doesn't get enough sales, then they're out on their luck. Of course, there are other factors--who you know, what's hot, how fast they can get it out, whether you'll bargain your soul or not, and so on and so forth.

Point being, I can understand animosity when it comes to celebrity authors, but the rest of us mortal folk went through the same sweat, blood, and tears to get our babies an ISBN of their own. Don't hate your sisters and brothers in the writing world, sale or no sale--we really are all in this together, till the business model changes.

I genuinely love books and authors, and this blog is my labor of love. If I've gained so much pleasure and knowledge from the things I've read, I feel it's only fair I share that with others, so that the authors gain another devoted reader, so that bibliophiles gain a new favorite to quote on their Facebook and pass on to their best friends and giggle over an iced chai--an ourobouros of book love, if you will. It tastes like a new, delicious turn of phrase you can't stop running through your head, smells like the paperbacks of your youth, and fits easily into a messenger bag.

Embrace the book love, and support your local author. Who knows, they might do you a favor someday. :D