I’ve debated blogging about this,
because it got under my skin. Or through my thick skin, either way, this
experience really made me angry.
Now don’t get me wrong, I get mad
at stuff all the time. I don’t have a particularly legendary temper or anything
like that, but between my OCD and common sense, I tend to get irked over, shall
we say, little things.
I’ve been writing for something
like ten years. I lost count a long time ago and have never bothered to really
figure it out. Or if I did, I put it in a blog post and forgot about it. If you
find it for me, you get a prize! Maybe.
Anyway, I digress, back to the
thick skin. I’ve been writing for a long time, and I’ve been through some
really tough critiques, both amateur and professional. There is a decent pile
of rejection letters from publishers and agents somewhere in my house, and I’ve
spent a ton of money on writing conferences and workshops. So I’m not a rookie.
A couple of weeks ago I attended
a little writing workshop. The information was fantastic and the people there
were great. I learned a lot and would have glowing reviews to tell you about,
if not for one thing.
I got up the nerve to go talk to
a librarian.
In general, I have no qualm with
librarians, they’re awesome people who helped me find all sorts of great books
as a kid. They work hard and know things that not even Google can find. Am I
right?
This woman has her debut novel
coming out early next year, which is great. I figured we could chat because we’re
both authors. I figured we could talk shop. So I walked over and asked if I
could ask her a few questions about librarians and books. We chatted for a few
minutes, and I asked her the best way to get your book into libraries. She’d
already said that they usually carry local authors, so I figured I was on safe
ground.
Nope. Not really. She became a little
closed off and asked who my publisher was.
Let me break in here and say that
yes, my novel, New Sight, came out
through a small publisher. To make a long story short, it felt right to me like
only a few things before in my life have. Done.
Well, this woman’s face literally
went from a friendly expression into a condescending sneer. She looked down her
nose at me (she’s tall, I’m short) and said, “I’m wary of small publishers. You
can bring me an Advanced Reader Copy and I will try to look it over.”
Her reaction totally turned me
off. Good thing the meat of the workshop was over, because I let that boil in
my head for about an hour before I left.
Everyone else in the industry
that I’ve spoken to or gotten to know is happy that I have a book published.
Two books, if you count Babes in Spyland. This is probably an isolated incident, and I
probably caught her on a bad day, but seriously, who is she to scorn me for the
route I’ve chosen for my novel?
Grrr…I’m still a little worked up
about it. I can take criticism for my writing—believe me, it’s far from perfect—and
I love it when people give me helpful advise. But I have never before been
looked at like a second class citizen.
I’m still not sure what to make
of it or do about it. Do I send her a copy of my book? Do I forget the whole
thing?
Well, I do have one plan, write a
kick a** book that blows hers out of the water. Er, I mean, I’ll write the best
story I know how. And maybe shoot her a dirty look at some point when I have a
movie deal and she doesn’t.
See, I feel bad even saying that,
because as a fellow author, I want her to succeed. Curse my mother for teaching
me manners.
3 comments:
I vote that her little library doesn't deserve your awesome book. And she wants an ARC--a freebie for her library. Whatever.
This "Miss Librarian" will find that what goes around, comes around. You are very awesome person with great talent! I need to get your books with your signature too! Keep up your great work!
Wow! It looks like you found a literature snob. I'd ignore her little 'slice of paradise' like the plague if you can. A good story is a good regardless of its path to publication.
And I've never met another author who was instantly dismissmissive of someone's work. They're always supportive. Well... I have met one jerk, but he picked his nose and ate it, so his opinion didn't carry much weight.
Write on!
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