Well, if you all were here yesterday, you know that our
Lizzie kinda got blindsided by a couple of commenters when she posted a blog about
ghostwriting romance. Now, she was asking a perfectly innocent question of the blogosphere: Why would publishers hire ghostwriters to do what so many
writers are doing already? Why indeed? Personally, I thought it was legitimate
subject for discussion. Apparently, some ghostwriters took offense, which
shocked the dickens out of all us wranglers because offending someone is never,
ever part of the plan when we blog.
I'm bugged that Liz's innocent question raised ire among some
ghostwriters--that's too bad because that got in the way of having a
legitimate discussion about why publishers would hire ghostwriters to write for them when
they have so many opportunities to help new authors build their careers. Publishers keep telling us they want something new and different and I can tell you, often when you offer them something new and different, like older characters, for instance, they reject it and claim they can't sell it.
We're all struggling here to find our niche in the romance genres--we’re a group of six romance authors, all at different stages in our writing careers—some of us are published traditionally, others are indie pubbed, and a couple of us are hybrid authors (both traditional and indie pubbed). But no matter what route we’ve taken to get our novels out to the public, we’re all in accord about respecting one another’s choices and process. I think we can all agree that all working writers deserves kudos for the hard work they put into their careers, especially romance writers!
We're all struggling here to find our niche in the romance genres--we’re a group of six romance authors, all at different stages in our writing careers—some of us are published traditionally, others are indie pubbed, and a couple of us are hybrid authors (both traditional and indie pubbed). But no matter what route we’ve taken to get our novels out to the public, we’re all in accord about respecting one another’s choices and process. I think we can all agree that all working writers deserves kudos for the hard work they put into their careers, especially romance writers!
We Wranglers sure love it when people visit the blog and we
love it when you leave comments, so always feel free to give us your thoughts
and ideas. We welcome opinions, even if they differ from our own, but we are
never mean and disrespectful, and we ask our commenters to be kind as well. It's tough out there in the blogosphere--we should all take care of one another.
Thanks and have great day!
Thanks for having my back, Nan. I did expect some controversy, but thought it would be more civil. As writers, we like--I think--to incite emotion in people, but I don't want pain to go along with it.
ReplyDeleteAlways got your back, mon amie!
DeleteBoy, we sure got a wallop of nastiness yesterday, didn't we? Fun times! Once you can step back so it's not a personal attack, it was exceedingly humorous the amount of vitriol and self-righteous indignation from the commenters who were so "offended" that they proceeded to belittle every non-ghostwriter writer out there! To them, I say "Thou doth protest too much."
ReplyDeleteExactly, Ava!! ;-)
DeleteYou said it so well, Nan! The anger surprised me, too...and I still think it's a legitimate question and I'm still pondering the why of it all.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to actually discuss the question at some point--no one really answered it, although I'm kinda convinced that for publishers, it's all about the money...
Delete*sputters speechlessly*
ReplyDeleteWow. WOW. I didn't think Liz was being disrespectful AT ALL.
Just goes to show that what shows up in print can be taken so out of context when you don't 'hear' the voice behind it.
On the other hand, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has accidentally offended someone simply because either the sarcasm/humor/innocent intent didn't come across.
Thanks for your support, Molly--we were all sorta floored by the vitriol...totally unexpected.
DeleteI get dozens of emails for blogs every day. Some I read - some I don't. If I come across one I don't agree with I close it and move on. I don't stop to spit venom at the host. That's what I consider 'taking the high road'.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Liz'z post - it was well written and thought provoking. Not disrespectful in the least. I feel horrible that she was treated so badly.
Some folks ignore the high road, Sandra--but Liz made it through and the Wranglers always prevail, so we're good here. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThere are those who would be 'right', no matter the cost. That's what I don't understand these days...it used to be 'if you can't say something nice, don't say anything'. Now it's more like 'I'm going to shove my opinion down your throat until you admit you're wrong and I'm right'.
DeleteWhere. The. HELL did this mentality come from? Do we now feel so *safe* behind our computers that we don't give a sh*t about anyone's feelings anymore? Okay....think I've found a new blog topic.
I thought it was a good question from Liz. To me it was eye opening because I did not know that there were romance ghostwriters. I was surprised at the vehement response from some. As a follower of blogs I tend to post comments that are encouraging or inquiring. Great question, Liz and wonderful follow up, Nan.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is exactly why she was asking the question--because so many of us didn't know that romance novels were being ghostwritten... we still need to talk about that, don't we? Thanks, Carolyn!
DeleteI had no idea there were romance ghostwriters either. I'm guessing the publishers have a business reason for this, as in it makes them money. I hope they're fair with their authors.
ReplyDelete