We interrupt the regularly scheduled Coffee & Convo interviews for an important message from Lili Tufel.
I was watching the post game interview with my husband last night. The Miami Heat suffered a terrible loss but that’s not why I interrupted Coffee & Convo, don’t worry.
The Dallas Mavericks coach got a technical foul during the game for arguing with the referee. At the post game interview he was asked about it. He responded saying that he will always stand up for his guys no matter what. If he gets a technical for it now and then, oh well.
I want to start by saying that I have made some terrific friendships in the Indie writing community and I feel like these are my “guys (and gals).” Not that I coach them in any way but that they are my friends and I will stand up for them.
I recently read a blog post that has been resonating in my mind for a few days and today I am going to post my response. I have to respond even if it gets me a technical foul, so to speak.
I've been following this Literary Agent’s blog for over a year. I have the utmost respect for her and in no way has my feeling changed.
She wrote a post titled, “What About the Readers?” See the entire post here.
She wrote:
“Traditional publishers, for all the complaints against them, have been serving the reader for decades. In their gatekeeper role, they’ve tried to publish only those books they believe the readers will buy and appreciate.”
My response is one word: SNOOKI
For those of you who don’t know, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi wrote a book called A Shore Thing. Google it. Apparently the “gatekeepers” think it’s well worth your time. And boy, since Snooki’s book was placed at the entrance to all my local bookstores, those “gatekeepers” really think it’s a must read! (I’m being sarcastic by the way.)
But I didn’t interrupt Coffee & Convo for this, no.
Here’s what stopped the press with a big ol’ SAY WHAT? I honestly did a double take on this one.
She wrote:
“Who will serve the reader now? Who amongst us has the reader’s best interest in mind, rather than the writer’s? Who will help readers identify “good books”? Who’s going to tell us which books represent excellence in the use of language and in the expression of stories and ideas? I believe most readers still want this kind of assurance and gatekeeping—they have neither the time nor the inclination (or even the skill) to do it themselves.
Who’s going to successfully identify what readers really want, and figure out how to give it to them?”
Who’s going to successfully identify what readers really want, and figure out how to give it to them?”
My response:
Am I a two year old? Am I not capable of downloading a sample and determining, “Uh, this is crap,” and putting the book down myself? I don’t want to bring politics into this but that whole--publishers being the gatekeeper for the reader--idea is a bit questionable. I've only seen the term gatekeeper being used toward Literary Agents. Here is a healthy idea of Literary Agents being gatekeepers. Readers having gatekeepers between them and the books that could possibly impact their lives is what I like to call censorship! And censorship because of bad prose or a few missing commas!!
Did she say readers (that would be you and me) don’t have the SKILL? SAY WHAT? What type of skill exactly am I lacking in the capacity to choose between what I like and enjoy and what I think is crap? Am I the only one that sees the wrong in that statement?
Please, please comment and let me know your thoughts. Hey if I’m wrong, tell me. I’m not afraid to admit that I misunderstood and that I’m wrong.
Lili Tufel
