I’ve been seeing a lot of gatekeeping how authors show up (and how they consider others) and I think I need to write about it. I’m seeing a lot of shitty, dehumanising takes.
Not caring about content warnings, telling people they can’t ever post anything “negative” ever, not to talk about media (eg other books) you’ve enjoyed…
So much of this “must do advice” feels utterly soulless to me.
Respecting that people share in the way they want to is one thing, demanding that others share in the exact same way as you is not the correct take.
Encouraging people to respect boundaries, to think about the good of the community, to consider viewpoints that aren’t their own … that is the way to go about this. Support people to find THEIR right way. Their boundaries, not yours.
The guise of professionalism needs it’s own blog post, but when you say things like “complaining is unprofessional”, consider equity before you speak. Raising things like accessibility and inclusion is often see as “complaining” by those who aren’t yet impacted by it. But accessibility and inclusion are often systemic issues that need fixing, as well as issues that can often be fixed quite easily.
It sounds like so many people are in love with the chase of (or maybe perception of) power and benefits of being an author well and above the actual craft. And I guess that’s ok – but be honest with yourself about what you are chasing.
It’s up to you if you want to be a brand before a human but that’s never going to be my choice. It’s not incorrect if you want to make that choice but stop claiming there’s one right way to do “being an author”, because there’s rarely one right way to do anything.
