[Worldwalker]

And for a lot of folks, admitting they could use the help may be the biggest barrier to seeking it. I used to peek in on various writers forums, and it became clear quickly that what the majority of posters wanted wasn't actual advice. They wanted to be told how great their writing was, and reacted badly to any suggestions for improvement.

Aside from various things I'm working on for eventual publication, I am a *whispers* fanfic writer. *ducks* Classic TV fanfic, to be exact. Please don't hurt me! Anyway, I'm a bit weird in that field because I write meticulously-researched stories based on shows that just made stuff up whenever they felt like it, and write in the spirit and style of the original show (except less hokey) as opposed to the overwhelming majority of my cohorts who just use canon as a hook to hang their teenage romance story on. But that's another rant entirely. The reason I'm admitting to this at all, knowing the contempt most people feel for my hobby, is the matter of authors' attitudes.

The typical fanfic writer has the mentality of a teenage girl, with or without the physical actuality. Elements of this include writing solely for self-pleasure, intolerance of criticism of any type, ascribing any negative reactions to "jealousy" or "hate", and a belief that it is not the author's job to make the story and its message (if any) understandable, but rather the reader's job to figure it out. The people in question also reject any suggestions for improvement, including the use of a beta-reader, or even a proofreader. (for those unfamiliar with the term, in fanfic a beta-reader ranges from a friend who dares tell you "this just doesn't work" to essentially an amateur editor; I'm lucky enough to have a pro who's slumming as my regular beta) The usual reason given for this refusal to accept any criticism or editing is that the writer does not want someone else spoiling or taking over the story, or that nobody else is qualified to comment on it. They don't want to learn how to write better. They want to be told they are already great. There are entire fanfic sites whose rules explicitly prohibit anything but praise.

This is starting to sound familiar, isn't it? That syndrome is most certainly not exclusive to fanfic writers. Not even to amateur writers. But there is certainly a strong streak of it among one segment of the community of self-published authors. They're the ones whose book is what it is because it's something they want to write, not because it's something anyone else wants to read. When you see someone saying they chose not to go the traditional publishing route because a publisher might change, or demand changes in, something they wrote, that's what you're looking at. It's someone whose goal is to admire their own words on the page, not to sell as many books as possible. In short, they're someone who is trying to be a professional author (and an adult) while functioning under the mentality of a teenage fanfic writer.

I'm led to think of Harry Chapin's song "Mr. Tanner", in which a man whose friends incessantly praise his singing, and push him to turn pro, is crushed when he finds out that he is not as good as his friends have told him. I'm also reminded of a self-published book called "Circle's" which may possibly be the worst science fiction novel ever written. No, I am not exaggerating; read its Amazon reviews. No doubt the author's family and friends praised her writing and told her she should be published. Also, no doubt some unfortunate slushpile reader got through about three pages before he grabbed for the nearest bottle of strong drink (or brain bleach). As I understand it, the author believes the publishing world has rejected her book because it is too good, and its message (a mishmash of UFO conspiracy theories) is too revolutionary or dangerous. The truth, of course -- the truth she will do anything to deny to herself -- is that the book really, really, really sucks. A skilled editor might improve it to merely appallingly bad. However, it's clear that not so much as a proofreader has come between the author and the printed page. Nobody at the vanity press even pointed out that even the title is grammatically incorrect (either that, or she didn't listen). Nobody is such a good writer that their writing can't be improved by some outside input. People who believe otherwise write "Circle's" ... or "A Pickle For the Knowing Ones".

So to everyone out there who thinks they're a writer: If you think you don't need an editor, you're no better than a teenage girl writing bad fanfic. If that's what you want, more power to you ... but don't be surprised when the market, realizing they can get bad fanfic by the terabyte for free, doesn't want to buy your book.