[Prestidigitweeze]

Wow, I must not be making myself clear. The idea wasn't that writers hated their fans (though I've known some who did). It was that everything would go horribly wrong if an author interacted with fans and bookstore owners directly instead of having someone else set it up. Same with pitching a novel to publishers. All of it was supposed to be done by Others. A lot of writers still say it's easier to get a book deal than a shark (a beneficially pushy agent), the idea being that the deal might be bad and book might die, but a hungry agent will ensure you a better deal and greater recognition.

For all I know, these ideas might have originated with agents who wanted writers to be disproportionately docile, grateful and dependent.