Quote:
Originally Posted by FizzyWater
I keep coming back to this statement. It stunned me. It's so hard for me to believe that any true book-lover considers authors as people not deserving respect or as dead-beat "sponges". The ability to entertain well is a wonderful gift.
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Yes, I realize how strange it sounds to say such a thing. I didn't mean to suggest that
no one thought highly of authors; but the impression I get from most people is that they feel authors, like other artists, are trying to dodge "real work"... the "Money for Nothing" attitude; we are wanna-be celebrities and A-listers. We are the "Who is this guy, and why don't they interview Brad Pitt?" guys on The Daily Show and Oprah. (Somehow, the authors who actually become celebrities and A-listers, the Kings and Rowlings and Clancys, are mostly removed from this attitude. Don't ask me how that works.)
And of the lesser population that actually reads, even some "book lovers" think nothing of pulling books off of a pirate site, leaving the author receiving nothing for their work... what kind of respect is that?
Americans respect books they love. Authors are simply attached to those books, and get recognition based on popularity of their books. Book isn't popular? You're nobody, the work you put into that book was wasted. I've written a dozen books. My friends who know I've written but haven't read my books couldn't give a $#!+ about the effort and accomplishment of my being an author.
I should say that this is an attitude I read
in the United States in general, it is my subjective impression (I may just hang out in the wrong places), and I don't assume that other countries are like this.