Excellent rant by Tim Egan in the New York Times. He is a writer’s writer.
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Excellent rant by Tim Egan in the New York Times. He is a writer’s writer.
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Thanks for the link. I read the article, and it has raised some questions for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a link to comment to Mr. Egan directly.
Does the problem lay with Joe who has decided to write a book, or does the problem lay with us as a society that will buy a book written (or supposedly written) by someone who has had his 15 minutes of fame? It’s not likely I’ll be buying the book (if it ever gets written), but there must be a market for it, or he wouldn’t be getting this attention.
Who is to say a person must be a good citizen in order to write a book, or that a plumber (famous or not), doesn’t have a voice that readers will like to hear? I’m an engineer by trade, and enjoy writing on a daily basis. I don’t think I’d appreciate someone telling me that since they don’t butt into my electrical systems, I shouldn’t butt into their publishing world. What a limiting world it would be.
Thanks for the link. I read the article, and it has raised some questions for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a link to comment to Mr. Egan directly.
Does the problem lay with Joe who has decided to write a book, or does the problem lay with us as a society that will buy a book written (or supposedly written) by someone who has had his 15 minutes of fame? It’s not likely I’ll be buying the book (if it ever gets written), but there must be a market for it, or he wouldn’t be getting this attention.
Who is to say a person must be a good citizen in order to write a book, or that a plumber (famous or not), doesn’t have a voice that readers will like to hear? I’m an engineer by trade, and enjoy writing on a daily basis. I don’t think I’d appreciate someone telling me that since they don’t butt into my electrical systems, I shouldn’t butt into their publishing world. What a limiting world it would be.
I believe the issue is that folks with their 15-minutes of fame are trying desperately to cash in. It’s sort of how reality show is viewed by actors. If Joe the Plumber was a well-spoken person who had a fascinating story with how he influenced the campaign or how he viewed the world even, I’m sure it would be a good read. In this case, I don’t believe that is the case.
I agree that part of the issue is that this kind of “entertainment” reaches out to the lowest common denominator of people and there is an audience. It’s a big flash of income and then it’ll be on the bargain table with people wondering who that is. I’m kind of a cynic though. As much as I love great art and creativity, publishing is still a business and it will chase the dollar to stay afloat. Sometimes, it’s hard to stay focused on quality when the sparkle of money is so blinding.
Agree or disagree, it is an op/ed piece so I think it’s a well-written article that make his point. I happen to agree and may have forwarded the piece to a few friends. I may disagree with his examples of good and great literature, but that’s a different issue. 🙂
I believe the issue is that folks with their 15-minutes of fame are trying desperately to cash in. It’s sort of how reality show is viewed by actors. If Joe the Plumber was a well-spoken person who had a fascinating story with how he influenced the campaign or how he viewed the world even, I’m sure it would be a good read. In this case, I don’t believe that is the case.
I agree that part of the issue is that this kind of “entertainment” reaches out to the lowest common denominator of people and there is an audience. It’s a big flash of income and then it’ll be on the bargain table with people wondering who that is. I’m kind of a cynic though. As much as I love great art and creativity, publishing is still a business and it will chase the dollar to stay afloat. Sometimes, it’s hard to stay focused on quality when the sparkle of money is so blinding.
Agree or disagree, it is an op/ed piece so I think it’s a well-written article that make his point. I happen to agree and may have forwarded the piece to a few friends. I may disagree with his examples of good and great literature, but that’s a different issue. 🙂
Thanks so much for posting this, Susan. I can understand it perfectly, but I could not even come close to writing so clearly. He has the same opinion about Sarah Palin’s verbiage that I have. However, I would have written just one (unacceptable) word to describe it– BULLSHIT!–.
Thanks so much for posting this, Susan. I can understand it perfectly, but I could not even come close to writing so clearly. He has the same opinion about Sarah Palin’s verbiage that I have. However, I would have written just one (unacceptable) word to describe it– BULLSHIT!–.