Cynicism

Nice analysis on slushpile.net on the effect scandals like MehtaPhor, the Frey Imbroglio, and other brouhahas have on aspiring writers. He concludes:

But when the publishing industry is forced into a situation where they take it on faith that someone had root canals with no Novacain and where they think it's a good idea to give a 17-year-old half-a-million dollars for a book that isn't finished yet and is being handled by a "packager," is it any wonder if Writer X doesn't believe his work can find a way?

This harks back to a discussion I had with my writing group partner (our "group" presently consists of me and her) last year. We were talking about writing conferences and the hopeful people who go to them and wondering why there are so many people in what Harper's infamously termed* "the creative writing gulag." My theory was that people are treating the publishing industry like a lottery. When they hear of deals like the half million given to a 17 year old, or the "high six figure" book deals thrown at mediocre thriller writers like Karin Slaughter, you think "Shit, this is not about talent or craft, this is about capturing the zeitgeist and luck and who you know."

Perhaps such people should turn to the Frustrated Amateur Writers Network.

* The full title of Lynn Freed's piece in the July 2005 Harper's was "Doing Time: My Years in the Creative Writing Gulag," but Freed subsequently revealed that the subtitle was Harper's addition and not part of her title.