I can’t imagine why anyone reads books by the well-known adulterer Charles Dickens or that spiteful gossip Jane Austen (no wonder Cassandra burned most of the letters).
Yet I frequently hear, particularly from other romance writers, “Oh, I don’t like Author X. I’m not reading her books.” And it always puzzles me. Sure, not buying an author’s book will deprive her of the few pennies of royalties she might earn through your purchasee. Of course, that begs the question of whether it would be morally responsible to borrow said book from the library, read it illicitly in a couple of expensive java visits at your local Borders, or pay a quarter for a copy at the thriftstore. A further ethical question might be raised if you enjoyed the book—oh horrors—what then? Does it mean you, the reader, are tarred with the same brush, or, rather like earnest clerics researching pornography, corrupted without even knowing it? Chances are you might flip it closed with the satisfaction that Author X is indeed confirmed as a Bad Person—”I knew it when the heroine’s kitten drowned and that sweet lisping child fell into the midden”—and feel your point is proved.
Part of the trouble is there’s just too much information on romance authors. And it’s our own fault. We’re all over the place, chatting away on blogs and websites, and thinning the line between promotion of our books and promotion of ourselves, just being just so darned nice all the time. And if that niceness slips into real opinions and passions, it may raise some hackles. I’m not excusing bad author behavior or authors who are rude to people in public (I think most of us have had experience with those), but it seems you can get away with a lot more as a dead literary lion (most of whom were not Boy Scouts in real life) than as a live genre writer.
Is good writing good writing—whatever?
Janet
I do believe there is something that is “good writing”. Unfortunately no one can agree on what it is. But as far as reading choices, some writing that I recognize as “good” still doesn’t personally appeal to me.
When I meet authors in person or online, they usually seem like pretty nice people: basically good citizens, kind to dogs, children and old people. That tells me nothing about whether their work is “good” and less about whether I’d like it.
The thing that does sway me is if our conversation goes beyond the basic. If the author has passion for a subject that interests me, similar interests or an interesting take on life, I’m likely to enjoy her books.
And I don’t mind strong opinions that don’t match mine. To a degree. If, say, an author said something racist or otherwise intolerant, I doubt I’d enjoy her books, no matter how well written. We can’t help infusing some of our attitudes into our stories.
And if an author seems as if she might be unkind to dogs, children or old people (or fellow authors) I figure it’s not worth spending the time reading her books when my TBR pile is staggering already.
Elena
I think good writing is a priori good writing (oh, I love Kant!).
That said, there are a few authors I dislike–because of their online presence–whose writing I do like. I get their books from the library.
Because being a great artist sometimes means being a great jerk, too. The movie Capote reminded me of that just recently–could Capote have gotten that story without being manipulative, self-centered, and mean? Probably not.
When I like the author, I am more inclined to like the writing, or at least try harder to like it.
This is weird. I posted a comment and it didn’t “take”.
What I said was, that when an author has done something unpleasant, just knowing it can take me out of the story.
sorta the “Tom Cruise” factor!
Diane
I really, really want to believe good writing is good writing–after all, I enjoy many classic books and lots of paintings by writers and painters who were total jerks (Degas, anyone?). But when there is a romance author whose online or real-life presence I just can’t stand (and there are very, very, very few of these–I think I can come up with 3) I can’t bring myself to buy their books. I’m only human, I guess.
On the other hand, if I absolutely love someone or can really get into their online personality, I am far more likely to buy their book, even if it’s in a sub-genre I don’t usually pick up.
This is a thoughtful post. I am not sure how I feel about it. A lot of issues here. I think, when it comes down to it, I love the work and the writing that means the most.
But I don’t believe we live in a culture that cares about that now. It’s all image.
Which is another post.
Late to the party (started new job this week, which has cut down considerably on blog time), but I have to chime in.
I can think of very few authors whose online presence I absolutely can’t stand. So far it hasn’t really affected my buying choices because I’d either already tried them and didn’t like their work or just felt lukewarm about them.
But, like Amanda Mc, I’ve found myself buying the books of authors whose online persona I really like: even if I didn’t particularly enjoy their books in the past or even if it was not a genre I normally read.
How did we recognize good writing before the internet? That is to say, what was criterion based on then? I must confess that I have picked up books well before knowing them online. There are only one or two authors that I have developed a correspondance with. It just developed that way. Do I buy their books because of this? No. I buy their books because I enjoy their work.