Jun. 28th, 2012
Authors as Role Models
Jun. 28th, 2012 02:51 amThis article discusses whether children's authors should be role models.
An author's job is to write stories. Not do publicity, not go to cons, not show people how to live. Write. All that other stuff is optional. Nobody has a right to demand that writers do all that other stuff. Some do, some don't. Sure it can be helpful for your career to interact with your fans. It can also be a disaster if you happen to be an asshole who writes great fiction.
Know your own strengths and weaknesses. Never let anyone make demands of you that are outside your job description. If they want to do that, let them pay you a full salary with benefits to put up with their bossifying.
An author's job is to write stories. Not do publicity, not go to cons, not show people how to live. Write. All that other stuff is optional. Nobody has a right to demand that writers do all that other stuff. Some do, some don't. Sure it can be helpful for your career to interact with your fans. It can also be a disaster if you happen to be an asshole who writes great fiction.
Know your own strengths and weaknesses. Never let anyone make demands of you that are outside your job description. If they want to do that, let them pay you a full salary with benefits to put up with their bossifying.