You hear a lot of conflicting opinions about what is expected from writers. Other than, you know, writing. Some people puff up with indignation at the mere mention of a telephone interview. "I am an artiste! I cannot be asked to converse with humans about my creation!" Others twiddle at their ipads while pontificating that writers have to be their own brands; that blogging, tweeting, touring, and signing barely scratch the surface of the barest of bare minimums.The tricky part is that what writing actually consists of (being alone in a room, inside your own head, dropping food down your front and wallowing in your emotion of choice) is diametrically opposed to what authors have to do in order to sell books (be funny, charming, good looking, easy going, witty, and technologically adept). Is this a pass for writers to throw tantrums about readers' and publishers' expectation? Sure, I guess. If you really want to, go for it. But the landscape won't have changed when your tantrum is over.
A cult online following or a gazillion dollar speaker's fee is not going to be available to the majority of writers. Ever. The fact that some writers manage it does not mean all can. But writers are experts in doing a lot of work for little return, so it shouldn't be that foreign. Getting worked up about whether the extra-textual expectations placed on writers are good or bad seems useless -- they're simply the reality. They consist of things you might not initially want to do that can turn out be good and artistically helpful experiences (think: meeting a genuine fan at a reading you were dreading). Or they can be the opposite.
We expect creators, for all forms of entertainment, to be more available and interactive than we ever have. If that works with your personality, it's a bonus. If it grates against your nature (you're shy, or like to have time to work things out in text -- hardly a rare characteristic for a writer) then it is a hurdle. But it seems to me the day of the artistic recluse is over.
Here's an article that speaks to the issue from the writer's point of view (click the text to read the whole thing -- I just couldn't resist posting this amazing quote. I don't have enough occasion to put the phrase "jiggle my bare genitals" on my blog): "I've been on live radio and numerous television programmes and can hold my own in conversation with tramps, toffs and rock stars alike, so I know I'm not shy, but reading something so personal as my own work? No. I would genuinely rather jiggle my bare genitals at an audience than do that."
Thoughts? Is too much expected of authors now, outside of writing well? Or is it par for the course?







