Snobs and Publishing

I just went over to The Rejecter's blog, and I came away a little ticked off.

Not at her, mind you; I congratulated her on getting a publishing contract and agent (esp. nice as it's a fantasy novel :-)).

One of the posters, however, who couldn't even own up to a name, decided to look down his/her/its nose at The Rejecter having a genre novel published.

Ooo, aah, ow, yeow...the sky is falling! All that we've ever known is coming to an end!

Yup, he/she/it dissed it and her (calling her lazy for taking the easy way out).

I don't understand. A few years ago, there was a time when I looked down on those who write in an already-constructed universe (I'm thinking of Star Trek novels here). I thought it must be simple to write such stuff.

I don't think that way anymore. In fact, I think it's harder to write in, say, the Star Trek universe than coming up with something on your own. Because when it's your baby, it's something you and only you have worked on. Think of all the writers that have written in the various Star Trek universes. You have to conform to what's come before. You'd have to do that with your own stuff, too, but it's something you've come up with, not a million and one other writers.

I don't know. The whole idea of having to conform to something that came before that I haven't written...it just rubs me the wrong way. (Although I admire those who manage to write with that constraint.)

But at least I've gotten off my high horse and don't look down my nose at any genre or any mainstream writer. If there's a big enough audience out there for certain types of books, who am I to say that people shouldn't write that? Hell's bells!

Is it too obvious to point out that there are good books and bad books in all genres, and, yes, in literary fiction and mainstream, too?

Can you tell this sort of thinking makes me batty?

Getting back to the poster, he/she/it did say one thing that was telling: zero accomplishments. Hmm. Dude/dudette - maybe your attitude shows whenever you've shopped around your novels?

Another poster put it very nicely: You like what you like.

I'll leave it at that.

~Nancy Beck