There’s a bit of a kerfuffle going on in the comments section of a Pub Rants post about Paris’ Hilton’s book, Confessions of a Heiress. Commenters, many of them anonymous (of course), are raving about what right Nelson has to promote a book that is 1) ghost written, 2) “by” such a person as Paris Hilton, 3) trash, and 4) “keeping other more worthy books off the shelves.”
Naturally, they indulge in the usual name-calling and attacks against the blogger. I can’t for the life of me figure out why, if they so disagree with the agent’s taste, business model, business practices, advice, etc. — not that they think they are harmful, just not what they are looking for in an agent — why they just don’t stop reading her blog? Obviously it’s not providing anything to them. But anonymous insults? Not debate, but insults… I really don’t see what the point is. Can it be anything other than a bitter rant?
(Oh, and one commenter totally proved the Harlequin Rule! That rocked.)
Here is my comment:
Book snobbery can work both ways. I’ve seen devotees of genre fiction say they wouldn’t read “pointless, depressing” lit fic. They are just as much book snobs. As KN said, read what you enjoy and be proud of it–whatever it is. You don’t need to justify your choices or put down anyone else’s.The ghost-written aspect doesn’t have any place in this conversation. No one said, “Wow, that Paris, what a writer she really is.” The book is a product, and an enjoyable one. It’s presumptuous to assume that the ghost writer is offended, or unhappy with their flat fee, or wants to publish his or her own work. Is it what it is. The ghost writers I know enjoy their contracts and the money it makes them.
Say you wrote a screenplay, and it was being made into a movie. You have the choice to put it out with obscure actors who no one is interested in seeing, or guaranteed box office draws. People make those choices, and are not burned in effigy for them. But with books it is assumed that there should be a different standard.
I enjoy several series that I know are ghostwritten, either secretly or as an understood business model (such as packaged YA.) They are what they are. How many works of art “by” Raphael do you enjoy, knowing that Raphael himself might have worked very little on it? Does it make the painting any less pretty?
Paris Hilton’s book is not keeping any other off the shelves. There is “space” for celebrity vanity projects on lists that is separate from the space that is held for serious works of literature or romance novels, or what have you. No one says, “well, this guy could be the new Don DeLillo, but hey, how about another book ‘by’ Paris Hilton instead?” and if anything, the cash cow that is a celebrity vanity project provides money to the publisher that they can use to buy and promote their original projects.
The acrimony here is quite misplaced.
8 Comments
January 13, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I’m so over book snobbery of any kind, I can’t even tell you. It’s just another version of bullying. People should settle down and tend their own gardens.
January 13, 2007 at 5:15 pm
ah book snobbery… we’ve started interviewing at my firm and whenever anyone mentions that the like to read I always ask what. I’m astounded at the number of law students who only read the classics. A recent candidate said she’d gotten into SciFi trash books. Like Dune. Now I haven’t read Dune (TBR pile), but my understanding is that it is not trash. But judging from the rest of her conversation with me, this candidate equated all genre fiction with trash.
And she’s not the first one to do that, to say “I only read highbrow but right now I’m indulging in trash like romance….” Actually, I don’t think anyone has really owned up to romance yet. But if they read genre, it’s always just this once.
I just get the impression that a lot of them are telling me what they think I want to hear. That I would look down on them for reading SciFi or Romance. Funny thing is, the truth is just the opposite. I would love if a candidate said “I really dig a new Julie Ortolon” or something like that.
Ah well. Oh and my favorite quote from a colleague this week “the real money to be made is in books. Writing books.” She’s got her book finished and is just waiting for the agents to sign a non-disclosure before choosing which ones she’ll send her project to.
January 13, 2007 at 7:41 pm
This is one of those things I wish I could brush off easily. Makes me think of High School and that whole “What music do you listen to? Well, your favorite band SUCKS” attitude that led me to only listen to classic rock.
Still, I can at least Act like it doesn’t bother me when people belittle other people over their reading choices. Because it’s not worth it to me to put energy towards getting upset. I should be writing instead.
January 14, 2007 at 12:56 am
Diana, that post is hot.
January 14, 2007 at 7:34 am
Gah! Those people are so deeply lame.
I love your response.
I’d only add that for lots of writers ghostwriting provided an excellent kickstart to their careers. Or an income to support their writing-under-their-own-name habit.
January 14, 2007 at 8:10 am
I read Kristin’s blog daily and started to compose a comment yesterday. I cancelled out because I didn’t feel I was adding anything, but since then the comments have gone nuts.
Anyway, after seeing your post I went back and said more-or-less what I started to say yesterday.
January 15, 2007 at 1:20 am
I had the same reaction as you. And generally its from the bravery of an anonymous post. They have the conviction but not the courage –
The ghost writer gets to indulge in actally earning money to keep their own writing going. And I doubt Paris had to hold a gun to the writer’s head.
The writer has gained some recognition in the industry from professionals who have noted that the writing is good so the writer has a foot in a door otherwise maybe not open (or so readily open).
If you really really really don’t like romance then that’s fine. If you really really really like romance then that’s also fine.
But the most important thing is that it has to be really really really good.
There’s an Indian guy who rollicks around the world making people laugh. Laughing makes chemicals in your body feel good.
I just saw Holiday with Cameron Diaz. I left it feeling good. A few questions like (how does she fit all that fab fashion into that small bag ahem – has anyone ever tried to pack a full length sheepskin coat and lived to tell the tale?) but it’s not darkly full of anxst… and neither was I when I left the picture theatre.
Robin here mentions it’s a form of bullying. That is so right. It’s like being in a diet camp and being told to eat only carrot. There are so many ways to eat carrot.
Cake, soup, pie, salad…
Your choice. A la carte.
Why should lit be any different.
Or art.
Or movies.
That’s what’s nice about democracy. Thought police don’t belong there.
January 15, 2007 at 7:16 pm
You know, I read the kerfuffle. I read it twice because I couldn’t believe what I read and I had to make sure it was real and I wasn’t hallucinating.
I very nearly responded before I realized that nothing I could possibly say would be properly received by the crowd loitering at Pub Rants that day.
But I’m well acquainted with booksnobbery. My brother constantly ribs me that what I write is trash. I’ve argued with him about escapist fiction and it’s place in society (on my bookshelf next to my “literature” because I like it!). I love him dearly, but if he were a stranger, I fear he would rip my eyes out on the subject.
People are sooo touchy about books. It’s amazing.