How To Love Our Readers and Our Art: A Call For Author Ethics
By Guest | March 22, 2015 |
Our guest today is Katharine Grubb—a mommy, homeschooler, novelist, baker, comedian wanna be, former running coward, author of a novel (Falling for Your Madness) and a book about how to write in very small increments: Write A Novel In 10 Minutes A Day will be released on March 26.
[pullquote]For more information about author ethics in relation to self publishing, please see this excellent post by WU writer Porter Anderson, where he discusses 8 Issues in Author Ethics. Porter was actively involved with ALLi in bringing attention to the issues of author ethics.[/pullquote]
Katharine was introduced to the topic of author ethics by friend Jane Steen, the author of the Authors Code of Ethics published by ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors). In 2014, she created the Facebook group called 10 Minute Novelists and during the month of February, author ethics were discussed. Katharine believes that not enough attention is given to good practices for writers. Independent publishing is rather new and has never been easier for authors, and she believes writers need to take their online presence seriously, love their readers, respect their art and hold themselves to an honorable standard as they promote themselves and their books.
Connect with Katharine on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
How To Love Our Readers and Our Art: A Call For Author Ethics
Why do we write?
We write to wade through the chaos of the world and find a clear path. We write because the pain we’ve faced in the world is so great that we need to see the truth of it on paper so it no longer has any hold on us. We write so that we can explain to others that exact feeling, that heart breaking conflict or that comforting truth. We write because if we didn’t our own misery would consume us. We write because we love to have written, we love to have someone read our words and smile. We write because we know words wielded well are powerful and change minds, hearts and lives.
[pullquote]We retaliate against bad reviews. We make shady deals to have our friends review our books in dishonest terms. We manipulate our numbers to make it appear that we’ve sold more books than we actually have. [/pullquote]Because we hold words and our art so dearly, we may find it difficult to release our words into the world. Our words and our reputation (what some of us call platform or brand) are closely tied to our words. We’ve precisely controlled the words so letting them go can be frustrating.
Admittedly, some of us have no confidence in our readers. They are notorious for glossing over the important parts, for ignoring the nuances and for missing the point. At times, we may believe that we are superior to our readers because we were once gods. We created the world that they hold in their hands. That our reader can read completely in a few hours what it took years for us to create galls us. That our reader can find another book cheaply and easily infuriates us. We use this, perhaps, to cloak ourselves in artistic and moral superiority. When we do that, when we taint what was once meant to be a gift to the world. When we slip into anything less than love for our reader we turn the beautiful into the ugly.
When we are ugly, we are very ugly. We retaliate against bad reviews. We make shady deals to have our friends review our books in dishonest terms. We manipulate our numbers to make it appear that we’ve sold more books than we actually have. We call ourselves “best seller” when we know no one will ask what that really means. We steal endorsements from the notable to make us look better. We pick fights in public forums and call it freedom of speech. We lift the words of other writers and call it our own because we’d rather make a fast buck than truly pay our dues. We forget why we write in the first place, bowing instead to the gods of entitlement and profit.
When we commit these kinds of behaviors, we are no longer artists. We are instead cowards, afraid of hard work and perseverance. We may even fear that fame and perhaps even fortune will elude us. Our cowardice requires us to look for short cuts, manipulations, and secrecy to gain any advantage we can. Because 21st century publishing is so easy and ubiquitous, we fear neither correction, chastisement nor a conflicted conscience.
Perhaps there is a need now for a code of ethics. Before we are too tempted to commit unethical practices, we need to stop and consider what best behaviors would look like. Could we be free from the tyranny of fear that is the root of bad behavior? Could we, instead, promise ourselves and each other? Could we love and respect our readers and our art? Could we pursue our writing dreams with honor and dignity?
My friend Jane Steen and the folks at ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) began the concept of an ethics code for authors last fall. I’ve presented these ideas on my website www.10minutenovelists.com and on my Facebook group, 10 Minute Novelists. As I mention these eight points, I sense a common desire among writers to adopt them. The writers I talk to embrace these easily. They want our industry to hold high standards. They want to know that their own communities have adopted these standards too. I’d like to encourage you to look over the Code of Ethics. ALLi also created a badge that you can put on your website that identifies you as an ethical author. Take the eight points seriously. If you are guilty of any of them, then stop your bad behavior and try to make amends. And encourage writers around you to do the same.
Our readers are not the enemy. They deserve to be respected even if we don’t agree with them. Our art is not to be cheapened. It deserves to have the best of us. We also owe it to ourselves to build our business up honorably.
This is why we write. We write because we have been changed by words. We have a glorious calling. Let’s conduct ourselves accordingly.
Do you write by a code of ethics or have certain standards you hold your writing to? What do you hold most important?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
Timely post. I happened to launch my first indie novel yesterday, a YA novel called Now I Knew You. And yes, I know what authors do to ensure that they have a good collection of 5-star reviews withiin a day of the book going live. I’ve refrained from such activity and have even instructed my family not to review the book just because I wrote it. Will it slow down my sales? Certainly. But I’m in this for the long haul, not the short-term surge. If my book can’t sell on its own merits, then I’ll learn and try again.
I once said that I wouldn’t write any book that I wouldn’t let my kids (then in their early teens) read. I still feel that way. I know that a semi-steamy sex scene in a YA novel will get me more readers, but I won’t do it. I know that what I write can become someone’s ethical code. No, it shouldn’t, but entertainment has greater influence over our culture than teachers, preachers, and parents. This is simply the world in which we live.
I lurk in your Facebook group, btw. You’ve got some great conversations going on there.
Hi Ron!
Congratulations on your new release! It’s a great feeling, isn’t it!
It is SO TEMPTING to get everybody you know and their dog to write a review for you, but it won’t get you far.
We have to stick to our guns — and I think if your only reason is your own family watching, then that’s reason enough!
And you don’t HAVE to lurk in the group! We’d love to have you join in the conversations!
Having started my career as a newspaper reporter, I adhered to SPJ’s Code of Ethics, which is another strong ethics code. Every profession must have an ethics code and this is a good one. I also believe writers should seek out and support online communities like Writer Unobxed, where there is an expectation of honesty, inclusiveness, support, and integrity. And it is reflected each day in the conduct of those who participate in this community. Sadly, we all need to be reminded from time to time to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Thanks for this thoughtful post, Katharine.
You are right CG! I think community is the key to good behavior! This occupation has a tendency to isolate. None of us can do our best without each other.
Thanks for stopping by!
The trade association for literary agents (of which I am a past president) requires that it’s members abide by its Canon of Ethics.
https://aaronline.org/canon
Most professionals are similar. Even politicians (believe it or not) are subject to regulation and laws addressing their ethics. Why not authors too?
This is a great idea.
Glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by!
I applaud good behavior. As a recovering lawyer I well acquainted with various codes of ethics, although some might quibble and say the phrase legal ethics is an oxymoron.
Reading the daily news, watching how my fellow men and women interact, I’ve come to believe we need a code of ethic for life. Something along the lines of Do unto others….
Situational ethics abounds–if you don’t get caught, it’s okay behavior. But, if you cheat, do you really win? Of course, not. A hollow victory at best, I would guess.
I write for myself. If readers miss my point or don’t get it, or gloss over the important parts looking for the sex, well, so be it. Hopefully they were entertained. My books will garner the reviews and stars they were meant to have, and I will write on striving to improve my craft, deepen my storytelling, exorcise my soul.
Katherine– Thank you for your post, one that’s both timely and important. And well-written. As you say, it’s never been easier to publish, but one downside of this is that it’s also never been easier to shave points, stuff the ballot box, bushwhack rivals (or perceived rivals) under the cover of anonymity, hijack others’ words for selfish purposes–and all the rest.
What honest writer wouldn’t be in favor of a code of ethics? Of course, the first ones to sign up will be the cynics with no ethical standards–they will have nothing to lose and everything to gain. But that can’t be helped. Those who abuse a good idea don’t make that idea into a bad one.
I also align myself with CG Blake when he says “writers should seek out and support online communities like Writer Unboxed….” Exactly. Sites like this one is where a writer with a sense of conscience can feel most at home. I am grateful for it every day.
Katherine, excellent article on author ethics. I subscribe to the code, which I became aware of when I read a blog post by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Pay It Forward and others. Though I wasn’t aware of ALLi beforehand, I was already acting as if I was. To pay for reviews, or present one’s writing in any other dishonest way serves no one, least of all yourself as a writer.
Perhaps I’m living too much of a sheltered life but I don’t know authors who do these things – shady deals, fudging numbers, claiming other authors’ work, etc.
I’m sure there are people out there who do that but in any group there will always be the corner cutters. One might be able to make a good analogy of good SEO versus black hat SEO. And while the black hat stuff does work it usually catches up with you. And your gains are often pointless in the long run.
Unfortunately, the people who would be the worst offenders are also likely to be the people who would never adhere to any code of ethics. Because if one is inclined to game the system, they do so knowingly. And don’t care what others think.
Throughout history we’ve had codes of ethics, one of the earliest of course would be the Ten Commandments. And I think they are all good and that most people strive to be honest and ethical. But I think the thing we must do is show by example. Because like writing there is a world of difference between showing and telling.
Even still, I think there will always be tricksters and scammers. But rather than resent them, I feel sorry for them. Because deep down they must think very little of themselves. They have so little confidence that they think the only way to succeed is to cheat. To me, that’s the real issue.
Anyway, thanks for making me think about this.
Annie
You are right when you say writers who do this think very little of themselves. I imagine that they are insecure and motivated by fear to the point of justifying any bad behavior. I’m glad you don’t know anyone who does this. This behavior should be shocking. As long as it is, brave people can stand up and say, NO!
Katharine, I so agree with you. This is a great post. I’m a children’s author and a member of the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and when you’re a member of an organization there is an assumed code of ethics you follow. But even if a writer is not a member of any writing organization, that code of ethics should be inherent. Writers who harass agents because they didn’t get a response to their query, or berate editors for rejecting them or leave other writers nasty reviews, should not be surprised that they have to resort to dubious means to get noticed.
Katharine, I also agree and am astounded when I hear of things that other writers are doing to undermine the work of their fellows. Writing bad reviews on Amazon, harassing successful authors. Though the expansion to the internet has been good for many to publish, sadly it has also allowed some with the wrong motives to publish.
I will follow my own instincts in conducting myself–honoring the rules of good behavior. Yes, I have seen things published that make me ask: really? But sometimes that’s about taste and I have no right to jeopardize the success of that writer. In the end, I want to believe that good writing will be honored and will rise to the top. Maybe I’m naive–but that’s where I am and hope to stay. Thanks for this.
Katharine, great post! I think that being an author means both being an artist and a business person. And no one of this parts accepts cheating (and behaviors you mentioned can be called cheating).
Thank you for reminding what it means to be a writer.
Yes it IS cheating! And I think the best way to discourage it is to identify it and call it out, even if it’s a bit intimidating to do so. Thanks for coming by today!
Well, obviously I’m in favor of the Ethical Author Code! And to give credit where it’s due, I want to note that WU’s Porter Anderson had a lot to do with making sure my original blog posts were widely seen and promoting the creation of the Code. I had hoped to light a small fire that would spread through the vast majority of authors who behave ethically, so they’d stand together against the few who don’t.
So if you agree with the Code, please tell your writing groups, or organizations you belong to, about it. Thank you!
I really love this post. The idea of stealing another writer’s words or trying to discredit them or falsifying reviews or trying to have people write fake reviews of my work sounds crazy to me, but I am guilty of highlighting the parts of the PW review that I liked most about my most recent book; it was a mixed review bc the reviewer thought the novel had too many coincidences/was too neatly wrapped up at the end, but that’s one of my signatures, I think, now that I’ve written three books, two published, and one in the works, so I’m actually proud of the strange kismet, sometimes magical occurrences that happen in my work because they also happen in my life, and that’s what this whole post is about: about being true to oneself, which includes a moral code, a writers and human code of ethics. Although I felt that my MFA program was competitive, I have felt nothing but love and support from the published writers I’ve met (except one), who’ve been amazing and wonderful enough to share panels with me, who’ve offered great advice, shared anecdotes, and been more than happy to read and blurb for me: Just to name a few: Therese Walsh, the kick-ass creator of this blog, Lydia Netzer, Tracy Guzeman, Therese Fowler, Jacqueline Mitchard, Heidi Durrow, Sheri Reynolds, (just this weekend: Greer Macallister), Susan Gregg Gilmore, Anne Clinard Barnhill, Siobhan Fallon, Kristen-Paige Madonia, Karin Gillespie, Wendy Tokanuga, Jess Walter, David Pandolfe, William Tester, Tom De Haven, Greg Donovan, Valley Haggard, Alison Titus, Jenny Koster, Maggie Duncan, Clint McCown, Cliff Garstang, Ginny Pye, … Honestly, there have been so many, my brain hurts trying to list them all, and I’m leaving out probably 3 dozen, easy, who’ve offered encouragement. I have the greatest respect for my colleagues, published and unpublished, because we’re all in this for the art, for the love of the art. I am grateful for this post.