Being a Good Literary Citizen
By Heather Webb | May 27, 2021 |
In the past, I’ve talked about Behaving Badly in Publishing, but I think it’s time for a refresher, a variation on that same theme. And yes, sorry, it’s a little bit of a rant as well as a cautionary tale. There have been several incidents of late where some of the most important, unspoken rules between writers have been broken. I’m seeing hurt feelings and anger and loads of resentment happening and look, we need to stick together as writers. So what are these “rules” you ask? They’re just a few basic principles of being a good literary citizen.
Generosity
Given the difficulty of getting published, sometimes I can’t help feeling that it’s we writers against the world. We need a life raft from time to time, a lifeline. We find this in each other, in our community. In fact, one of my favorite things about being an author is the community of writers I’ve had the extreme pleasure to know. I am inspired by their gorgeous prose, by their drive, and so very much by their generosity. I’ve had authors invite me to panels, bookstore events, and writer groups; introduce me to others who might help me with XXX, read and write endorsements for my books, share, share, share. Give. The community’s generosity has inspired me to do the same, tenfold, for years, and I love doing it. Maybe it’s the teacher in me that will never die, or maybe it’s just who I am, but it truly gives me great joy to see “my people” succeed, or an underdog beat the odds and obliterate expectations and hit lists.
The problem is, there aren’t just the givers out there—there are the takers. The takers ask you to hook them up with so-and-so, or add them to your giveaway, or connect them with the book festival here or the book blogger there. These asks in and of themselves, especially from friends or acquaintances, are normal, as I mentioned above. They’re to be expected even. But a taker doesn’t behave like the rest of us. A taker breaks the cardinal rule: they don’t pay favors forward or offer anything in return. And unbelievably, they keep coming back with more asks, and for more help with whatever they need on that particular day.
Sometimes takers are hard to spot because they come wearing the guise of politeness or even friendship. You’re glad to help, only to one day realize when you’re feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and they return to your inbox for one more ask, that this person has never so much as shared your book cover on their social media, let alone anything else. This is when you are forced to learn the difficulty of setting boundaries and learning to say no.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity isn’t only about paying a good deed forward. It’s about a few other things, too: 1) it’s about manners, 2) it’s about stepping outside of yourself (self-centeredness isn’t an attractive look), 3) it’s about respecting a person’s time. The thing is, most writers who have been around awhile aren’t just busy, they also may have already done several good literary citizen acts just that week. Now listen, this is important. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t approach your fellow writers with favors—we all need to do this at times and it really is fine!—but it does mean you should have some idea of how you will reciprocate.
When you’re first starting out, or if you’re in the position of needing to approach a rock star author with an ask, it’s difficult to know what to do, how to reciprocate. You may feel as if you don’t have much to offer, but you’re wrong! There’s lots you can do for a fellow writer. I’ve been in this situation myself many times so here are a few ideas:
- Write a review for one of their books
- Share their cover or buy links on social media, websites, local group pages, etc.
- Choose their book for your book club
- Offer to beta read for them
- Offer to pay them for their time
- If they endorse your novel, send them a thank you card and/or a small gift
A note on the flip side: Say you have approached an author “bigger” than you and you’ve been gracious and offered a very nice gesture, but the author is rude. (True story: I approached a huge author once for an endorsement and was quaking in my boots over it, and she replied with “given that I’ve gone on record as despising epistolary novels, I’m obviously going to pass on reading this.” And that was it. She didn’t bother to couch it in any niceties, and also how was I to know she’d once told someone she hated that format of novel?) Well, you’re off the hook. You don’t have to do squat for that person but also, do not badmouth them in writing, on the internet, ever. I’ve seen this go VERY poorly.
Gratitude
And finally, one of the most basic principles of being a good literary citizen, is to be grateful and to share your gratitude. A part of gratitude is being humble; of knowing you need your fellow writers to keep you afloat, and also realizing that you may be flying high right now but it could all come crashing down in an instant. A publishing career isn’t linear and it often doesn’t make any sense at all (I always say if you haven’t been humbled by publishing in some way yet, it’s because you haven’t been doing it long enough. Good news is, we are resilient!), so it’s important to show and share gratitude and humility. If you don’t, it might come back and bite you in the ass.
This is what being a good literary citizen is about. It’s about hard work, give and take, and expressing our gratitude by sharing the wealth. Make sure you’re paying your dues.
[coffee]
Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of historical fiction. As a freelance editor and an adjunct in a MFA in Creative Writing program, Heather has helped many writers sign with agents and go on to sell at market. When not writing, she feeds her cookbook addiction, geeks out on history and pop culture, and looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world. To date, her books have been translated to seventeen languages.
Heather, it’s always a treat to work the site on your posting days—so many pearls of wisdom on a variety of practical literary matters.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing writers succeed whom I have either personally met, or have come to know online. The path to success is rocky, with plenty of obstacles, and thinking you can do it all alone is an exercise in futility. I’m always eager to pitch in and amplify novels, appearances, or whatever, because in time, I’ll (hopefully) need the same.
One question: is the XXX you mentioned the XXX I think it means? Are your books located in “the room behind the curtain?” Lol. Just kidding, of course.
Thanks for another great pearl. I almost have a complete set to clutch whenever I see writers behaving badly.
Thanks, Mike. And your insightful quips always make me laugh–and think. I can’t imagine this community without you in it!
When you say, “Given the difficulty of getting published,” I feel as if the whole of the indie and self-publishing world has been declared persona non grata.
On the contrary, getting published is, if anything, way too easy right now.
What is truly difficult is the next step – marketing and finding readers for what you write. And standing out from the much larger crowd. And the ever-present considerations of ‘quality.’
I believe assuming that somehow the world of publishing will return to what it was for a moment in time – a curated, hard-to-get-into club for those who have been chosen by ‘real’ publishers – is bound to lead to disappointment. The digital genie cannot be stuffed back into any bottle and corked.
But your suggested behaviors for authors – generosity, reciprocity, and gratitude – need to survive, because the on-going divide is still between ‘people who produce reading material’ and ‘people who consume reading material.’
And, even including Amazon and Google search engines, that connection is still being solved. With more participants every day.
Thanks for your comments, Alicia. That was a poor choice of words on my part. I should have used “being published” rather than “getting published,” because yes, anyone can be in some capacity.
The rest is a post for another day. ;)
Thanks so much for this Heather. I agree that the rules of being a good writing citizen are the same as being a good citizen of the universe: be kind, be generous, be grateful, and don’t be a jerk. I’ll never forget the author who debuted with me who LITERALLY turned around at a conference so she wouldn’t have to make room for me when she was shmoozing up a big-name agent, but that memory has been overwritten by so many amazingly beautiful gestures by other writers, especially here. (And including you!) And I do my best to return all that good karma.
And I have been on the receiving end of yours. Love fest! <3 I should have added “and don’t be a jerk” to this post! Ha ha.
I’m wondering if that person at that conference is now blowing up the NYT list? I suspect not. It’s as if some are afraid there isn’t enough in the world to go around and certainly not enough for them. That just isn’t the truth. I’d bet the “not enough” comes from something else inside them, not to go all philosophical on you.
Thanks for your comments today!
Great article Heather! I agree that the rules of being a Good Writing Citizen are the same as being a good citizen of the world: Be kind, be generous, be humble, and try not to be a jerk. I’ll never forget the author I debuted with who LITERALLY turned her back so she wouldn’t have to make room for me at a table where she was shmoozing a big-wig agent, but I also have so many more great memories of writers reaching out and being wonderful. (Including you!) And I try to return the good karma as much as I can. I try to remember publishing isn’t a single pie — it’s more like a dessert buffet with plenty of room for everyone to succeed.
For some reason my comment got eaten by the system! But I wanted to say I have been on the receiving end from you as well, my friend. Love fest! <3
And I love this metaphor of a dessert banquet…mmmm
Hey Heather, I’m like Mike and always find your articles helpful, so thanks for another good one. I have found writers to be so welcoming and helpful so I was sad to hear you’ve seen some of the opposite lately. It is a sign of our times I’m afraid. It’s good to have a call for accountability.
Thank you for the lovely sentiment, Becky, and I’m so glad they are helpful. That’s what I hope for. :)
Part of me laments that I’m not generally — ever — asked for favors by strangers. (I try to avoid the obvious conclusion: that I’ve got no favors to offer which are also worth accepting.)
But I do try to apply the same principle with my writer friends’ work that I try to apply with that of other friends: empathy. Even just a smidgen goes a looong way.
For starters, when reviewing books somewhere, anywhere, I don’t bother reviewing ones which seriously disappoint me. [Aside: please, anyone, don’t leap to conclusions if I didn’t review *yours*!] Maybe this makes me come across as an unthinking happy-news robot, I dunno. But I just know how hard it is to get to The End in writing anything. And I just know that, y’know, one person’s meat = another’s poison, and so on. So I’ll be honest, if I mention a plotting implausibility, or a dreadfully confusing paragraph which could have stood a little more work. But it will always (I hope!) be in company with other points about the brilliant storyline and the graceful paragraph on the facing page.
We don’t have to enthusiastically embrace the fact that we’re a community, all in this together, etc. But we really are, by default, such a community — participants in a vast form of would-be social media, maybe historically the first with such broad scope: writers among writers, among readers. What a gift. And it really feels like a shame to waste time and energy sneering at it.
I’d hardly say this post was sneering. Where did you read that? I also know personally that Heather is one of the most generous authors I’ve ever met. She gives back a lot to the publishing community, and has for years.
My comment was very poorly worded, kit, if that’s what you read. The “sneering” adjective applied to writers who will happily throw criticism at other writers, and to those who stare coldly (or maybe just competitively/enviously) at other writers work. My apologies to you and to Heather for my clumsiness!
Thanks for stopping by and for your comments, Jes!
I love your post, Heather. Very insightful. One of the most rewarding things I’ve found as an author has been the connections and friendships I’ve made with other authors and aspiring writers. Supporting and helping one another, in what can be a very solitary endeavor, by being a good literary citizen is a must. When my literary friends need my support, I’m always happy to provide it. I’m super grateful to those who supported me, unprompted, when I hit a low in my author career. Helping one another makes success even sweeter.
You said, “Helping one another makes success even sweeter.” I heartily agree! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Hi there! You said, “Helping one another makes success even sweeter.” I heartily agree! It’s a gift, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping by to comment!
“I always say if you haven’t been humbled by publishing in some way yet, it’s because you haven’t been doing it long enough. Good news is, we are resilient!”
Heather, your quote above is so true. My long, long journey to almost-to-be-published has been extremely humbling. It hasn’t been a straight road either, more like climbing Mt. Everest — three steps forward and two steps back. It may happen soon but I’ve learned enough in the last 30 years from colleagues in the field to know that it could crash and burn instantly. Thanks for a great post — another example of generosity so needed today.
Lorraine, I was planning to pull that exact quote too but you beat me to it!
Thanks Heather for this reminder about the importance (and joy!) in our writer communities—and that there’s always something more we can do to support each other.
Lorraine, it’s so impressive that you’ve kept doing what you love in spite of the difficulties. It speaks to your character and also to what matters most: the inherent joy in creating. I wish you all the luck in your next leg of the journey.
One would think that literary manners would be common sense, but more and more I discover they aren’t. There will always be the takers, the ones who can’t even be bothered to say thanks. So thank YOU for this PSA and practical ways to show gratitude.
And thank you for always offering thoughtful comments!
Heather, thanks for the sound advice. Writers must support one another. If we don’t, how can we expect readers to support us? Pay it forward. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but the mutual support is powerful. Hope you are well.
The mutual support IS powerful and it’s mighty to behold when it’s all working together! Thanks, Chris
Thank you, Heather. Great article; sad that these things needed to be pointed out.
If we’re not here to help one another, what are we doing here?
I can’t think of any dimension of life in which these “good manners” don’t apply. I’m always sorry I can’t do more.
I’m with you, Bob. Good manners should be expected everywhere and yet they don’t appear to be valued much. I hope that changes for the better. Thanks for stopping by the blog!
Heather, as with Lorraine, my fiction publishing life has been humbling, and as you suggest, for all writers there will be cycles of eagle wings and pig trough. (Though maybe the food is better in the trough.)
Thank you for reminding us that we are a family of writers, and though there can be squabbling, it’s not an empty platitude to say that lifting one another up can lift us all. Thanks for the reminder.
Tom, you said it better than I did! “Thank you for reminding us that we are a family of writers, and though there can be squabbling, it’s not an empty platitude to say that lifting one another up can lift us all.”
Wishing you luck on your writing journey!
This last month I’ve had the daunting tasks of approaching other writers to see if they would write blurbs for my upcoming debut. When I hit the “send” button, I hold my breath about what I’ll get back. But I’ve been so happy to have so many fellow writers agreeing to read my pages and I think it’s because I’ve devoted the last few years to promoting both their books and those by others – in your words, practicing literary citizenship. And it hasn’t been calculating so much as I really enjoy spreading the word about excellent work and supporting other writers, other through the podcast I host or on social media. What goes around, comes around. We’re all in this together.
Congratulations on your debut, Maggie! As you say, this isn’t a calculated effort to help promote others but something you enjoy because you love stories and believe in the power of the written word . Sharing them is a reward in itself. Best of luck to you with your endorsements. I bet they’ll be fantastic!
Good stuff, Heather, and I SO agree with you on the importance of community and (love this term) literary citizenship.
Sadly, I’ve found the world of the arts can be full of takers, so your advice/warning bears repeating. Watch out for those people, and above all, don’t BE one of those people.
You’ve offered some wonderful advice, not only on how to not fall into that taker trap, but how to lead by example, paying it forward whenever you can.
Good stuff indeed.
What?! No joke this time? Haha. Thanks for taking the time to comment, Keith!
Hi, Heather:
Underlying reciprocity and gratitude is humility. Your analysis of the strains every working writer faces is excellent, as is your acknowledgement that many writers are happy to help others they deem worthy. Understanding that no one owes you anything and yet someone is willing to make the effort regardless should inspire exactly the instinct to return any and all favors. For the most part, that’s been my experience with my fellow scribblers.
Here’s a question for you — one way we can return a favor is reviewing books friends have provided. And yet, to be honest and transparent, we must identify ourselves as friends in the review, which potentially undermines the power or desired effect of what we write, and thus the effectiveness of the act of gratitude and/or reciprocity. I’m not sure how to get out of this. It’s kept me from reviewing in a few cases, and I wonder if I shouldn’t just bite the bullet, write the darm review, be honest, and let it go. Thoughts?
Thanks for the question. I used to include a full disclosure sentence when reviewing friends’ books, but I stopped doing that. The reason was that I knew readers would not find the review credible. My solution? If I don’t like the book I just don’t review it. That may not be the ideal resolution to this problem, but it works for me.
Hi Dave, Great to chat with you as always. I’m in agreement with Chris. I don’t feel it necessary to state that I’m a friend. If I don’t love a book, I don’t review it and those that aren’t exactly my cup of tea that I’ve been asked to endorse, I tend to focus on the positives and the aspects I did connect to and admire. It’s a win-win for all involved.
Heather,
You have hit the ethical bullseye. Only writers know how much we sacrifice to put words on pages. That makes us a rare team.
You and a talented commenter on this post have recently blown me away with the gift of time and eloquence on my soon-to-be-launched novel. I am looking forward to making my gratitude public (soon), to repaying you as I can, and certainly to paying it forward for others if ever asked.
I’m excited for the next chapter for you, Tom! And you have shown loads of gratitude already. :) I’m glad to see other WUers on your team, too!
Great post, Heather! You make so many good points – great reminders for all of us to play nice and help one another out.
Thanks for stopping by, Juliette!
Heather, you’re always so wise and compassionate with the tough love. I’d like to add that timing is everything when you have an ask. When we’re on deadline (as in, contract signed and advance long since spent on groceries), some of us can’t afford to take time away from the WIP and apart from our manuscript, can’t put together a coherent sentence to blurb someone else’s book.
Thanks, Janie. You’re too kind, my friend. You’re absolutely right- timing is everything. I’ve found, unfortunately, the most poorly worded asks and behaviors come when I have the least amount of time to deal with them, too. Murphy’s Law? Lol. Maybe
Life is chaos for me right now, and I’d like to circle back later with some substantive thoughts, but I wanted you to know that I appreciate this post a lot–and YOU, in so many ways. Write on, friend.
You’re an excellent blog mama. You make me–and all of us– want to rise to the occasion. Xx
So kind, thank you.
Another good citizenship suggestion: If someone emails you to say that your book was brilliant, take a moment to say thank you. That’s it, just two words: thank you. It only takes a second. I try to make a habit of sending a quick note when I read a book that makes a strong impression on me. I almost never get a response, but when I do get a nice reply—even if it’s quick—it makes me doubly invested in that author’s success.
Yes, yes, yes.
Linda, I love that you take the time to email someone such a lovely note. I can’t believe few have replied! That’s appalling. I mean, once in a while it might get lost in the mix, but you’re right. A simple thank you goes a very long way. Thanks for stopping by!