Re: Back-patting

Marilee J. Layman wrote:
On Tue, 6 Mar 2007 05:41:58 GMT, djheydt@xxxxxxxxxxx (Dorothy J Heydt)
wrote:

In article <45ecf9c3$0$8332$7b0f0fd3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Julian Flood <julian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kat R wrote:

I know a few who try. They organize tours together and share expenses for the whole trip, they blog about each other and refer to one another's books, they post information on Amazon blogs about other authors they read or work with, they pool research, they pool promotional information about what book shops are good signing stops for authors and who to contact for newsletter reviews and signings, they recommend their co-op writers for workshops and interviews, they design panel and workshop ideas for cons with their co-op authors and ask for them to be put on the invitee list, they pool money to pay for multiple-book promo items, and so on. Some are successful, some aren't.
Isn't this called /litfic/?
Or incest?

That's what I was thinking. It feels like family rudely recommending
themselves.

Isn't that what we all do, though? You tend to recommend the people you know if asked for a recommendation. It can go too far, it you recommend people ONLY because you know them and they aren't that good or appropriate, but aside from people so overwhelmingly good or well-known that they're screamingly obvious, it's not really possible to do otherwise. You can only talk knowledgeably about the people you have knowledge OF.

For instance, I was asked to produce the main Fantasy writing track for Norwescon this year. In the process of suggesting panels, I also suggested up-and-coming Fantasy authors I know personally and whom I think will be an asset to the program. Is that incestuous, rude, and unfair? They're writers who would otherwise not get the opportunity to speak at this point in the careers and they are genuinely talented, erudite, charming, and have books coming out very close to the event date. I did not recommend writers of my acquaintance who were not, in my opinion, capable of making a worthwhile contribution to the convention or who would use the opportunity merely to self-aggrandize. So, although I've done exactly the things you're objecting to as incestuous and rude, I don't think I've been either.

What looks cliquish in bald text may not be in practice. I'd say it depends on your motive and the actual talent and work of the individuals involved. How do you measure and where is the line between worthy acknowledgment and aggrandizement?

--
Kat Richardson
Greywalker (Roc, 2006)
Website: http://www.katrichardson.com/
Bloggery: http://katrich.wordpress.com/
.

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