I recently read some blogs about the slighting of Science Fiction/Fantasy authors, on Carol Berg’ site.
I feel their pain.
I have a self published book. Guess what kind of glazed-over eyes I get?
Oh, SF/F peeps don’t know the half of it!
The way I see it is…there are bullies everywhere. It doesn’t matter that these are in the literary world. It’s everywhere. Government, sports, the media (“We report hard news, not them-there fluffy Sunday supp stuff….”). Yeah, publishing. For some reason or reasons, perhaps because of improper diaper-to-potty training or standing before too many chalk boards before a rough second-grade class because they couldn’t do long division (or whatever grade that is), there are those out there who feel the need to trounce others.
The defense?
A thick skin.
There are always going to be bullies. And it’s okay to get pissed. Just don’t let it get to you. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Writing.
If you’re publishing SF/F and people are buying it, guess what—someone likes your work. Someone’s buying your books. Frankly, and besides blogging fodder, when it comes right down to it, who gives a shit, right? At least you have published work. I write stuff that publishers find difficult to pigeonhole, hence am still looking for publishers. And I don’t say any of this to dismiss nor demean your concerns or feelings toward the issue. Your feelings are totally justified. And as I stated earlier, I really do feel your pain.
One of my unsold (yet agented) manuscripts is a UFO novel. Yeah, let’s talk about how the SF community feels about UFOs….
Continue to fight the good fight, my friends!