Is It Fair To Ask Writers To Be ‘Good Literary Citizens’?
Until recently, I thought I was a pretty good literary citizen.
It’s true that I’m not the book world’s answer to Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I’ve never gone to Congress to rail against the stranglehold Colleen Hoover has on bestseller lists or the $80 million a year James Patterson is said to make while the rest of us earn peanuts.
But I try to do my part. I vote for other authors’ books with my credit cards at indie bookstores. I’ve been elected vice president of a national book critics organization. I’ve given speeches at writers’ conferences to promote my political causes, such as: Write in plain English, and never say “eschew” — except ironically — when you can say “avoid.”
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