We Are Not The Only Ones

There's a hot debate here lately about whether LROD writers are just a bunch of sour grapes and whiners who are not ready for publishing because we don't polish up their prose, or whether we are genuine writers with a legitimate beef about current business practices. A very funny article over at The Chronicle Review (by way of Helen Ginger's blog, Straight from Hel) seems indicate the latter may indeed be the case. The article by established author and professor, Gina Barreca is entitled "Growing Literary Agents from Stem Cells."

Here's a tart little taste for you: "Maybe it’s not impossible to get an agent who is responsive, responsible, intelligent, well-read, witty, and competent, even if you’re not selling a book that will immediately be made into a blockbuster Hollywood film. And maybe it’s not impossible for me to flap my arms and circle the moon. Ask any writers — working authors, especially those known as “midlist,” meaning that they’ve sold books but have not had action-figures based on their characters — about their search for the perfect literary representative, and they will clutch you by the collar and, as their eyes narrow into gimlets, they’ll launch into a saga that makes the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” sound positively catchy."

It's well worth the click and the read.