7. Resolution - understanding the ego issue
I raised the issue of ego, but confusingly have placed it as an item for consideration by both parties – because both accuse each other of over-egotism. This has always seemed ironic to me, as egos survive, indeed thrive, on both sides of the publishing fence. It’s a creative industry.
It’s impossible to write a book without having a strong ego; the idea of assuming that your thoughts and experiences are interesting to the wider population is an act of great egotism. But remember that ego as originally outlined by Freud was good – and without its existence in authors, there would be no books.
Ego or breathtaking arrogance?
Publishers can be equally egotistical. The confidence with which they feel able to deflate authors’ writing ideas, even when they are in the most junior positions or lack even a basic understanding of the market being approached, is certainly evidence of an egotistical belief in their own powers of judgement – although often it seems more like breathtaking arrogance.
Authors are keen to promote their own book, failing (either deliberately or unconsciously) to consider the other titles a publishing house may be handling over the same period.
The washed masses
Publishers tend to assume a much wider level of information (and indeed interest) amongst the reading public about their organisations than is the case; most people know the names of their favourite writers but have little idea who publishes them. Individual house imprints (e.g. Viking, Vintage, Abacus) are even less well known.
Watch any group of publishers in action and you will observe a scene worthy of the attention of David Attenborough: the strutters and the stalkers; those who wander around with an immense awareness of their own talent, general attractiveness and the vital part they play in bringing reading material to the washed masses (they are, for the most part, less interested in the unwashed).
Both publishers and authors tend to assume that many more people want to read than actually do, and they are fond of adding a moralistic value to what they should be doing with their time.
« Back | Return to the beginning of the chapter
-
Buy the 2010 Yearbook
The Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2010 is now available from our online bookshop. Get all the facts, figures and advice you need to develop your creative career.
-
On camera: Julie Myerson
The novelist and journalist Julie Myerson tells us how she writes, what inspires her, and how she got that all-important lucky break. Click here to view the video » 