A winner! Also, Guest Blogger - Lily
Dec. 12th, 2009 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naomi_jayWow, thanks to everyone who commented yesterday - I didn't expect such a big response! I've drawn a winner via the magic of a random number generator, and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spiderling will be receiving a copy of AFTERLIFE. Congratulations! Don't worry, those of you who didn't win though; everyone who commented will automatically be entered in the draw for the AFTERLIFE Bag of Swag giveaway!
Now, onto my guest blogger today. Lily is one of my fellow Damnation Books authors, and her novella EDEN FELL is available now. It's a dark tale of Eden's fall from grace and the end of the world, and you should definitely check it out. So! Lily, take it away...
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To Curse or Not to Curse
Recently, I was emailed some questions on my website by someone who had found me whilst searching for authors of fiction. She asked what to do about stories which involve cursing. Do bookstores require warnings?
At first, I was a little surprised. As I told her, books are not the same as movies and television. It's simply a different medium.
To my knowledge, bookstores, particularly chain stores, really don't care about content. Their only job is to distribute and make money. Sometimes, there will be local independent bookstores that only sell YA literature, books about war, horror novels only, etc. But those are far and between. The big bookstores couldn't care less. And even more rarely, sometimes books are pulled off the shelves because their controversial content was discovered after the fact. In those cases, the publishers failed in their own responsibilities.
That's the thing of novel writing. Freedom of speech is prevalent and most obvious with books, particularly fiction. Unfortunately, there's also a downside. I've noticed just about all publishers will specify in their submission guidelines they don't accept hate speech, rape pornography, racism, etc. Unfortunate that such writers exist that publishers feel they have to specify. Yes, there is freedom of speech, but such subject matters as rape pornography is criminal, thus voiding any freedom of speech.
You can write whatever you want. But if the content breaks the law and is immoral, it will be rejected. Guaranteed. Bookstores and publishers may not require warnings, but that doesn't mean common sense is obsolete.
I'll be honest, as a writer of dark fiction, there are times when certain scenes will make me a tad nervous. But I always ask myself if it's within the context of the story and more importantly, is it there for a good reason? If I've answered yes, without a doubt, then the scene stays as is. It can be quite a responsibility making such decisions and of course no one else can do it but me.
At the same time, we all have our jobs. Publishers, editors, agents and sometimes even reviewers can help guide an author into making appropriate decisions. That's why such jobs exist. I would be lying if I said I did absolutely everything on my own. I'm always grateful for even the smallest amount of constructive criticism or editing work. I do what I can with what I've got.
However, there's another side to this that I find is rarely discussed – personal responsibility of the reader. Readers are equally responsible for their choice of reading material. After all, if someone who only reads romance novels purposely went out of their way to read a horror novel only to complain bitterly there wasn't a warning, well, that would be silly, wouldn't it?
It works both ways. An author can only take as much responsibility as they can for themselves. The rest is up to the readers to check the genre of their chosen book – to take responsibility for their own decisions. Of course, mistakes happen. We're only human after all.
For any aspiring writer, your only job is to write the story in a way that you feel is best. If the story calls for cursing, so be it. Believe in the story above all else.
Have a cursing good time!
Creatively yours,
spiderling will be receiving a copy of AFTERLIFE. Congratulations! Don't worry, those of you who didn't win though; everyone who commented will automatically be entered in the draw for the AFTERLIFE Bag of Swag giveaway!Now, onto my guest blogger today. Lily is one of my fellow Damnation Books authors, and her novella EDEN FELL is available now. It's a dark tale of Eden's fall from grace and the end of the world, and you should definitely check it out. So! Lily, take it away...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Curse or Not to Curse
Recently, I was emailed some questions on my website by someone who had found me whilst searching for authors of fiction. She asked what to do about stories which involve cursing. Do bookstores require warnings?
At first, I was a little surprised. As I told her, books are not the same as movies and television. It's simply a different medium.
To my knowledge, bookstores, particularly chain stores, really don't care about content. Their only job is to distribute and make money. Sometimes, there will be local independent bookstores that only sell YA literature, books about war, horror novels only, etc. But those are far and between. The big bookstores couldn't care less. And even more rarely, sometimes books are pulled off the shelves because their controversial content was discovered after the fact. In those cases, the publishers failed in their own responsibilities.
That's the thing of novel writing. Freedom of speech is prevalent and most obvious with books, particularly fiction. Unfortunately, there's also a downside. I've noticed just about all publishers will specify in their submission guidelines they don't accept hate speech, rape pornography, racism, etc. Unfortunate that such writers exist that publishers feel they have to specify. Yes, there is freedom of speech, but such subject matters as rape pornography is criminal, thus voiding any freedom of speech.
You can write whatever you want. But if the content breaks the law and is immoral, it will be rejected. Guaranteed. Bookstores and publishers may not require warnings, but that doesn't mean common sense is obsolete.
I'll be honest, as a writer of dark fiction, there are times when certain scenes will make me a tad nervous. But I always ask myself if it's within the context of the story and more importantly, is it there for a good reason? If I've answered yes, without a doubt, then the scene stays as is. It can be quite a responsibility making such decisions and of course no one else can do it but me.
At the same time, we all have our jobs. Publishers, editors, agents and sometimes even reviewers can help guide an author into making appropriate decisions. That's why such jobs exist. I would be lying if I said I did absolutely everything on my own. I'm always grateful for even the smallest amount of constructive criticism or editing work. I do what I can with what I've got.
However, there's another side to this that I find is rarely discussed – personal responsibility of the reader. Readers are equally responsible for their choice of reading material. After all, if someone who only reads romance novels purposely went out of their way to read a horror novel only to complain bitterly there wasn't a warning, well, that would be silly, wouldn't it?
It works both ways. An author can only take as much responsibility as they can for themselves. The rest is up to the readers to check the genre of their chosen book – to take responsibility for their own decisions. Of course, mistakes happen. We're only human after all.
For any aspiring writer, your only job is to write the story in a way that you feel is best. If the story calls for cursing, so be it. Believe in the story above all else.
Have a cursing good time!
Creatively yours,
Lily
After many adventures across the country and a successful run as a graphic designer, Lily decided to return to Winnipeg and plot her next move. While she has never packed a gun, she has been known to use her sharp wit with deadly accuracy.
With several publications, you never know what may emerge next from this tough as nails Canadian while she explores the world of dark fiction.
http://www.lilyauthor.com/index.htm
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Remember, to be in with a chance of winning an AFTERLIFE Bag of Swag, including a copy of the latest Ethereal Tales featuring Lily's short story BLEEDING APPLE, just leave a comment here or any other guest post throughout the month.
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on 2011-05-08 05:16 am (UTC)