House Slaves, Negro Leagues, and the Plight of the White Self-Published Author In America
Monday, October 31 By Andrew Shaffer In a recent guest post on J. A. Konrath's blog, thriller writer Barry Eisler suggested that authors who worry about Amazon's move into book publishing and defend the status quo (i.e. American publishing being controlled by publishers based in New York City) are "sympathizing" with their "oppressors."
The hyperbolic rhetoric Eisler used in the post (and in follow-up comments) drew heat in the blogosphere and Twitterverse. Why? Here's a look at a few of the offending metaphors:
- Using the term "house slave" to describe (some) authors who publish with the Big Six
- Suggesting that these same authors may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome
- Using the "beaten wife" metaphor to describe the same authors
"The language of abuse and slavery and Stockholm Syndrome is rampant among self-publishing proponents. Konrath and Eisler are by no means the worst offenders," writes Courtney Milan. "It drives me absolutely bonkers. The 'abuse' I had to put up with from my publisher was two six-figure deals and inclusion in an anthology with a New York Times bestseller. Weep for me."
Although Eisler left an apology in the comments on his post, this isn't the first time that Eisler has courted controversy by using overblown, racially-charged metaphors. In a blog post in March, he and Konrath compared self-published authors to Negro League baseball players.
The lesson that I take away from this is: WHITE GUYS WHO ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY MAKE SHOULD NOT COMPARE THEMSELVES OR OTHERS TO THE PLIGHT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN OPPRESSED AND DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. NOT SLAVES. NOT NEGRO LEAGUE BALLPLAYERS. NOT BEATEN WIVES. END OF STORY.
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To read more on this story – including a fascinating dialogue/flame war between Eisler, Konrath, and Milan – check out Courtney Milan's blog.
Reader Comments (2)
I read the blog in question and thought, oh, noooo! I have been ENSLAVED by my publisher, which has OPPRESSED me by forcing big advances, talented editing, high production standards, an award-winning cover artist, strong promotional support, and excellent distribution on me! Thank GOD someone has pointed out how "stupid" I am for falling for my captors in classic abused-spouse Stockholm Syndrome way which...
Um...
Hang on.
(Spotting possible flaw in theory...)
@ Laura - You're right. Self-published authors don't get advances... promotional support... advance copies... author copies... copy editing... editing.... bookstore distribution... etc. Remind me again what Amazon does for their 30% of a self-published book's cover price?