Why Do Writers Refuse to Recognize the Corruption of the Publishing Industry?
They claim to be intelligent, critical thinkers but they repeat unsupported narratives
I’ll never get a big 3 publishing contract because our literary community is just a propaganda empire owned by oligarchs. But YOU allow me to keep writing! THANK YOU!
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There are none so blind as those that will not see and writers are among the very worst. When scholars look back on this era, I expect they will lament the complete lack of support for any sort of creative movement.
I’ve been a writer all my life. It’s not a choice, it’s a calling. When I started off, I honestly believed that if I wrote something good and meaningful, it would find an audience.
Today, I’m fifty years old. I’ve written articles that have been shared hundreds of thousands of times. I’ve developed huge followings on a number of platforms. There is an audience out there that hungers for a different narrative. But I never anticipated how much censorship and oppression I would encounter.
This is supposed to be the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave.” It is neither.
Instead, we live in a propaganda society that deliberately censors vitally important narratives. Our literary mechanism is run by powerful people who have no need of releasing quality products. They are of the class that prints their own money, and they’re part of an establishment that suppresses rather than elevates important voices.
“Maybe your work is just terrible?”
It’s astonishing to me how many writers are willing to believe the false narratives of our time. They fall for them hook, line, and sinker. It’s comical how many people who consider themselves “critical thinkers” are willing to repeat corporate narratives that passively justify oppression.
Look around people!
All you have to do is examine news stations, and movies, and public education and you see that white narratives are overrepresented at the expense of everyone else. When you are scanning the radio as you drive down the highway, you’ll hear thirty selections from today’s most overplayed pop stars, and not a single protest song.
They are programming your mind into a passive state of obedience. Yet, when I talk about this, even with educated people, they tend to think that I’m the one at fault. They blame my work for not being good enough, rather than even entertain the possibility that there might be flaws in our system.
These haughty comments come from people who themselves have not earned a major contract. How is it they can’t see that any insult they apply to me must also cast shade on them?
“Where’s your contract then?”
I’ve been working in this industry long enough to know the difference between bot swarms and the ill-conceived comments of otherwise intelligent people. It doesn’t escape my notice when somebody reads my title and then scrolls to the comments without even attempting to absorb the argument.
I can detect that in three words. Dishonest interactions give themselves away. Most of the time they reference arguments I’ve already dismantled in my text. I don’t care how accomplished you think you are, don’t leave a comment without doing me the courtesy of reading first.
That’s disrespectful.
But for the life of me I can’t comprehend how the academic community can be so intentionally obtuse. It’s as if they think their compliance with the false standard of major publishing virtually guarantees them a contract. We have accomplished scholars in positions of power who are willing to self-censor themselves throughout their entire lives because they don’t want to risk their chances of landing a six figure deal.
How can people be so smart and miss something that’s so obvious? You aren’t a “temporarily inconvenienced billionaire.” You’re the same working class schmuck as the rest of us.
Deal with reality for a change.
Don’t patronize industries that don’t care about you
It’s called a rat race for a reason. All we do is chase, chase, chase. Early on we do this because we’ve been deceived by false counselors who manipulate us for their own gain. I’m talking about abusive parents, abusive employers, and an abusive society.
They always dangle the promise of reward. All you have to do is give a little more and work a little harder and wait a little longer, and all the riches will come. That’s what they say. But in reality, all you do is work hard all your life, give everything, and receive nothing in return.
So many writers are so laser focused on a big three contract that they squander their own talent and time. These are individuals who point to other groups in our society and claim they’re “in a cult.” But they steadfastly refuse to recognize the ways they too have been trained to disregard the evidence of their own senses.
It happens to writers all the time. In fact, I believe the proliferation of this unfortunate state of self-delusion is largely responsible for the rapid deterioration of our society.
Intelligent people have learned not to say anything “too divisive” or “too ambitious” because they’ve been trained to think that will cut off their chances of some later reward.
They’re afraid. Nobody who writes with fear instead of courage will ever write anything of significance.
This is your time, don’t waste it
I’ve been writing for fifty years not because it’s lucrative, but because I’m stubborn. I firmly believe that I know as much or more about writing than any editor or agent. A statement like that will have all the academics hoping for a big contract to gasp and clutch their pearls. It’s bizarre that otherwise intelligent people still believe that wealth equates to competence.
We’ve had ample evidence to prove that’s not the case. Look around. The only thing the big publishers have is access to a distribution mechanism and virtually limitless funds. Yet their books continue to fail. The only absurdity is that capable people still delude themselves into thinking this system is legitimate.
It’s time for our brilliant community of academics to recognize we are the victims of a oligarch owned propaganda mechanism. Any discerning look at what the big publishers offer will reveal an incomprehensible and unproductive knot of contradictions. Yet our best people blind themselves to this reality out of a sense of false and undeserved loyalty.
We will never be free until we have a free press. That means we have to demand that works of merit are allowed to gather their rightful audiences rather than be censored and buried. The publishing industry chokes us with the language of ignorance and hate.
Give yourself permission to recognize corruption. The path of truth is longer, but it’s the only one that offers any chance of success.
I wonder if this hasn't always been pretty much true. Seems like a lot of the best stuff comes out of the smallest publishers, those willing to take risks.
Walter, one more thought. I apologize. We aren't all brain dead. You wouldn't know it by main stream media, but you can see independent here, even commenters, and other places in substack. But not all even then.