April Fool's Day

Well, here you are. It's April Fool's Day. Did someone trick you?



Maybe this is the first trick for you today. I'm starting my blog on April Fool's Day. Somehow, that seems appropriate. Okay, it's not really a trick. This is a blog. It's mine. It's April Fool's Day...All facts. No tricks.



I hear folks talking about clever tricks they've played on each other. I always laugh. I suppose that's the sadist in me. No, there really isn't a sadist in me...But I do enjoy a good practical joke--on somebody else.



Today I'm starting a blog about writing and about writers. I've been in the industry for nearly thirty years. Gosh...can it really be that long? Life speeds by, doesn't it? Time flies when you're having fun.



So what does April Fool's Day have to do with being a writer? An excellent question. I'd wager the farm (I have two tomato plants, one basil and one rosemary) that if asked, most seasoned writers would say that the world is fraught with practical jokes played on writers. Not just by each other, but by editors, agents, readers...hell, the world as a whole...And, it's not intentional. I hope.



It's just that nobody but another writer knows the uncertainty of being a writer. Even multi-published writers are always waiting for somebody to pull the rug out from under us. You're only as good as your last book. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard readers say they're never buying another book by a certain author. It really hurts me to hear that. Trying to defend a writer against what a reader perceives to be a bad book is no easy task. A student in my writing class last night, for instance, said that very thing. She even wrote to the author and basically said, "I loved your first book (s), what the hell happened on the next one?" That would come under the classification of "Letters A Writer Never Wants to Receive."



In defense of said author (and all the rests of the authors in the world who've received similar mail) loving, liking or even disliking a book is entirely subjective. There's not much we can do to make every single reader love our books. There will always be a plotline or character that not everybody falls in love with.

But, on the other hand, there is a certain line of defense in the publishing world that prevents (or should) a bad book from being published. So what happened? Is there an explanation? Like most other issues in the world, there's no one answer.



Sooooooo, before you make that kind of blanket statement, think for a moment. The writer thought enough of the idea and characters to write the book. The agent (if there is one) liked it enough to send it on to the publisher. The editor liked it enough to present it to the editorial committee. Marketing thought enough of it to give it a thumbs up. The publisher thought enough of it to write a check payable to the author...So, here's that line of defense I was talking about. These people are professionals. It's their jobs to recognize the difference between good books and bad books.



But, the simple fact is that occasionally, a bad one gets through. Maybe that's the April Fool's Day practical joke...and it's on you...and me...the readers.