In Defense of Authors: The Author's Life

I will start by disclosing how I've changed since entering the literary world. I had no idea the life of a published writer was so complicated but it is. It seems like the more successful you get, new people enter your life, you go through new situations and all kinds of different things come up. It is an exciting life, a fun ride but most of all it is very exhausting. I'm not complaining because you all know how much I love my career. It comes to my attention, as I read different things that the main complaint readers have with authors is either not answering fan mail or not answering fan mail on time. Well, let me break down the structure of an author for you.

Please don't be quick to believe that just because an author doesn't respond to you that they are being stuck-up or rude. Okay, some are but the majority is not. Authors enjoy getting mail from readers and fans. The ones who don't will let you know by asking you not to send anything either through actions of their reputation or by saying it flat out on their sites, etc. But I don't know an author personally who doesn't want mail. They may just not read it if they are not interested but hey…some people are like that. When you write an author, did you know that most times you are not only writing the author? A lot of authors do not want personal mail coming straight to them so they have this structure set up…

To the publisher…to the agent…to the author. Why? Well, let's see. There are a lot of weirdoes in the world. Today authors want their mail read before they get them in case there's trouble. Being a literary entertainer is not easy. You have all kinds of things that can crop up. You have lawsuits, stalkers, harassers, other writers looking for handouts, fundraisers asking for your help, charities, foundations, and all types of people who may write an author. So a lot of authors would rather have the good mail separated from the bad. Let me also say that most authors find it disrespectful if you write them asking them to critique your work. Why? The author's life is terribly hectic. You must understand. We barely have enough time for our own work so it gets hard to get such requests when you never asked for them. Most authors think of this as harassment. My word of advice is to only contact a writer for a critique if THEY approach you. Some will see your work and want to help you out if you've got potential. But it's very disheartening to have people think you owe them favors. I never thought of approaching another writer to get my foot in the door. That wasn't me. I felt it was more important to focus on publishers and agents. So that is one big reason why some people's mail is not answered. Believe me, you send an author mail asking them to help you get published or look over your work then don't be surprised if you don't hear back.

Now back to the actual mailing…

It's easier to get through to authors with their own PO addresses (like me) because most times it means they read their own mail. The problem is that when it comes to getting mail if you're the only one reading it, it will take you longer to respond. People correspond with me mostly through email. I imagine that's how it is for other authors but you do get the occasional snail mail fans too. It's just that it's the age of technology so emailing is what more people do these days. Some authors get so much mail they can't possibly answer it all but they try. Also if you really want a response from your favorite writer, write them again if they haven't gotten back to you in a certain amount of time. Your letter or email may have gotten lost. Computers and post offices aren't perfect you know?

You know what the biggest questions to authors from readers are?

" Do you really answer your fan mail? " and " How come when you write authors they never write you back? "

I believe most authors try to answer mail ASAP. I tell you, the author's life is very busy. You have no idea. We do so much in a week it's amazing we don't lose our heads. Well, some of us do LOL! Let me break it down for you.

What authors have to deal with:
People & Situations (agents, publishers, editors, publicists the media, etc.) That's a lot of folks isn't it? Tell me about it. Now look at the situations that go along with this. (Phone calls, emails, interviews (radio, television), photo shoots, magazines, traveling, book signings, book tours, visiting book stores, public speaking, charities, literary events, etc.) Sometimes authors have lunches with big Hollywood folks such as Stephen Spielberg if you're trying to get your books turned into movies. These are the people authors deal with on a regular basis and they take up a bulk of our time. And, we always must put these people first. It doesn't mean that the fans or readers don't come first in our hearts. It means that these folks on this list don't wait so we must make them top priority.

Writing: (Deadlines, editing, rewrites, going back and forth with your agent, going back and forth with your publisher, going back and forth with your editor, going back and forth with your publicist if you have one)…and you see what I mean? Yep, writing is tough. Sometimes you write something over fifteen times for your agent to go, " Ah, you've done better. It's good but it's missing something. " Or either your editor says, " What are you nuts? Your last book was so good! What is this piece of crap? Go do it over and give me something that we can make a movie out of! " LOL, believe me this is the scenario in most cases these days. Thus, making it harder for many authors to focus on readers.

I didn't intend for this to be so long but I wanted to take you into the author's life and to defend authors because we're not all cold and heartless. Some people may feel that way if you don't get back to them but we're people too. We sometimes have things that happen in our lives where answering mail just isn't possible at the moment. It doesn’t mean we don't care. I think most authors appreciate their readers. Writing is the oldest and most revered form of entertainment. Believe me, I love all my readers. And I hope to give you back the special feeling you've given me.