I thought long and hard about writing a blog post concerning the situation with Kathleen Hale. I tried for hours, after thinking of what I wanted to say at work but when I got home, I thought, “This won’t make a damn bit of difference.”
I’ve written various blog posts asking authors to NOT DO certain things but of course people will continue to do so, even though it makes every other author look bat-s*** crazy. Of course, if someone receives rewards for bad behavior, like Kathleen Hale, what impression does that leave on authors who are just dipping their toes into the business?
Just a few days ago, I received an agent rejection, which said my work, needed refining. Of course, I was disappointed and a bit ticked. It’s OK to be angry about rejections. What did I do about it, you ask? Absolutely nothing. Well, if you count having a few glasses of wine and venting to Big Brother, I did something, but it was not emailing the agent back, telling her how wrong she was or sending threats and certainly I have no plan to stalk her.
Most of us just move on and continue our journey.
So when someone who breaks the rules we so carefully follow and it hands them what we are fighting to achieve on a silver platter then I wonder, what’s the point? During my vent to Big Brother, I said, “Maybe I’ll just break the rules, and do things that would normally get people arrested. Maybe I should be the next crazy stalker to get a book deal.” Big Brother replied it, “Of course you won’t do that you’re a good person. You’re a professional.”
Damn it, I hate it when he’s right!
Seeing Hale being rewarded made me furious at first but then I thought, what’s the point of working so hard when it seems that being a total a**hole gets you everything you want? It’s disheartening and discouraging. We authors have enough trouble being professional and responsible, keeping our thick skins, and waiting patiently. Seeing this story makes us feel like we’ve been bitch-slapped or at least that how it makes me feel.
So what’s an author to do?
Peace ~
Wendy
Author WA Simpson 