Y'all best mind your Uncle Junot. He knows what he's talkinbout. And take money and fame out of the equation of your writing or you will risk imperiling it with a curse. And remember, the venomous squid doesn't even know how to write.
What helps you put the capitalist vampire-squid to sleep? For me, lack of recognition and success wakes it up. Many people here on Substack (and elsewhere) selling their services start their sessions by praising my work and then go into the marketing, networking, and formatting side of things–I assume they do this with most people. They say nothing negative about your craft (this makes the writer who's consuming their services feel good enough to come back) and launch into the "secrets in how they've helped hundreds of writers achieve their goals" that involve formatting, networking, funnelling strategies, or whatever the fuck else. This not only wakes up the capitalist vampire-squid but turns you into it.
I always tell myself that once (if?) I ever achieve success (a liveable income from writing), I will no longer need to give into the vampire-squid. Aside from book signings, lectures, and interviews, I can focus on my craft. This is a dream and possibly not a realistic one. So, what is the reality of an esteemed author's relationship with the capitalist vampire-squid? Do the tentacles reach further, or do you have the sword to cut them off?
nolan, the vampire squid is never truly fully asleep -- and the more we give into it the more it will sink its tentacles into us. what sucks is there's always an alibi for why we have to give into it. before i was published the alibi was "i have to get published!" after i was published the alibi was "I need to earn a living from my work! I get more famous because that will help me earn a living from my work!" who can say which version of the vampire squid is more voracious? and which is harder to quell? this is why you have to fight it and keep fighting it, no matter where you are in your writing life. that fight and that fight alone will preserve what is best about a writer's work. but of course im talking about the kind of Morrison-Delany-Roy-Cisneros writing im interested in. there's plenty of other types of writing where my approach aint all that relevant.
Thanks, Junot. Since it’ll always be there, it makes my decision to stay away from Canada (where I was primarily raised) easier. In Spain, people rarely ask what I do for a living. They’re interested in who I am, not what I do to make ends meet. Here, I’m a writer.
Alright, now it's time to disfrutar un bocadillo de ‘calamar’ para almuerzo.
"I always tell myself that once (if?) I ever achieve success (a liveable income from writing), I will no longer need to give into the vampire-squid." I hope that is the case and it is something to strive for, but I bet it will take a lot more effort to make happen then you might think it will now. This is so, if not for any other reason, than the threat of lifestyle creep. As one makes more money they tend to spend more too and so the need to maintain the income stream as is - if not higher - becomes imperative.
Status also likely drives it. The money is one thing but the attention can be an even more addictive drug. Once you get a hit of attention it becomes easier to fall into a monotonous consistency, churning out what works because it worked before and gets the people reading. At that point it is easy to fudge it a bit and push out more banal stuff to continue the high and the income that will likely come with it. But it doesn't have to be that way. It is just easy for it become that way, being what we are as human.
That's the truth for many people, Teej. I’ll admit I come from a pretty privileged background, though. I mean, I’m not a trust fund kid, but I was fortunate enough to have my education paid for. I've also been welcomed into the “milieu” (that word makes me a bit nauseous), where I've got to experience that fabricated sense of status and obscene wealth. I felt the addiction to money and status as an adolescent because, at that age, people are easily influenced by the corporate fabricated mass hallucinations, but I no longer feel that pull. If anything, I am happier now that I have removed myself from that world and gone beyond the gated communities where people judge each other based on material gains and job titles. However, I still crave recognition and influence (not money or power).
Such a thoughtful response as you break it down, Junot.
I vote for the art! And agree that when I stray, I tend to come back to it, even throw away what was created to be more marketable (for better or worse). But I love the idea that it can be for the future. The world keeps changing and this text may have it's place. You could self-publish it now and I still think a lot of people would find the topic interesting (I do) and it may have a rebirth in the future. I think you have to decide for yourself if you're craving to share (and receive feedback) or if it feels ok in a drawer for now. That decision, I believe, is truly personal. There are so many reasons you may feel the need to share it now. And if you do, I would just go for it.
This makes me so happy to read! Yes to the weirdness and writing for the future! We absolutely can not know the future, but we are creating it in the present--what might we imagine for the future? In a class I’m currently in, we read an essay from Rust Hills (a fiction editor for Esquire a ways back) and he calls it Slick Fiction vs. Quality Fiction: “Quality fiction partakes of the nightdream--while slick fiction partakes of the daydream.” I love that!! (oh looks like he was quoting another editor, Leonard Wallace Robinson). Thanks for writing this. I find it soooo important, reassuring, and hopeful.
Y'all best mind your Uncle Junot. He knows what he's talkinbout. And take money and fame out of the equation of your writing or you will risk imperiling it with a curse. And remember, the venomous squid doesn't even know how to write.
What helps you put the capitalist vampire-squid to sleep? For me, lack of recognition and success wakes it up. Many people here on Substack (and elsewhere) selling their services start their sessions by praising my work and then go into the marketing, networking, and formatting side of things–I assume they do this with most people. They say nothing negative about your craft (this makes the writer who's consuming their services feel good enough to come back) and launch into the "secrets in how they've helped hundreds of writers achieve their goals" that involve formatting, networking, funnelling strategies, or whatever the fuck else. This not only wakes up the capitalist vampire-squid but turns you into it.
I always tell myself that once (if?) I ever achieve success (a liveable income from writing), I will no longer need to give into the vampire-squid. Aside from book signings, lectures, and interviews, I can focus on my craft. This is a dream and possibly not a realistic one. So, what is the reality of an esteemed author's relationship with the capitalist vampire-squid? Do the tentacles reach further, or do you have the sword to cut them off?
nolan, the vampire squid is never truly fully asleep -- and the more we give into it the more it will sink its tentacles into us. what sucks is there's always an alibi for why we have to give into it. before i was published the alibi was "i have to get published!" after i was published the alibi was "I need to earn a living from my work! I get more famous because that will help me earn a living from my work!" who can say which version of the vampire squid is more voracious? and which is harder to quell? this is why you have to fight it and keep fighting it, no matter where you are in your writing life. that fight and that fight alone will preserve what is best about a writer's work. but of course im talking about the kind of Morrison-Delany-Roy-Cisneros writing im interested in. there's plenty of other types of writing where my approach aint all that relevant.
Thanks, Junot. Since it’ll always be there, it makes my decision to stay away from Canada (where I was primarily raised) easier. In Spain, people rarely ask what I do for a living. They’re interested in who I am, not what I do to make ends meet. Here, I’m a writer.
Alright, now it's time to disfrutar un bocadillo de ‘calamar’ para almuerzo.
"I always tell myself that once (if?) I ever achieve success (a liveable income from writing), I will no longer need to give into the vampire-squid." I hope that is the case and it is something to strive for, but I bet it will take a lot more effort to make happen then you might think it will now. This is so, if not for any other reason, than the threat of lifestyle creep. As one makes more money they tend to spend more too and so the need to maintain the income stream as is - if not higher - becomes imperative.
Status also likely drives it. The money is one thing but the attention can be an even more addictive drug. Once you get a hit of attention it becomes easier to fall into a monotonous consistency, churning out what works because it worked before and gets the people reading. At that point it is easy to fudge it a bit and push out more banal stuff to continue the high and the income that will likely come with it. But it doesn't have to be that way. It is just easy for it become that way, being what we are as human.
That's the truth for many people, Teej. I’ll admit I come from a pretty privileged background, though. I mean, I’m not a trust fund kid, but I was fortunate enough to have my education paid for. I've also been welcomed into the “milieu” (that word makes me a bit nauseous), where I've got to experience that fabricated sense of status and obscene wealth. I felt the addiction to money and status as an adolescent because, at that age, people are easily influenced by the corporate fabricated mass hallucinations, but I no longer feel that pull. If anything, I am happier now that I have removed myself from that world and gone beyond the gated communities where people judge each other based on material gains and job titles. However, I still crave recognition and influence (not money or power).
Such a thoughtful response as you break it down, Junot.
I vote for the art! And agree that when I stray, I tend to come back to it, even throw away what was created to be more marketable (for better or worse). But I love the idea that it can be for the future. The world keeps changing and this text may have it's place. You could self-publish it now and I still think a lot of people would find the topic interesting (I do) and it may have a rebirth in the future. I think you have to decide for yourself if you're craving to share (and receive feedback) or if it feels ok in a drawer for now. That decision, I believe, is truly personal. There are so many reasons you may feel the need to share it now. And if you do, I would just go for it.
This makes me so happy to read! Yes to the weirdness and writing for the future! We absolutely can not know the future, but we are creating it in the present--what might we imagine for the future? In a class I’m currently in, we read an essay from Rust Hills (a fiction editor for Esquire a ways back) and he calls it Slick Fiction vs. Quality Fiction: “Quality fiction partakes of the nightdream--while slick fiction partakes of the daydream.” I love that!! (oh looks like he was quoting another editor, Leonard Wallace Robinson). Thanks for writing this. I find it soooo important, reassuring, and hopeful.