It's an interesting point about the equal vs. unequal relationship of fans vs. pro writers (though, in honesty, I've often considered that to be a false dichotomy, especially since some fanfic writers are also pros). It's food for thought, however, and I realize that most fans *perceive* that dichotomy, even though I consider it somewhat flawed.
One thing about it, though, is that what you've described is exactly how the pro writing world does work. Most editors and many reviewers are also writers, and most writers who have blogs will talk about which books they're reading and what they thought of them. Naturally, this often leads to precisely the sort of infighting and accusations of favoritism that you'd expect, but, for better or worse, it's how the system works and I think this might actually be part of the problem that I have adjusting to the "let's all get along" mentality that's prevalent in fandom, because I'm used to things operating in a slightly different way. That you should try to get along with your peers, because we're all in this boat together, makes sense to me; however, the idea that it's a violation of fannish etiquette to discuss or review your peers' work is fairly alien to me, because pro writers do it all the time.
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winterfish
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Date: 2008-07-25 06:56 pm (UTC)One thing about it, though, is that what you've described is exactly how the pro writing world does work. Most editors and many reviewers are also writers, and most writers who have blogs will talk about which books they're reading and what they thought of them. Naturally, this often leads to precisely the sort of infighting and accusations of favoritism that you'd expect, but, for better or worse, it's how the system works and I think this might actually be part of the problem that I have adjusting to the "let's all get along" mentality that's prevalent in fandom, because I'm used to things operating in a slightly different way. That you should try to get along with your peers, because we're all in this boat together, makes sense to me; however, the idea that it's a violation of fannish etiquette to discuss or review your peers' work is fairly alien to me, because pro writers do it all the time.