Is an Olympic Gold Medal Worth All the Broken Bones?
Did you watch the Winter Olympics? I haven’t skated or skied in decades – and I was never much good at either – but I find it fascinating to watch these incredible athletes do amazing things on ice and snow.
During one downhill skiing event, the commentators discussed how many surgeries one competitor had undergone due to crashes at previous events. They concluded with an offhand remark about how broken bones are just part of competing.
“That’s ridiculous!” was my first thought. Did each of these skiers really weigh their options and then decide that broken bones, multiple surgeries, long rehabs, and continued health issues for the rest of their lives were worth being recognized as the best in the world? I guess they did.
The more I mulled over this, however, the better I understood. I don't think I can accept it, but I think I understand the decision-making process. Similar choices are being faced in the publishing world, too.
No writers’ bones are being broken, as far as I know, but we face other injuries as we ponder the risks and rewards that come with trying to “win the gold” as an author. A well-written book with an intriguing plot is not enough for success. Authors are also asked to be “personalities” that generate a strong following of book-buyers, and building that “personality” can be extremely hazardous.
You have to be witty. You have to be relevant. You have to be prolific. You have to stand out from the crowd. And that makes it super easy to crash by saying or doing something stupid. We see it happen to celebrities all the time.
Of course, there are some authors who are willing to risk the pain of social backlash to “win gold” for their writing. Maybe they embrace the old saying “there's no such thing as bad publicity” and are prepared to face the consequences. But I suspect there are also quite a few writers who just can’t grow skin thick enough to withstand the falls.
This has always been a tough call for me. Heck, my day job is in marketing, so I know how this works. But I’m personally not very thick-skinned. While I want very much to share my work with a wider readership, I have to work out whether pursuing that goal is worth risking a metaphorical broken bone. I wonder how are other writers handling it.
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