The tide is high

I got into a bit of an argument on Facebook yesterday over Hilary Duff.

Yes, you'd better reread that first sentence.  It is correct.

A friend posted a link to the following Yahoo News article:

NEW YORK – Welcome the latest celebrity children's author, Hilary Duff.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young readers said Tuesday the actress-singer will work on a series of young adult novels that starts with "Elixir," to be published in October. The first novel will feature the worldwide adventures of photojournalist Clea Raymond.

Twenty-two-year-old Duff also plans a nonfiction book about children coping with divorce, scheduled for 2012. Duff has written about her own parents' separation in the songs "Stranger" and "Gypsy Woman."

She (my friend) and her friends proceeded to spit vitriol at Hilary.  I can't refer to the exact discussion because my friend has apparently deleted the entire conversation from her page (which was very disappointing).  Things were said along the lines of "it's going to be terrible" and "this is bad news for YA authors everywhere" and "who does she think she is?"

I was astonished to see such hate spilling forth.  The consensus seemed to be that because she was an actress and singer, she couldn't write and was only getting a book deal because of her name.  I didn't understand why these unpublished writers and their friends were so hateful upon someone for succeeding at something they hadn't yet.  I asked if I would become the target of such hate if I got published, to which my friend replied "No, because you've earned it."

That got me thinking.  How is it that Hilary Duff hasn't earned publication?  My friend Allie has an excellent blog post about the elitism of writers who believe nobody successful in other fields deserves to also be successful in writing.  We both agree that's a load of bunk.  Many people who've started in one field switch with varying levels of success.  Dwayne Johnson was a professional wrestler called The Rock before making the switch to acting.  Yes, he's been in some stinkers, but he's also been in some good films.  Did people who'd only ever been actors detest him for cashing in on his prior stardom to get a leg up in the new field?  Undoubtedly.  I'm old enough to remember Michael Jordan, the superstar basketball player, who left the sport to go play Major League Baseball.  He wasn't very good at it as I recall, but he wanted to try something different.  Did he get the chance because of his fame?  Probably.  Does that make his effort any less legitimate, though?

Hilary Duff didn't start out famous.  She had to have special talent to get in tight with Disney, a company which has exceptonally high standards.  Anyone who denies that she has talent as an actress and singer is probably jealous and unwilling to see past their own elevated noses.  She earned her celebrity status.  So if she has her agent call up a publisher to say "Hilary wants to write a series of YA books," can you blame the publisher for being interested?  It's a good business decision to publish something by someone famous.

She still has to write something good, though.  She'll get edited as thoroughly as any other author would, because the publisher doesn't want to release junk onto the market.  It's unfair for people to judge her writing as "crap" before it even comes out.  It's equally unfair to say "well, she only reads well because she has good editors."  Every author that reads well has a good editor, because publishers want to put a quality product on the shelves.

Finally, the statement that by doing this she will somehow "hurt YA authors" is completely bogus.  If Hilary Duff's books are unsuccessful and do not sell, the publisher will want to replace them with something new quickly, creating openings for other writers.  If they sell extremely well, the general demand in the YA market will increase, creating more openings for other writers.  People, this is what we call a win-win situation.  I don't like Stephenie Meyers' writing, but I can't deny that she's made Urban Fantasy a booming business, and I might never have written Blood on the Ice if not for her, so I must thank her for that.

Anyone who says that a successful writer hurts other writers' opportunities for success is probably only a marginal writer at best.  "The grapes were probably sour anyway," as Aesop's fox said.

Don't begrudge someone their success; celebrate it, because a rising tide raises all ships.