Thursday, January 20, 2011

Are You Better Than Snooki?

So. Snooki. She's on this show:




And she wrote this book:




And she's now officially a New York Times Bestselling Author.

Many people hate this. Others don't seem to mind.

Those who do mind say Snooki doesn't deserve to be a NYT Bestselling Author. Their arguments are:

a) she didn't write the book herself
b) she's taking another (real) writer's spot on the list
c) she's Snooki

I, folks, have zero problems with Snooki being an author. My argument is:

a) young adults are reading

They're caring about books. They're not just focusing on what their teachers assign in class. They're going to the store and buying books that are relevant to pop culture, whether adults are familiar with that pop culture or not. Or whether that pop culture is worthy of emulation or not.

If you say you hate the fact that Snooki's a Bestselling author, I interpret that in two ways:

a) you think teens should be reading better books, such as the ones you write

which means

b) you think you're a better writer than Snooki 

If that's the case, I have a tip for you: keep writing.

If you are a better writer than Snooki, that means you'll get a book deal. Because if she did it, so will you, right? Someday your book will be on shelves. Young adults will be buying your book. They will be choosing it over the classics they call boring and hard to read. You will show the world what real quality writing is. That teens are wasting their time reading books by people who drink and have sex on TV. 

Is that why you want to get published? 

Don't you think people will say the same thing about your book when (if) it hits shelves?

Aren't literary fiction writers against YA because they think it's not quality fiction? That it's what you do before taking writing seriously, like playing pretend until you're good enough?

Alas, the cycle of snob life continues...

17 comments:

  1. I liked Kiersten White's argument on this subject, she said that she doesn't mind Snooki making the best seller list because that means that publishers will have more money to take on better books now! So I thank Snooki for making sure that those of us who write our books will get published and inspiring those who think we can't do it, but then think "If she can do it, I can do it."

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  2. YEP, you are ultimately right. I'll admit when I first heard the news, it was a little kick to my gut, but then I straightened myself out, thought about teh fact that those are same pubs who might pub my books someday, and got over it!

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  3. Snookie will do what she does. Writers will write what they want. It's all good.

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  4. I say if snookie writes a book and someone reads it, whatever. I'm not going to read it. It's not interfering with my life and hell, she has like five more minutes left in the spotlight anyway, let her cash in now, so she can leave us alone later.

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  5. I agree teens reading something is better than nothing. I do hope something I write isn't a flash in the pan and gone within a year. (Hugs)Indigo

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  6. Magan, I'm with you and Kiersten. More money for publishers means more funds for acquiring better books. As long as not every publishing decision is based solely on the coffers, I'm good. It's the thought that only movie and TV stars will be writing books in the future that makes me sad. It's a whole other industry and the free pass thing makes me jealous. :)

    Fun to think about, Amparo! We could all do with being a bit less snobsters.

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  7. I've never heard of Snooki before, but I know books published by celebrities are becoming more and more common. I don't have anything against it--if they want to write a book, then I don't have anything against that. It doesn't mean I have to read it.

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  8. Fine if it doesn't bother you, but to the other commenters, please don't say she wrote the book. Someone else did the hard work, and she put her name on it.

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  9. I love this. I was going to make a joke about how adorable Snooki is (I've never actually seen the show), but I won't, because you actually make some pretty good points.

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  10. My problem with any celebrity (or pseudo-celebrity..I don't consider Snookie a real celeb) getting a fiction book deal...most times it's only because of their popularity. Not becuase they can actually craft an excellent story. Their name sells the book, not the quality of the story.

    But I agree...I am all for teens reading more books. I don't write YA, but eventually they will outgrow YA and need something juicer. That's where I come in! :)

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  11. I just have a problem with the name Snooki. :-)

    Take care
    x

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  12. Awesome post. I'm with you -- teens are reading. That's the great thing. I also agree that we need to write, work our butts off and keep writing.

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  13. Great post! I do love the fact that teens are reading, which means that one day they may want to read my writing. I also like the idea of backing up your whining w/ a knock-out manuscript. :)

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  14. I honestly wonder if it's young adults reading her book or not! I'd love to see a teen review it haha I should check Goodreads.

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  15. You're the second one I've heard talking about this today. I think we also have to keep in mind that our audience is different. If I'm writing fiction, the fiction readers will read. Besides, you're right. It is kind of cool that kids are reading. =)

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  16. Well, I gotta admit, it annoys me because it's almost like false advertising. It's not Snooki who's a best-selling author...it's her story/book that created a whole bunch of sensationalism/curiosity/interest, and therefore massive sales, because of her wacky ways on reality TV.

    Fried pickle, anyone?

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  17. I don't doubt that she wrote it--you should read an excerpt.

    Also, the venn diagram at the end of this post:
    http://janinesclayson.blogspot.com/2011/01/five.html

    If it gets some of my peers to read, then that's great. But I fear that the quality might actually deter them from any more attempts at reading in the future. There's definitely that positive, though--publishers will have more money to purchase better books. I agree with Golden Eagle. =)

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