The Delightful Decline of the Silent Writer by Dan Holloway
Jan's frankly hilarious and utterly untoppable piece yesterday got me to thinking about the various things various authors say they're not so keen on in the modern age. And it struck me that one of the things that regularly tops such lists is the expectation that we do readings as part of the endless publicity mill. Now, I've been a 24 carat spotlight junkie since way before I decided to throw my writing into the public arena, spending several years with a borderline addiction to appearing on cheesy TV gameshows and regularly crossing the street at the sight of a local news camera or microphone in the hope of grabbing an interview about whatever rent-an-opinion they are interested in today. So I've never really understood the antipathy to the limelight. As with many others who suffer from depression, I think it probably comes down to the fact that behind a microphone, or in front of a camera, you can lose yourself entirely and immerse yourself in another world, the worl...