I keep coming across people complaining about books being bland and writers having no real voice of their own past internet memes and writers having WAY too much clout for what they do.
And my answer keeps being that Branding is the problem.
I've always resisted being part of the product when it came to selling my books. My readers should only be interested in the book. Not my opinions. Not what I ate for breakfast. But social media has pushed everyone into caring about that kind of shit when it really doesn't matter.
I feel like Branding has destroyed the ability to just enjoy a piece of media without the issues of "Oh, they did XYZ 20 years ago! CANCEL!!" and honestly, cancel culture is so performative. If they did something actually wrong, then let the justice system work it out and punish them. Public executions were never cool.
And my answer keeps being that Branding is the problem.
I've always resisted being part of the product when it came to selling my books. My readers should only be interested in the book. Not my opinions. Not what I ate for breakfast. But social media has pushed everyone into caring about that kind of shit when it really doesn't matter.
I feel like Branding has destroyed the ability to just enjoy a piece of media without the issues of "Oh, they did XYZ 20 years ago! CANCEL!!" and honestly, cancel culture is so performative. If they did something actually wrong, then let the justice system work it out and punish them. Public executions were never cool.