Wednesday 18 October 2006

Whose book is it anyhow?

I have been thinking about the business of over-zealous fans. The great temptation for the author is to say, "Blow them, it's my book, tough". I actually wonder whether it's isn't more complicated than that. I wonder if by making a book public and having people buy it you don't in some way enlist them into the process. I feel that in some strange way people who read the books and particularly those who enjoy them, do become linked to the creative process.

This all sounds terribly post-modern, and I'm still not willing to accept suggestions from my readers -- that would produce a book designed by a committee. But I don't really like the idea of the author sitting on some lofty pinnacle, hurling down some text at the plebs far below. And for the Christian author, as one like to think that readers do pray for you, there is a very real two-way process.

So if you enjoy my books, why not pray for the author?