Social Media strikes again. Over the past couple of weeks, a handful of people have decided they are the judge, jury, and executioner of literature. Readers are told they lack intellectualism for not reading the right books. Writers are dismissed because they write romance, or the content isn’t deemed a literary masterpiece, or the reader found a few typos.
This is gatekeeping at the very core. Why shouldn’t a reader be able to pick up a book just for fun? Who says a writer shouldn’t publish if they aren’t planning to be the next Jane Austen or Tolkien? And don’t you dare let a typo or misspelled word slide.
It’s become a pattern that has turned social media reading circles into an almost unbearable cycle of hate and discord.
When it comes to readers, choosing a book for pure enjoyment is not a sign of any sort of lack of culture or intellect. Once we were out of the education system, we can put the book reports away and read for nothing more than escape from our daily lives. Even better, we can do it for our health. When reading any book improves brain activity and supports long-term cognitive strength, then it’s all the more reason to pick up that fast fiction and have some fun. Despite what the naysayers put out for rage bait, even a book meant just to give a few laughs and a happily ever after makes a positive impact on our daily lives.
During these conversations online, it often comes down to haters targeting the romance or fantasy genres. Romance is one of the most commercially successful genres in publishing and one of the hardest to write well. You do not have to like it, but pretending it lacks craft says more about the speaker than the books. Let’s face it, the haters usually have never picked up a romance novel to begin with. Not to say they can’t have an opinion. They can read whatever they like, and so can we. Reading is subjective, and everyone should be able to read what they enjoy.
When it comes to writers, it’s daunting to constantly see people online creating virtual witch hunts over a book. Especially when it comes down to small things like typos, or they didn’t like a character arc. If we’re honest, even trade-published books have typos or the occasional drama that people love to push hate upon. Regardless, behind every published book is a human, and none of us is perfect.
That said, there is a difference between ongoing structural issues beyond just a missed word and not liking a book that ends up on your DNF list. True, some books shouldn’t have been published due to not being ready, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t allow authors’ growth. I know my early books were not perfect. Even my newer works have some spelling issues I miss from time to time, but each book is a learning process, and behind it is a person working to improve.
In the end, a lot of these posts go viral because they are designed to. Complete and utter performative drivel, meant for outrage to get clicks. Controversy gets engagement, and influencers know that, Good or bad, they will drive up their engagement through your emotions, even if they don’t mean what they say.
In the end, read what you love. Write what you love.
Don’t let social media stop you from enjoying the very core of what fiction books are meant to do: entertain and give us joy.
Loretta Kendall 