Writing Partners

Social Media is so disappointing. This medium exists in a space of virtually infinite information, yet follows the same patterns as normal conversation -- in that everyone wants to talk about the the same things that everyone else does. For that reason it seems like a great place to find writers who are popular with the masses and a horrible place to find writers who have something new to say.  

The only reason I use it is because publishers require a working knowledge of human beings. "That's what the story is! How do you think I wrote this?!" 

It isn't that social media isn't original. It is just the rate at which it occurs. Someone might say something new or funny once. A select groups of people finds this entertaining and repeats it to the amusement of those around them. There is a complex back-and-forth (which rarely involves the original author.) Instead the rest of the population repeats it in various forms and iterations until the original concept is not just beaten to death but actually turned into a powder than is so fine it mixes with the moisture in the air and becomes a sort of paste that sticks to everything, including us. 

One of the pitfalls of this, apart from the obvious, is that it is hard to influence those who are already slathered in the remnants of other ideas. It's like threatening to throw mud at a person covered in manure. They neither want more nor are able to appreciate more ideas or manure. 

The other pitfall, is that writers have to wade through this horseshit and build a following. The effort spent promoting themselves means that many spend little time actually writing. This is not just individually problematic, it also makes for a poorer literary environment. Rather than interact with each other, they interact with manure sculptors. Some might say that they find corners of various social media platforms to support their craft, but to me this is like comparing the 1950's West Village in New York City to Ohio at any point in the last 300 years.

Instead, I have a counter proposal. Since social media actually makes money and therefore isn't going away, we should embrace it... but not directly. I suggest writer adopt a partner-approach. Each writer obtains someone with social skills, promotional abilities, an interest in other humans, or any combination of the three. Each member of the partnership then proceeds to do their best for the other: the social promoter generates hype and encourages others to read the work of their good friend, the goblinoid, and the writer proceeds to produce things that make the promoter look knowledgable. Any proceeds and kudos and Pulitzers are split 50-50. And when the writer gets famous and gets caught forcing people to have sex or decides to demonize a portion of the population for no reason, the promoter is allowed to kill them for the good of society without repercussion.

To me, this is a win-win for all involved. The only catch is that it requires those with writing skills to actually convince someone to help them, and that it requires those with social skills to talk to people who would rather stay home and write poetry in languages that don't exist than go to a party. (Oh and by the way, if you are one of those people who can do both of these things, get out: no one likes you.)