Comments on: Envy

By: Vanessa Demasi

Vanessa Demasi — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:37:34 +0000

When I’m in those black moods where my envy of others and my dejection and hopelessness at my own chances is the most deep, I read the letters of great writers (I use the phrase with the understanding that great is, of course, a subjective thing).

There is nothing that makes me more ashamed of that envy than reading Hemingway or Fitzgerald or Flannery O’Connor or Faulkner or Robert Penn Warren write with such good humor or grace or matter-of-factness about being rejected by publishers or excoriated by critics, even while they acknowledge and applaud the success of other writers who they had to have known they were superior to.

Rejection must have hurt them too, but the writing was of central importance, and so they kept at it. Failure can be hugely instructive, if we see it unclouded by our own envy.

By: D.C. DaCosta

D.C. DaCosta — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:03:18 +0000

Joelle…any idea how many copies an “edition” represents? It might be miniscule.

I found a book in its “second edition”…. Turned out, the first was a self-published small run, and the second had all the mistakes corrected.

It’s all “spin”.

By: Joelle

Joelle — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 20:00:56 +0000

Even though I already commented I had to come back because of what just happened. A book I couldn’t get past page 20 in and has a 3.03 rating on Goodreads (thousands of reviews) has FIFTEEN editions out. When I see this though, it’s not so much envy as bewilderment.

I know, I know…just keep writing and return that library book unread and forget about it.

By: EDWARD

EDWARD — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:57:55 +0000

Ahhh, the green-eyed monster which mocks the meat it feeds on. My first instinct, of course, is to claim it is under control, like the alcoholic who tells himself he can quit when he wants. I went to the same college as Karen Russell and President Obama. (Miriam Goderich went there too.) But those people have made out a tad better than me. If I told you the monster wasn’t swooping down and eating out my liver every day, I’d be lying.
The tragedy is, I have never read any of Karen’s books, and I am probably the poorer for it. The monster is making a meal out of me. (did you know Karen is featured in the winter issue of TIN HOUSE? Haven’t read it.) The meal would only grow if I fed it with one of Karen’s books. How do I cope with this? I don’t: I succumb. On the positive side, people with a collection of well-regulated emotions tend to be boring. If I had a choice, I would ooze and slobber my feelings over everybody. I would always have that second chocolate truffle, get an extra grope during that good night kiss, scratch my dandruff instead of shampooing it away. The animal side of me, as it gets eaten by the green-eyed monster, needs to vent and graze. Such is life.

By: Susanna

Susanna — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:42:27 +0000

As I’ve gotten more experienced, I feel less envy and more dread as to whether I will attain the levels of achievement that I personally desire — I.e., will my book be as good as I dream it can be so that I can complete it and move on with a quiet mind. And as I’ve matured I’ve trained myself to handle writing envy by being happy for writers who are succeeding, and championing the ones I believe in, and hoping someone will do the same for me one day. And booze.

By: Mridu Khullar Relph

Mridu Khullar Relph — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:35:24 +0000

Chocolate. And booze.

By: Kevin A. Lewis

Kevin A. Lewis — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:58:20 +0000

Realizing that the gatekeeping profession (used to editors, but now mostly on the agent end) is, as they say in all those “dear author” auto-rejects, is a subjective business in which a few bright stars shine out with brilliance, and a lot of others just cruise along on an entirely whim-driven career path with no connection whatever to the reading public. And even these accidentally pick a bestseller every once in a while. By and large, I don’t waste time envying or worrying about the writers that hit it big. Some are world-class hustlers, like our friend Mr. Patterson, (I like that) some are stone geniuses who obviously have an unlimited destiny credit card, like Isaac Beshavis Singer, (how else do you become rich and world famous by writing in Yiddish?!) and some are obviously sponsored by the Powers Of Darkness like Stephen King (good) and those writers that put those horrible books about teens in the cancer ward and kids with fashionable disabilities on the best seller list. (That collective howl you just heard is millions of kids across the country being arm-twisted into reading these masterpieces by sour-faced teachers and angry librarians who aren’t allowed to hit their charges anymore) Envy? Perish the thought…..

By: Kerry Gans

Kerry Gans — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:10:21 +0000

I give myself some version of, “Grow up. Life’s not fair. Get over yourself. Keep writing.” Once the initial sting of “why them and not me?” passes, I know very well that making it in traditional publishing is largely out of my control and the only way to ever get there is to keep writing. So I do.

By: D.C. DaCosta

D.C. DaCosta — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:28:41 +0000

No envy here.*
I KNOW my stuff is good.
I also know that Good doesn’t always sell when Good Enough and Junk are available, affordable, and flashily packaged.**
C’est la vie.

* Bewilderment, sometimes, yes.
** Marketing major.

By: Joelle

Joelle — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:48:20 +0000

This is one I have pretty much under control. Probably because I’m most likely to feel envious of writers I actually know, and so as soon as it flares up, I can concentrate on how much I love her or him as a person and how happy I truly am for them. I shift my attention to their joy, and away from myself, and without oxygen, the flame dies quickly.

I sound all zen and sh^$, but this is just one of those areas where I’m lucky by nature, not particularly enlightened or anything!