As I get older, there’s something I’ve seen more and more at jobs: people my age (and older) claiming those new to the workforce are spoiled because “They think they are entitled to things without paying their dues.”
A couple jobs ago, somebody in their early 20s came in and many of the people who had been at the job didn’t like her from the start. Now, granted, she had a lot to learn about business acumen, but…she worked hard and learned fast. I was the only one in the group who answered her questions when she started. When she was out of the room, people my age (and older) talked behind her back…mostly about how she must “pay her dues,” in order to “earn” their respect.
If I pointed out that she worked hard and learned fast (and was very accurate in the work she did once it clicked), that didn’t matter to others. In the minds of those around me, even if somebody came out strong from the start…they still had to “pay their dues.”
Hard Work
I work hard at things. When I was put into learning disability classes for dyslexia in junior high school, I worked hard to get out. When I taught myself how to juggle when I was 12, it became an obsession — and I worked hard to get better. When I traded that obsession for writing, I could easily hole up in a room and write for 16-20 hours at a time. Even at the jobs I didn’t like (restaurants, fast food, and working in the Texas heat outside or in warehouses and factories), I often worked harder than those around me.
In those jobs, I was often singled out by foremen as the model worker, much to the chagrin of those around me who’d been there longer than me. While they slacked off and slept on the job and clustered in their little groups criticizing others, I worked without complaint…sometimes even doing their work for them. (Hey, it had to be done in order for us to leave!) But…since I was new, they became mad when I moved up because “I hadn’t paid my dues.” It was said as though there was some gauntlet I had to run before I could have their respect.
The Imaginary Gauntlet
I understand things often take time, and that when some say, “Paying one’s dues,” they mean working hard. But more and more, I see people who work hard and move up fast become the target of ridicule — in jobs, and in writing. And the excuse often used to keep these people down is, “They haven’t yet paid their dues.”
There seems to be in the minds of many an imaginary, undefined gauntlet one must run in order to “earn our respect.” It’s the mental equivalent of being assumed guilty before a trial, and it’s quite an unbecoming thing. I can’t imagine being so petty that the instant I meet someone that they must prove themselves to me.
With me: I like you when I meet you — and it’s only until you give me actual reasons to not like you that I step back. (And even then, I’m a pretty forgiving person.) So I’ll help you, and if you become better than me faster than it took me to get where I am…fine! If you can get to that point in a matter of month’s without “paying your dues,” more power to you!
Paying Your Dues vs. Hard Work
It happens several times a year: an author “comes out of nowhere,” and gets big, fast. When it happens, some become incensed at the success because, “They haven’t paid their dues.”
I’m not a fan of Nicolas Sparks’s writing, but I remember feeling bad for the guy when he got big because some people said his success was undeserved…”he hadn’t paid his dues.” The funny thing? The book he hit it with was not his first. I can’t remember if it was his 3rd or 5th book (maybe even his 6th?), but the point: it didn’t happen overnight. He worked his day job and, from what I recall, he worked hard at that as well. In his free time, he wrote, working hard behind the scenes until hitting it big.
He didn’t just work hard at writing…he also worked hard learning about the industry. Granted, hard work for the sake of hard work means nothing if you’re not completing finished work and at least trying to get it out there. But Sparks wasn’t just holing up in his room, writing character sketches and pieces of novels and saying the effort deserved praise — he was completing novels. He worked so hard that there was no reason he should have had to run some imaginary gauntlet for a decade or two before “earning it.”
He earned it by putting his ass in a chair and producing finished work — not tinkering with things and complaining about others.
Work Hard
I don’t care if it’s the 20-something, just-entering-the-working-world newbie or a writer I’m not fond of hitting it big: if you work hard, there should be no gauntlet to run — no reason to “pay your dues.”
Sure, there are industries where paying dues matters. I’ve worked on a 35mm independent film crew and did whatever was asked of me. I ran errands, cooked dinner for the entire cast and crew, and jumped at the chance to do anything else I was asked to do. In that sense, I was “paying my dues.” I started as a production assistant and quickly ended up as a grip.
But most people who complain about those not “paying their dues,” aren’t really talking about hard work. They jump on new people and find reasons not to like them. They claim new people coming in feel a sense of entitlement when, in fact, they are often the people acting entitled. I’ve heard writers I’ve looked up to say we need to stop publishing so many books…so they can stay on top!
I’ve met many people over the years who feel they can rest on their laurels and slow down once they’ve “paid their dues.” They stop working hard and coast. Their “work” becomes doing all they can to keep others down and maintain their position, even at the cost of crushing new ideas that would make things better for everybody. They are often the first to criticize and the last to help.
No wonder they get so mad when others skip past “paying their dues,” work hard, and pass them by…
The only time I’ll bitch about a writer hitting it big…is when the work produced is so far below a good standard that it drags a whole genre down.
Fiction is subjective. You either like a story or you don’t.
But *writing*, as in the craft of it, isn’t subjective. It’s either good or it isn’t. And if it isn’t, and you hit it big — then every single broadside is justified, because the writer really didn’t “pay their dues” — as in, learn to freaking spell (rite / write) and avoid repetitions (497 instances of “what”, at least 6 per paragraph), incorrect word usage (lightening / lightning) and so forth, or hire an editor to catch that stuff.
I wish I were exaggerating, and you can probably guess which book made me mad.
Thanks for the comment, Silke. I’ve definitely shaken my head at some writers who’ve hit it big. I won’t begrudge Stephanie Meyer her success or knock her fans and their tastes. I tried reading the first Twilight book and didn’t like it, but…I’m not the intended audience. Still, she put her rear in a chair and wrote, and she seems to be a gracious person who works hard. So even if I were a known author, I couldn’t say, “She didn’t pay her dues!” Amazed by her success and how quickly it came? Sure! But I still don’t believe it’s necessary for an author to suffer or run a gauntlet before making it. If you can come out truly strong from the start (genuinely good; not just hype), more power to ya! Still, I find myself shaking my head more than I used to…
Fifty Shades of Gray…I don’t get it. I read excerpts and was amazed at how heavy-handed the writing was…to the point its publication and success is almost baffling. And now Gabriel’s Inferno and Gabriel’s Rapture and a significant 7-figure deal? That definitely gets me shaking my head. The passages found through the Internet Wayback Machine are terrible. I guess the upside of it is the author has some charities lined up…and an editor will definitely be earning their pay!
I don’t feel bad for a book that hits it big and ends up called out for genuine errors. If it’s independently produced and you actually make money…like you said, hire an editor. If it’s through a publisher, there’s no excuse and the editor and writer should feel ashamed for putting out a shoddy product.
But I still have a tough time with the notion that one must “pay their dues,” for the sake of paying their dues.
If a person writes even a crappy book and people buy it and recommend it to their friends, there seems to be no due to pay. The work matters much more than some imaginary gauntlet/dues. If the book is rife with errors, the author hasn’t done their job — the work. The broadside is absolutely justified in that case — like you said, it chips away at a genre and says, “Hey, it’s okay to just not give a shit about quality anymore!”
Not cool!
Lately, though, I’ve stumbled upon some things where it all came down to people saying success wasn’t deserved because the writer/artist hadn’t paid their dues. It got me thinking about how mean some people were to a coworker a couple jobs back, simply because she was younger and moved up fast. I’m a big fan of merit; if a person works hard, wherever they end up is deserved. With writing, if somebody works hard, writes a good first book, and finds success, that’s what matters. If somebody puts out a crappy book they didn’t work hard to write, I have no problem seeing that book called out for the steaming pile of poo it is.
But…I’ve also seen writers put out a strong first book and have people go on the attack just because there seems to be a belief that “new people don’t deserve quick success…they need to pay their dues!” And it just strikes me as funny.
I do believe there’s a lot to be gained in any activity by taking one’s time and working hard to be the best they can be. I like the work that comes from those who’ve known at least a certain degree of discomfort in life because they focused on an extra effort along the way and it shows in what they do. In that regard, if a person wants to view that as paying one’s dues, that’s cool…I get it. But when I saw people say David Wroblewski didn’t deserve the success that came when The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was released, it seemed weird. It wasn’t so much a feeling that he wasn’t worthy of success, but that success had come too quick…that he needed to have a couple more books out — pay his dues, so to speak — before being proclaimed a good writer worthy of the praise that came his way.
That’s what I mean when talking about how “paying your dues” is silly. Even if you never suffered and had an easy go of it along the way while doing the work, why must dues be paid at all? From some, it just seems like veiled anger; “They didn’t have it as hard as me, and it’s just not fair!” I’ve seen it at work and in writing, and the way it’s used — more often than not — is out of jealousy.
Jealousy… and feeling threatened.
Shawn: I agree in both cases. At the particular job I mentioned, people felt threatened at somebody young catching on so fast. Because she had some flaws, people pounced on that, but there was no denying that when it came to cranking out manuals, few could do it as fast and as accurate. But that was not what people focused on as she moved up and got credit. It was all, “She shouldn’t be in that position ’cause she hasn’t paid her dues.”
I agree with Silke that books with many errors deserve the criticism that comes their way. I’ve tried some self-published e-books — even some the author said were error-free — and was amazed by how rife with mistakes the books were. It was clear they didn’t even check the formatting. I’m forgiving…if it’s a self-produced book, I can stomach a few typos along the way if it’s clear it’s just a mistake. But when it’s constant and clear the author isn’t ready…it’s something I can’t finish.
Jealousy, yes. I’ve never really been a jealous person. People who are better than me and have more than me…inspire me to strive for that if it’s what I want. I first saw Nicholas Sparks on 60 Minutes, or some show like that…and remember writer friends being angry about it. It “wasn’t fair!” But…the guy worked hard. On video, he allowed them to all but say, “Hey, we really cleaned things up in editing,” and that takes some degree of courage. I have yet to read something he’s written that I thought was good, but he’s more a storyteller than a writer.
I’ve chosen to write stories that may or may not appeal to people. Agents appreciate my writing, and I’ve had close calls, but there are definitely piles of writers I don’t get making millions. And I’m happy for them because it’s a reminder that people still read…so why would I be jealous of their success? If an author like Stephanie Meyer gets millions of people reading…if only one percent move on to other books, that still tens of thousands of new readers.
Back to jobs. You’ve worked with me, so I think you know that I’ll share anything I know and that I don’t feel threatened by others. Had you ended up managing projects I was on, I would have been fine with it. Everybody benefits when you don’t hoard information and fight to stay on top. I’ve never been knocked down because I’ve shared success with others; if anything, people have moved on to other things and remember that I helped them and they’re likely to help me if needed.
I have seen a strong mid-list author I respected once say they wish they could stop so many books from being published because it could potentially cut into the success they finally attained. And I suppose I can see the feeling, but not actually believing people should be kept down so that you can maintain your position. It was definitely about feeling threatened in this case.
I finally listened to the Nerdist podcast with Conan O’Brien at the gym last night. There was a part that made me think about this post. He talked about how it’s hard to hold on to talent because it’s just shy of a strong intern getting their own show after three weeks. But he wasn’t knocking it; he embraces the concept that talented people can come in and make it faster than in the past. Sure, he joked about how an apprentice comedian can now just shoot video of his penis with a face drawn on it and get a ton of hits online and a deal, while the grandmaster comedian sits forgotten, but…if there’s an audience for it, why not?
There will always be an audience for Louis C.K. and other strong comedians, and others will blow up big and fast and the bubble will burst. I may be wrong, but Stephanie Meyer’s non-Twilight stuff hasn’t done well, while other writers grow steadily. There’s room for so much, and so much good stuff out there if you actually look. I look at certain writers I really like just making it and writers I don’t able to sleep on a bed o’ Benjamins, but…with exceptions, most bestsellers are entertainment and not serious literature. Nothing wrong with that at all, and…no reason to be jealous or threatened by it.
I’d love a world where Jim Lynch and Robert Olmstead were household names. John Irving is bigger in other countries, now, than he is here. But even that…people say they are sickened by “undeserving” authors making millions, but…when a relatively obscure author they love makes it, they often end up treating it like that band you once loved that got big and they turn on it all because now everybody knows it.
If you can’t really win either way, the best any of us can do is just be the best writers we can.
Agreed. And there’s something to be said for worrying about your own stuff rather than what anyone else is doing. If a writer is *really* worried about some new author coming out and usurping “their” success, the response should be to work *that much harder* to be more successful than the new author, not sit around and bitch about whether or not the success is “deserved.” One might fail in the attempt to be more successful, but the work… well, it’s rewarding in its own, completely different way, innit?
Shawn: Indeed! I can spend effort fuming about the success of others and letting anger take over, or…I can shut up and write another book. No matter what happens, I enjoy the work that goes into finishing things, so that’s what I’m going to do.
Emailing a friend this morning, we chatted a bit about this entry. I don’t get the success of somebody like Kim Kardashian. But…for all the bad reality TV out there, there’s never been a time when more good TV’s been produced. The spectrum has just gone wider, it seems. (And sure, sometimes it seems like the crappier side of the spectrum gets the most attention, but I’d blame that more on consumers than Kim Kardashian; without them, she doesn’t have the attention.) I can go online and spend days fuming about another writer I don’t get hitting it big, or…I can help others or support the writers I actually like.
This doesn’t mean that I’ve never shaken my head and chatted with close writing friends about how I just don’t get it. It’s not that I won’t say in public that there are things I don’t like — the bits I’ve read from all the books I’ve mentioned in these comments…I think the writing is terrible. But the way I choose to fight that is saying, “Holy crap, a new Jeffrey Ford book AND a new Jonathan Tropper book AND a new Nick Hornby book AND a new Chuck Wendig book come out this month!” And at the same time, people are entitled to say, “Tropper just writes the same book over and over…” and I’ll even agree in ways. But…they are writers I like, so I’ll spend time letting people know some cool books are coming out this month, rather than worry about what others are doing.