The Artist In The Age Of Social Media
Around the time that I was finishing up the first draft of
my first novel, I started trying to figure out how I could get it published.
While until recently there really was only one option—find a publisher—my research
led me to meet many people who were self-publishing and making a good
income doing so. After weighing the options, and mainly being impatient enough
to want to get my work in front of readers instead of sitting on desks of
uninterested publishing houses, I opted to self-publish.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many advantages to having a
publisher and a team of professionals making sure your work is as good as it
can be. Many are the times I wistfully think of how much easier it would make
my life to have someone do the layout for book covers, have people be
responsible for proofreading, editing, marketing, etc. But I learned from other
writers who had gone the traditional route that the job of marketing is, for most
books, mainly in the author’s hands. Publishers are in the game to make money,
not to advance the literary culture. I kind of knew that already, but it was nice
to have it told to me by people who had been there.
The reason I chose to take the self-publishing route more
than anything, though, was the desire to stay true to my own vision rather than
be forced to change things by someone who just didn’t understand what I was
trying to accomplish. I leave open the option of one day finding a traditional
publisher, but if I do I want to be in a position of power where I can prove that
I understand my audience and what they want to read, rather than conform to the
formula of whatever is in fashion at the moment.
I knew this would not be easy. I knew it would take years to
build up a catalog of work. At least equally important, I learned from others the
necessity of having an internet presence. Blogging, Tweeting, networking, these
were all things I’d have to do in order to build an audience from scratch
simply by writing about the things I was most passionate about. In truth, it has
been more difficult than I’d hoped. But I’ve come to appreciate the journey even
more than the goal itself. Where once I would have considered myself a writer
because a publisher gave me their approval, I now feel myself to be one because
of the time, effort, and diligent search for truth I have put into my art. More than that, I have heard from people who have related to the thoughts I've expressed. At
last I feel I can call myself an indie-writer and take pride in that label.
But the long struggle to build up a group of people willing
to regard my opinions as worthy of reading has hit upon an unexpected snag. In
the last couple of years, censorship has become a reality in social media. Anyone
who is at all involved in anti-war activism is aware of the clampdown on those
who advocate for peace, point out the horrors of war, or suggest that our next
attempt to overthrow another nation’s government will cause untold suffering.
The most obvious, of course, is Julian Assange, who sits in jail as his
physical and mental health deteriorate. Then there is Max Blumenthal, a
journalist for the Gray Zone who was recently arrested (in a SWAT-team-style apprehension)
for an alleged assault charge relating to his coverage of the siege of the
Venezuelan embassy. Any indie journalist will tell you that questioning the stories
that are used to promote militarily involvement in another country will get
your video demonetized on YouTube, if not banned. And then there are the
countless people I’ve heard about and know personally who are being banned from
Facebook for sharing information that is contrary to the official pro-war
agenda.
Let me also remind you that as I write this, I am serving
day 8 of my 30-day ban from Facebook. My crime was sharing a picture of
Christmas ornaments from the Nazi era, one of which had a Swastika on it. I
shared it not because I’m a fan of Nazis but because we all need to be reminded
of what societies are capable of turning into. And let me tell you, censorship
is not a good sign of where we’re headed.
Over a year ago, I came across the story of Peter Van Buren. An author of several books and someone who speaks frequently against war, Peter had managed to collect an impressive amount of Twitter followers. I don't recall the number, but I remember thinking it must have taken in him years of hard work to amass so many followers. Peter was permanently suspended from his Twitter account. I do not know exactly what the reason was, and it is impossible to speculate because all traces of his account have disappeared. He was not merely banned, he was vanished.
This sort of thing must give artists pause. While most of us want to stay true to our vision and beliefs, at some point we start questioning whether compromise might be preferable to not being heard at all. Many artists are fearless and respond forcefully against such tactics, heedless of the costs. But many are rather fragile flowers that will wither under such conditions. It will do no good in the fight against evil to make a world where artists are not encouraged to blossom, to be open and honest and reveal those thoughts they have been nourishing within.
I am currently writing book 3 on a series that has a very
anti-war message. Whereas the first book dealt with the leadup to World War I,
and the second book dealt with the war itself, the third book deals with the
leadup to World War II. This will unavoidably involve Nazis. Researching this book made me
come across the picture I was banned for in the first place. The book cover I
had planned involved an image of the Earth with a Swastika behind it on one
side, a peace sign on the other. I have to seriously rethink my cover now for
fear that if I share it on social media, I might get banned for the image that’s
on it. And part of me fears it is not the image of the Swastika they are most
concerned with but the peace sign.
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