It may come as a surprise to many of you, but some of the most popular authors of our time, have not really written a single word of their books.
The same way their facebook page and Instagram profile are managed by third parties, solely interested in ‘promoting’ and ‘Branding’, the same way their books are produced in one of two ways: First option, the ‘author’ records his/her thoughts on an audio recorder (smartphone) and then hands it over to a professional ‘shadow-writer’ who produces the actual writing. The ideas expressed in the book indeed do belong to the person who appears to be the ‘author’, yet the actual writing is done by somebody else you will never hear about…
The second and even worst method is to pay professional writers to create original content For you, so that you produce books, blog posts, entries in your facebook page or website, by the bunch. As a consequence, the major search engines and internet algorithms can detect your high activity and offer you increased visibility. In that scenario, the actual participation of the ‘author’ is reduced to the point of simply ‘reviewing’ what others have produced and ‘approving’ or ‘ rejecting’.
Makes sense. We live in a world of fake icons and insane production speed. Which is not that bad for those of us who opt to take the highway!
You see, the same way an old-timer Alfa Romeo or vintage Patek Phillipe gains in value every time a new ‘advanced’ modern model of its kind hits the market, raising marketing expectations and reducing the level of true quality, the same way original thinking and true writing gains in value every time modern-day creators treat the writing process like a fast-food chain and their audiences like pigs.
Call me conservative, traditional, backward thinker or simply a ‘classical pianist’ at heart, but my experience has clearly shown that readers, listeners, audiences around the world CAN indeed understand and appreciate the fact that Any book you produced, any recording you made, any Facebook comment you contributed and any Instagram photo you posted, was actually… YOURS. It was your preparation, thought, execution and presentation. It was a manifestation of your commitment to your audience. The time and care put into it, paired with the HONESTY factor, are and will always be appreciated.
A criticism I had most eagerly welcomed in the past as a concert pianist was about expecting a lot from my audiences. And the same is certainly true about my readers. It is true! The entitlement derives from the fact that I do not give myself a break. Why should I? Would you?