tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post7989299509678167203..comments2023-09-12T06:18:38.552-04:00Comments on The World in the Satin Bag: Self-Published Books vs. Literary Awards: In Response to Linda NagataAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-83232899816388284002014-01-25T20:24:53.409-05:002014-01-25T20:24:53.409-05:00Your first sentence is demonstrably false. I'...Your first sentence is demonstrably false. I'm sure there's a relevant award somewhere which bases its decisions on the opinions of one individual, but I've yet to hear of such an literary award. Most awards have either a jury of individuals who make the selection process (often with some guiding award-specific rubric) OR open nominations and/or submissions either to the general public or some subset of a specific community (such as the Hugos, whose lists are nominated and voted on only those who register to do so). So, in fact, it doesn't come down to a single person's opinion of an artistic work, but the aggregate of opinions within a invariably differentiated body of "voters."<br /><br />As to the question about how one "judges art": I think this is an irrelevant question, as it implies that there is either no way *to* judge art OR there is a single or small set of methods for doing so. Evaluation of art is, as you note, subjective, but I don't see that is a real problem here.<br /><br />As to your second paragraph: this is also false. While writers might use awards as a marketing tool, awards in general are not inherently market-oriented. Their goals are rarely "to sell product" but to "recognize works" in some way, shape, or form. And since awards are quite varied in their approaches, each one is, relatively speaking, unique in its evaluative structure, meaning that what one award says about a field will differ from another, and each will have equal value (positive of negative). The marketing, however, comes later. Publishers use awards to sell books, but the awards themselves are not part of that process. That's a third party use.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-78228187069447519882014-01-24T19:35:34.500-05:002014-01-24T19:35:34.500-05:00Regardless of popular opinion or how many people a...Regardless of popular opinion or how many people agree or disagree, an award still boils down to one person's opinion of an artistic work. How do you judge art? It is always 100% subjective based on the judges background, experience and even their emotional state of mind.<br /><br />An award is generally "used" as a marketing tool to give social proof to the value and quality of a piece of work. Did you agree with the Academy Awards? How about the Miss Universe Pageant.<br /><br />An award's best use is marketing, plain and simpleDoug Crowehttp://authoryourbrand.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-24572806430036564652014-01-15T01:41:11.032-05:002014-01-15T01:41:11.032-05:00I'd argue that your definition of awards causi...I'd argue that your definition of awards causing the effects of visibility and shaping of the genre vs. these being the actual motivations of awards, is a step toward the naive vs. a step toward the cynical. It would be purely cynical to believe that awards are purely political and commercial tools of the industry (which can easily include the hardcore fan base, which mostly consists of up-and-comers, hobbyists, loyalists, and wannabes, people who do partake in the politics and commercial concerns of the industry). But I think to ascribe zero political or commercial motivation to the practice of awards leans toward the dewy-eyed.<br /><br />I have much more experience with the film industry than the publishing world, but awards on the film side veer toward the hyper-political. Who is selected to select is political, which films are even in the running to BE selected is essentially a marketing ploy that runs for months. This includes smaller award events as well - the people are less powerful from a broader industry standpoint, but internal politics and commercial influence nevertheless play a significant part even then, just all contained to a different corner/group of people. Awards, festivals, etc. - they're all playing the game of relevancy, importance, because it all boils down to, frankly, financing for themselves as well.<br /><br />Especially for awards that have long been institutionalized, there's no escaping the human factors that inevitably take charge there. The awards want to remain relevant, they want publishers to care about them, they want to be noticed by the industry, they want to feel as though they have influence, and the surest way to accomplish all these things is to focus on the narrow wedge of material that either large or most-talked out publishers are offering.<br /><br />From a commercial standpoint, I think SPers will begin to get more attention when publishers begin to use awards as a way to discover the SPed works that they want to strike deals with, much like that deal that WOOL got last year (I'm not saying WOOL got this deal due to an award, I'm just thinking that this is the likely kind of deal that will emerge from awards taking on SPed material to a greater degree). When the non-SP commercial world finds a way to capitalize on awards and SP inclusion, that's when the shift will truly begin. That's my prediction. Until this occurs, awards won't find any benefit in SP inclusion. They won't gain enough new members, followers, recognition, or industry respect simply for being open-minded. And in this way, awards are very much about drawing attention to specific works, though in a quid pro quo way as it's also about drawing attention to the awards themselves. And defining the genre, too, because awards will follow publishers' lead on this, and in that sense they cement established thinking from the top down.Dave B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05565133923004044115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-62540399274828381132014-01-14T15:47:06.441-05:002014-01-14T15:47:06.441-05:00Thanks for the corrections! Mistakes mistakes mis...Thanks for the corrections! Mistakes mistakes mistakes...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13571452656553970472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33813337.post-10998352863445350992014-01-14T14:36:06.255-05:002014-01-14T14:36:06.255-05:00Thanks Shaun! An interesting exchange.
Two minor ...Thanks Shaun! An interesting exchange.<br /><br />Two minor corrections, though: my Locus award was for best first novel, not best novel. And, while it's true that only SFWA members vote on the Nebula awards, you do not have to be a SFWA member for your work to be considered. "All works first published in English, in the United States, during the calendar year, in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, or a related fiction genre are eligible for the Nebula Awards® in their respective categories."Linda Nagatahttp://mythicisland.comnoreply@blogger.com