Wednesday, February 4, 2009

A Higher Standard?

Should writers of children's books be held to a higher moral standard than other writers? On the one hand, this implies that your profession limits what you can do in your free time...on the other hand, we're talking about children's authors.

Example: if an author of adult books is a well-known alcoholic, his sales will probably not decrease--he might actually achieve some level of notoriety for it (*cough*ErnestHemingway*cough*). But if, say, Beatrix Potter had been a notorious alcoholic (she's not! this is hypothetical!) then would that affect her sales? Should that affect her sales?

Example 2: Does the same apply to celebrity? We all know what a strong moral leader Paris Hilton is (*snort!*), but if she were to write a children's book, would that/should that affect sales?

And what if it doesn't affect sales...does the publisher have an obligation to censor authors and which authors publish what? Certainly some publishers have morality clauses in their publishing contracts...but do they have an obligation to enforce them if it is at their own discretion?

7 comments:

PJ Hoover said...

For good or bad, I think they do have the right to enforce them at their discretion. Children's authors being bad (publicly) will impact sales. This is a business. They need to make money. And if something an author does endangers the operation of the business, then they get to make the call.
As for celebrities, there are even lines they can't cross.

lotusgirl said...

I agree with PJ. Think of PeeWee Herman. Whether it impacts a writer's ability to perform a good show or write a good book for children is immaterial. Parents will reject something by someone "corrupt" for fear of it rubbing off or tainting their children.

Publishers etc. have the right to protect themselves from that. They have a lot of money invested.

Bowman said...

Yes, it's a reality. A person's morality (or immorality) affects many things.

Kelly H-Y said...

What a fantastic post/question! I think things like that would affect sales of children's books ... and I think the publisher has a right to enforce anything in the contract ... whether it's impacting sales or not. Please tell me you don't have some top-secret info that Paris is coming out with a children's book! :-) hee, hee! (Did you see my post yesterday?!).

Unknown said...

Wow! I expected many more people to be on the other side of the fence. As a teacher, I'm used to the fact that what I do outside of school will potentially affect my job inside of school. Therefore, I am very careful in what I say online--I may talk about classes, but I typically only talk about good things or things I need help on (I would never, for example, trash a kid), and I keep it generic. Even on "private" things, such as Facebook, I've got to be strictly PG13.

But, the thing you all pointed out--how it will affect sales--is a totally valid point and one I never really thought about!

And no worries, Kelly--no Paris book yet...or ever, I hope!

Keri Mikulski said...

Interesting question..

Yes, I do. I think if you decide to enter a field where sales are effected by reputation, this is the path you choose. On the other hand, if you're not comfortable with it, use a pen name.. :)

Marcia said...

Great question! I agree with the above. You choose to work with children in some capacity -- you keep it clean, for both moral and business reasons. When we choose certain pursuits or occupations, a lifestyle goes with that. No matter what your field, many people face "requirements" in some form. For example, "You may not moonlight," "You may not date co-workers," etc. We may protest that they have no control over our off-work hours or personal lives, but they do.