Comments on: Memoir fraud

Comment on Memoir fraud by: Eric Mayer

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:07:56 +0000

Just seeing if I can leave a comment on this entry. Can’t seem to leave one on the new entry!

Comment on Memoir fraud by: Reenie

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:22:22 +0000

These frauds make me wonder about other memoirs I’ve recently read - like “The Glass Castle” or “Running with Scissors” or even “Eat Pray Love.” I’m gullible, too, and if a book is sold as a memoir, that’s what I expect. *sigh*

Comment on Memoir fraud by: Sarah

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:01:08 +0000

Well, let me try leaving a comment again. I said it so much better the first time. Trying to reconstruct something you’ve written is like trying to put on a too-tight pair of pantyhose.

I think the effort to clothe fiction in the memoir trappings is an effort to appeal to the voyeurism in people. Something sleazy is fascinating; but if it’s “reality” writing, it sells even better. And selling is what publishers are all about.

Comment on Memoir fraud by: Sarah

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:54:54 +0000

My guess would be that fiction is sold as memoir because of the voyeurism that seems to be prevalent in humans. The sleaze is fun to read, but it’s even more attention-getting if it supposedly happened to the author him/herself. It may be that the author is a narcissist, unable to talk or write about anybody but him/her self. Or, a third possibility, the author may be truly delusional.

Still, though, voyeurism is what sells, no matter how couched in self-help or relevatory language. And selling is what publishers are all about.

Comment on Memoir fraud by: cassie-b

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:30:27 +0000

It’s just another way that people aren’t getting what they bargained for. I would expect a memoir to be true as the author remembers it.

If a book is fiction, I’d prefer if they would call it fiction. I’m pretty gullible, and if someone tells me that what they said is true, I tend to believe them.

Cas
High standards don’t always get you the highest paycheck, but nevertheless, they are always commendable.

Comment on Memoir fraud by: violetismycolor

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:27:57 +0000

Of course, our fraudulant writer lives in Eugene, Oregon. Move over Tanya Harding, you have competition on the media front as the worst Oregonian ever.

Comment on Memoir fraud by: Eric Mayer

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:17:19 +0000

“So, let’s see if I understand this. We’re supposed to sell our fiction as memoir now?”

Yeah, it seems that way. It’s reprehensible isn’t it? I think the idea is that fiction is…well…real, and real is better. Real is intrinsically more important, interesting and worthy of attention because it is real. It is the same sort of attitude, I think, that leads to so-called reality TV which, of course, is carefully set up and orchestrated.

But when you stop to consider things, a writer who creates a fictional work, honestly, filled with the writer’s authentic view of the world, the writer’s actual philosophy, insights into people, etc etc is actually offering readers something “real”. The writer’s own real experiences and observations presented in the form of fiction.

Publishers are the ones responsible for publishing this garbage though. Like other corporations they have totally lost the idea that one can make money by presenting a better product. Now the idea is simply to make money by hooks or by crooks.

Comment on Memoir fraud by: susan

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:14:43 +0000

I don’t blame them for trying; reality’s the hot trend, fiction’s only for the proven money-makers as far as the publishing companies are concerned. And as they say, even bad press is better than no press these days.

It wouldn’t prevent me from pushing literature and non-fiction as vital to young folk to read. There’s taint everywhere–sports, plagiarism, cheating in schools and on the job–too much to avoid. I’d simply point it out for what it is and warn that these folks are to be avoided. I’m actually surprised that people will buy a book by let’s say Frey for example. I don’t like being made a fool and especially won’t support anyone who was responsible for trying to do so.