Writers shouldn't be held to higher standards.

One of the things I hate most about now "technically" being a writer (I refuse to ever believe that I actually am one) is that, for some fucked up reason, I'm expected to take all the horrors, pressures, and sleepless nights that come with the trade, but I'm also expected to do this while maintaining a good, public face.

I really don't like this; seriously, I don't.

 It's true that I like to write books, and it's also true that I like to sell those books to people who are interested in buying them, but at no time during my jump from not writing to writing did it turn me into some well-mannered corporate executive who hides his flaws behind a fancy-looking business suit.

I am a deeply flawed and troubled human being. I was before I started writing, and I'm even worse off now. And yet, for whatever reason, I'm now expected to act like a fucking Jedi Knight. I'm supposed to be "better" than the average person, and not just in writing, but in the way I act and carry myself. Yet this isn't who I am. I'm a socially awkward imbecile. I don't care to make "nice" with people I hate, and I don't want to put public spins on my image. I just want to be me.

 Let me give you an example of life pre writing a book and life post writing a book.

 Pre book: "Kevin, your a shitty writer and you should quit."

 Me (pre writing a book): "Really? Is that so? How about you lick my nutsack you illiterate scum--and it's 'you're' not 'your.'"

Post book: "Kevin, your a shitty writer and you should quit."

Me (currently): "Dear reader, I humbly apologize that you find yourself at odds with my writing. But I want you to know how happy I am that you told me how much you hate me. I will look to better myself for you."

 This bullshit behavioral protocol that authors are expected to follow sickens me. I shouldn't have to behave "better" than anyone else, and do you know why? Because other people don't give a shit about authors and authors' problems. Many of us are depressed, disturbed, and just plain weird people who sercretly dream about jumping off a bridge.

No one gives a shit about authors and the  pain we feel. I remember reading a thread on the Amazon forums where readers mocked and ridiculed "authors and their problems'. They tore into authors for being emotional wrecks who thought other people should care about their problems.

Well, the truth is we don't--we don't care if you care about our problems. Trust me, we don't. And that's fine!

But you know what's not fine?

Getting paid shit, getting treated like shit, having everything we do or create told is shit, and then through it all, getting asked to take everything with a big phony smile on our faces.

But whatever. I'll play the "game". I'll continue to answer every hater with respect and dignity.
But just know that if you hate me and my works, though I won't say so to your face so as not to end up like the girl who wrote the Greek Seaman, I fucking hate you too!

This article alone could get me blacklisted from just about everything. That's how "perfect" we authors are expected to behave.

First time on the Kids' Fantasy Best Seller List

Special thanks to all the fans on Wattpad who helped me climb to 8k ranking on Amazon and get P.I.E. (if even only for an hour) to the #85 spot on the top 100 Kids' fantasy books. Just to be on the same list as Harry Potter #1 is amazing. Hope I'll see the list again in this lifetime!