Today's writers travel hard road

I have been reading two works of literature lately, one of which is considered serious literature and the other pure, addicting entertainment.

A few months ago I completed “Infinite Jest,” by David Foster Wallace. I consider it an achievement to have read its 1,000-plus pages, which, of course, pales in comparison with Wallace’s feat in writing this work.

While this work has enough humor, mostly dark, and fantasy elements to be quite entertaining, the novel is considered to be serious literature.

The entertainment hides very serious themes, including what motivates human pleasure-seeking and drug addiction. While I thought every page of this work reeked of genius, it was not an easy read.

It took me a couple of months to work my way through it.

On the other hand, it has taken me a little more than one month to devour the first four volumes and 2,000-plus pages of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the book series that forms the basis of the ongoing “Game of Thrones” TV series on HBO.

I got hooked on the HBO series on vacation last year but was too cheap to pay $110 for a DVD set of the series to date.

I decided instead to start buying the books, by George R.R. Martin, which are cheaper but just as addictive as the series.

I’m hooked on the amazing characters Martin puts through various forms of Middle Ages hell, including a dwarf, two deadly female combatants, and any number of tainted knights, lords and kings.

Wallace, who committed suicide in 2008 at age 35, and Martin, who continues to build on his roughed-up fantasy world, are rare exceptions in a digital world in which books and literature have lost much of their value, especially to authors.

Somehow, tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Alphabet (Google), have found a way to shortchange authors and other creative content makers while the behemoths pocket most of the profits, according to a recent opinion article in the Wall Street Journal.

A couple of people I know recently gave up what I considered good careers to take up writing. I understand the urge. That’s what got me into journalism in the age of typewriters and phone booths.

While I encourage both of them, I wonder if they really know what they’re up against. I would urge much caution for a couple reasons.

First, the odds of success in writing to enlighten or entertain are about the same as those of a typical high school athlete to make the NFL or NBA. It takes extraordinary talent and extraordinary labor.

Second, in the age of digital downloads, even the best writers and artists are not being compensated at anywhere near their worth.

Talents like Wallace and Martin are one in a million at the very least, and opportunities to succeed in writing are dwindling, even for the very good.

Unless I had knowledgeable readers asking when my next work is due or had legitimate agents calling me, I would be very hesitant to launch a literary career today.

Steve Hansen writes about our life and times from his perspective of a retired Tucumcari journalist. Contact him at:

stevenmhansen

@plateautel.net