Date: 28 Feb 1997 15:47:54 -0500



In rec.arts.sf.fandom  
Patrick M. Berry  wrote:
: In article , "Rebecca Ore"
 writes:
: > 	Sharyn said once that the only excuse for fandom was growing up to be an
: > editor or writer.  She had an even lower opinion of fantasy fans.

: I hope that's just unconfirmed hearsay, because it would be a very foolish
: thing for a professional author to say.  Without the fans, the SF/fantasy
: publishing business would not exist.  Who would buy the books?

Although Sharyn McCrumb's understanding of fandom when she wrote those
books was obviously vastly less than "superficial," and was clearly that
of an outsider sampling a tiny sliver of fandom, it's perfectly clear that
in such an opinion, she was distinguishing, of course, between people
active in fandom, and people who are sf readers.  Only a very few of the
latter are also included in the former. 

: Besides, becoming a writer requires more than just the desire to be one.
: Not everyone possesses the ability to write entertaining fiction, but that
: doesn't mean they have no right to read and enjoy it.

You're confusing an active fan with a reader.  
-- 
--     Gary Farber                         gfarber@panix.com
Copyright     1997                         Brooklyn, NY, USA

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