Celebrity “writers”. I’ve nothing against ghost writing in itself (I prefer to see ghosts properly credited as it is an art form stepping into someone else’s life convincingly in print) but the “writer” really should be writing something as a contribution to the work and not just their name on the contract!! There are enough luvvies in the acting world. Do we really need them in the publishing one?
The difficulties of finding publishers and agents! Being told you can’t have one without the other when you’ve tried very hard, and professionally, to get one of them! Whilst I’m getting short stories out, which is great, I still want to get my novels out. The fact there are charlatans about complicates things. And when people claim they self published and you recognize the name of the publisher as a vanity company! Those authors will have paid thousands for the privilege of being published and lost their rights. Self publishing means you keep the latter!
Authors generally being under-appreciated. Yes we fiction writers make it up but it is hard work doing so in such a way the making it up works. Okay the work is good fun but so many people dismiss writing as something they’d do if only they had the time. This is why it’s great going to a writers’ conference such as the one at Winchester. You know you’ve got a sympathetic audience there! Oh and never having enough time to do as much writing as I’d like!