Publishing (as opposed to writing) has been in the ‘what successful book/movie is it like?’ phase for decades. Having a track record isn’t something new or surprising — how else are publishers going to decide, short of reading your entire book, whether or not to publish a stranger?
There are few mainstream writers who lean right because the publishing/movie/TV fields are overwhelmingly leftist — ‘Why even bother?’ right-leaning fiction writers often think, and head straight for Kindle.
When reading the great novels of centuries past one finds beliefs, ideas, and right vs. wrong discussed and debated. Today, one can divide media into “Left/Caring/Loving/Justice/Everyone is Happy” and “Right/Pure Evil That Must Be Stopped.”
Every Hollywood movie, every TV show, every book and magazine signals which side it is on (hint: it’s always the liberal one) OR tries to hide its philosophical point of view. One could read liberal/leftist (not the same thing) writers and have the give-and-take all great literature invites one to have; today, you are only allowed in if you agree that Democrats are Good, Republicans are Evil.
Everything from Moby Dick to Fahrenheit 451 to Ballad of the Sad Cafe would have to be revised for publication today, to conform to the accepted wisdom that all leftist belief is good (even the kind that led to tens of millions of dead, because “They MEANT well!”). The writer’s ideology must be explicitly stated. The reader cannot be allowed to have dangerous (non-leftist) thoughts.
Modern literature depends on media other than ink and paper, more now than ever before. Not saying it’s good or bad, but it’s not really a mystery, either.
Here’s another clue: I tagged this reply twice. “Books” has 42k following; “writing” has 98k.
