Yasmine

And college writing is nothing like telling a story. It’s about having an opinion and using other people’s opinions to prove your opinion is right.

It’s a sad state of American education that people have to go to college to learn how to make a sentence.

And is educational pedigree actually being used as a marketing technique? You don't see “Harvard-educated” splashed across the front of Julia Quinn or Eloisa James' books. No, it's “bestselling author of X and X” or the usual blurbs from other romance authors, just like it is for every other writer.

It’s a technique that’s been used enough to make people aware of the authors’ education. I knew about the education background of all three authors mentioned in the post. I think the way the marketing was used in the cases of JQ and EJ provided them with an expanded range of potential readers. As referenced earlier, it was used in JQ’s Time Magazine article. With EJ, her “coming out” as a romance writer made national news as I recall. With that information out there, it gets passed on over an extended period of time, which generates continued publicity.

The educational hook might not be used on the back or front of a book, but it’s seen in other publicity efforts. The question is whether or not the marketing actually creates a bridge for new readers to cross over and read the author. But then that’s the same marketing question one asks for any hook one uses in promoting an author. Most marketing is not easily quantified, but every little bit counts toward the bottom line. I don’t see the educational hook as being any less valuable than a cover quote for the same author. It is what it is—-a marketing hook.

Jane wrote:

I agree that it is a marketing technique and a good one from a marketing and authorial standpoint. But only because we readers respond to it in a positive way. I.e., we readers elevate authors who have the pedigree.

So which readers are elevating authors with this pedigree? No one in this blog’s audience, it seems. And is educational pedigree actually being used as a marketing technique? You don’t see “Harvard-educated” splashed across the front of Julia Quinn or Eloisa James’ books. No, it’s “bestselling author of X and X” or the usual blurbs from other romance authors, just like it is for every other writer. Are there readers out there who check out author bios when they’re deciding whether to buy a book? From everything I’ve read online, it seems like the front and back covers and the first few pages are what help make that decision. So my first thought about this post was, “Why are we having this discussion at all?” I agree that such marketing happens in other genres, such as literary fiction, but I just do not see it in romance.

As for the authors mentioned, I had no idea of educational backgrounds except for Quinn. And I think the only reason I know that Julia Quinn attended Harvard is because I remember being struck after reading Splendid that here was a young woman only a little older than I was with a similar educational background. And it was her youth (very clear from the author photo) that was as much of a draw as her Ivy League education.

I think that the question of whether a college education makes you a better writer is a completely different question.

If we're going to do the college argument, then I'll say that colleges would be far better served if they all had apprenticeship programs to send the students out into the real world. One learns a whole lot faster being knocked around by reality than studying about it in books. A writer who learns her craft from college still needs life experience before she can write a word. Unless, of course, she's writing about college. “G”

IMO the ideal college education would be a mixture of a varied academic curriculum as well as apprecnticeship programs. Yes, one learns a lot by being out in the real world, and there are times I wish my alma mater had provided me with more of that. But my more old fashioned academic curriculum really widened my horizons, taught me how to think critically and how to research, all of which have served me in good stead.

I’ll add that I loved college, and would happily have spent many more years there, not as a graduate student or as a professor, but as an undergraduate, if I could have afforded it. I loved the wide array of subjects my university made available to me — after the more limited selection of classes in high school the scope of the subjects at college seemed breathtaking. There are so many subjects I would have loved to learn more about that I did not take even one class in because I only had room for so many electives.

So yeah, while I agree with you that school (even high school) ought to do a better job of preparing students for the real world, I also wish that the real world presented us with more opportunities for old-fashioned academic schooling.

If we’re going to do the college argument, then I’ll say that colleges would be far better served if they all had apprenticeship programs to send the students out into the real world. One learns a whole lot faster being knocked around by reality than studying about it in books. A writer who learns her craft from college still needs life experience before she can write a word. Unless, of course, she’s writing about college. “G”

Going to college is often a sign that an individual has these behaviors. Or it can help foster the behaviors, if they are not already formed. But it is not the only path to enlightenment.

To see both sides, and recognize learning and respect wisdom, gained or existing, outside of an academic setting is a way to use the critical thinking skills we were supposed to be getting, while in school.

Well, if the spirit of the statement is true, what does it say about writers like me, who didn’t go to college?

And it may have a little bearing on the expectations readers will have regarding the books they are about to read. It may not be conscious, but it creates a subconscious expectation in a reader’s mind about the journey they’re about to take, the same way a name-recognized author’s name, or a quote, or a sub-genre label like “romantic suspense” or “epic fantasy” would. That is, not necessarily enough to carry a book they don’t like, but enough to single it out from the dozens of others around it.

And I have to lean towards agreeing with the spirit of Galenorn’s opinion that college is vital, but I wouldn’t declare it an absolute. It was vital to me because I learned all my critical thinking and reading skills in college. Prior to that, I read some Shakespeare and learned how to color in the right ovals on standardized tests.

I am, however, in love with the written word and learning. I have read works by most of the authors who have posted in this blog and enjoyed their work.

I have a college degree in Marketing with a minor in Communications and a minor in Computer Science. I minored in Computer Science because a Dean in the Computer Science department told me I couldn’t pass Computer Science classes without taking Calculus (which I refused to do) and I HAD to prove him wrong. I have a Master’s of Education in Instructional Technology. My instructors in my master’s program wanted me to go ahead and do doctorate work but I was unwilling unless they volunteered to pay for it – grin! I do not have any college debt and never have had any. My parents paid for my undergraduate degree (at least the tuition and books) and I paid for my master’s degree. Obviously I didn’t attend Ivy League schools. My college degrees helped me in “my” job market and were probably necessary for the types of jobs I have held. So for me, college had merit. I doubt I would have been hired anywhere as a computer programmer/trainer without my college degrees. I am currently doing what I consider to be the most important job of my life — raising my 10 year old son to be a good, moral, and ethical man (and yes I get lots of help from a wonderful hubby) and I don’t have any training for that. My son is a miniature engineer in the making so yes I expect he will need a college education (I sure hope HE gets a scholarship). I have been blessed in my life and I know it!

Since I love to read and love to express my opinion – VBG – I spend a lot of my free time reading books for reviews and writing reviews (LOL I work for review sites with editors to catch my grammatical errors). Quite frankly, I could care less what kind of education an author has if they can tell a good, entertaining story. (And an Oprah book club recommend it a death sentence on the book for me!) I rarely even read an author bio. If I do read a bio, it is generally after I have already finished the book and have already formed an opinion on the work. I probably miss most grammatical or syntax errors in a book unless it is so glaring that it distracts from the story so since that isn’t my specialty I don’t comment on them. I do notice if an author (or their editors) miss errors like the character’s name changing part way through the story, math errors, detail inconsistencies like changing hair or eye color, etc… but that is probably my “nerd” brain at work! For the most part, an author just has to keep me engaged in the story and entertained to garner a good review.

I don’t think imagination or creative story ideas is a skill easily taught, I suspect it is innate. It does make sense to me that an author can benefit from a program (college or otherwise) that teaches how to plot the story, how to develop their characters… etc… but what do I know? The only claim I can stand behind is whether or not I liked the story!

While I’m not going to think so-and-so is a better writer than whoever didn’t have the same education, it’s still a basic marketing hook. Just as someone pointed out the old ‘snowbound mother of two’ is and has been a marketing hook for me. And boy am I sick of telling that story.

While I don’t agree with the Galenorn quote above that college is vital, it’s certainly valuable, imo, in any field.

Someone above argued that the lack of historical accuracy in the James book had nothing to do with James’s educational pedigree. But doesn’t that make the inverse (or is that the converse — I always mix those up) true, as well, that James’s educational pedigree has nothing to do with the book’s historical accuracies (or lack thereof)? If it has no impact in one direction, why should we think it has an impact in the opposite direction? And yet if you take into consideration the marketing of certain authors, I think we’re supposed to believe that it does. If an educational pedigree means nothing in terms of an author’s perceived weaknesses, it shouldn’t, IMO, be credited for the author’s strengths, either, unless those strengths relate obviously to the author’s educational background and work. That doesn’t mean an author should hide her educational accomplishments. As Jane said, this seems to be largely an issue of readers (and I would add marketers) placing an increased emphasis on certain name brands. It just doesn’t mean that every Harvard or Yale grad is suited for a career as an author. Or, for that matter, as president.

If it is, then Jane’s post does seem to be picking on the elite colleges, but if it’s only those elite colleges which tend to be mentioned, then singling them out does seem fair.