Have we taken competition too far?

Times are tough for most people in our society.  The recovery from the near collapse of our economy still has many of us reeling.  People are still looking for work.  People are still struggling and many of us are still hurting financially.  Businesses that advertise for an open position get bombarded with applicants almost as if they were chumming the waters with blood and bait.  And we as the ones that are still feeling the sting of an economy desperately trying to reclaim what it once was clamor for those positions, sometimes climbing on top of one another in the hopes of landing a preliminary interview.

Is it really that bad?  Ask anyone that has been out of work longer than a year and he or she will tell you:  Yes.  It is that bad.

And as I type this, I can't help but think to myself that things are no better in the literary industry.  Talented unknowns fight to keep their dream alive.  They hope to become the next best selling author or authoress.  They launch their book tours and conduct book signings all in the hopes that their work will become validated in the eyes of the literary world.

One thing that we all understand is that the competition is great.  You can have the best written manuscript in the world, but if no one knows about it, it will remain exactly that...a well written manuscript.

Indeed, the competition is so great that the only thing the average author can focus on is their particular project...not that there is anything wrong with that.  But at some time, you will have to come out of your own shell and look at the world around you.  At some point, you will be forced to look at who is selling what and try to determine what it is that they are doing right and what you're doing wrong.  Unfortunately, some authors can't see outside of their own projects and become so self absorbed that they miss the mark completely.  Wouldn't you want to know why someone sold fifty copies of their book when you only managed to sell four?  I know that I would.  As an author, it's my job to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in the literary community...and the job force.

Have we really taken the spirit of competition too far?  Well, as far as the literary community goes, you have to know what's going on.  With technology forcing us to change the way we do business, authors are forced to re-evaluate what is important to them.  Their forced to re-evaluate strategies.  Nothing wrong with competition there.

But in the job market; until the economy comes back in full force and everyone once again has equal access to obtaining the American Dream, I'm afraid that it's everyone man and woman for themselves.