The concept of featuring jerks in fiction isn’t new. Unpopular characters have long been popular in writing (weird but true). They’re the people we love to hate. The people we’re allowed to hate in our new and more sensitive cultural landscape.

There is a reason why this comes up. My husband and I were enjoying a quiet evening at home. What started off as a casual conversation about the events of the day soon took a rather philosophical turn, as it often does when a glass or two of wine is involved.

A marketing issue arises

Because I’m an independent publisher, I do my own marketing. Which is possibly why so few people have ever heard of me. In any case, earlier that day I was checking out some small-scale marketing options. I approach most of these with caution and I have yet to ever respond to anyone that has contacted me out of the blue. There are too many scammers out there that will fleece a trusting and innocent writer – so beware.

To try and make sure I wasn’t entrusting my precious first book to a heartless villain, I checked out reviews. Reviews, the well-written ones, are a good source of guidance when considering a purchase. We know this.

So, I went to Fiverr and started browsing through their marketing options. I found a really inexpensive package that offered some social media exposure on a couple of different platforms. It seemed legit and it was pretty cheap, so I started looking through the reviews.

Enter the unhelpful reviewer

The first few reviews were fine. But I do look at 1 star reviews as well, just to get a fuller picture. I noticed that a few people complained, quite bitterly, that they engaged this service but didn’t sell any books as a result.

Now, that would be disappointing, but marketing isn’t a sure thing at the best of times. Among the handful of angry reviewers, one gentleman in particular was inconsolably miffed. Spitefully and hatefully miffed.

I do have to say in defense of the marketing professional that she stated, clearly and repeatedly, that she can’t force anyone to actually buy anything. She can only market the book based on its merits and then release it like a baby bird unto the world. Evidently, a few of these fledglings plummeted to the ground with a horrifying splat.

Curiously, the angry author had written about his particular views of God and concepts of religion – right before tearing this lady a new one because the masses weren’t flocking to read about it.

Now, it’s worth bearing in mind that certain genres are more niche-prone than others. Religion is definitely one of those. It’s also highly sensitive and personal, so earth-shattering sales may not be likely for many authors.

In any case, after the complainer fired off some very unchristian ill-wishes on this marketer, I left the 1 star reviews behind in search of feedback that was more useful.

What does any of this have to do with jerks in fiction?

Not necessarily anything, not directly at least. But glass of wine number two decided that I was very wise to write fiction rather than flex my religious views in book form. To those that choose that path, that’s totally fine, they have the same gift of free will that we all do. But they really need to be prepared for the sheer volume of people that won’t agree with them. That doesn’t mean anyone has to give up, but don’t get angry about it, that won’t do any good.

My husband and I considered this matter further. And the discussion turned to ways that writers do, in a sense, share their views of right conduct and standards in their work. It can be subtle, but when you read a book you invariably pick up on who the author is presenting as a ‘good’ person. It’s a fascinating look into an author’s mindset; it’s a bit like some of the seasoning that a cook stirs through a dish.

Does that go for all genres?

As I was explaining this to my captivated and semi-conscious audience, it occurred to me that I write murder mysteries. These books, by necessity, feature a lot of people that would not be classed as ‘good’, and some of them get murdered. Murder is also not ‘good’ as such. But it’s an ongoing theme in a mystery writer’s work and there was nowhere I could hide from that.

So, I quickly amended my argument (which I was having with no one, as my husband had nodded off by now). I pointed out that the highlighting of admirable qualities is typically done via your main and/or regular characters. Even the ones that are sometimes crabby or obnoxious. That’s more likely to be a reflection of your own thoughts.

At that point I trailed off and quietly finished my wine.

We need villains and victims

In looking back on that conversation, I find that it was an interesting thought exercise. As a fiction writer, particularly a murder mystery writer, I do need awful people. They function as catalysts and motivation for even worse people to do away with them.

Liars and bullies, creeps that yell at their employees or ignore the elderly. They are victims in the making, and these victims even invite their inevitable comeuppance by victimizing others. How accommodating is that?

I wonder sometimes if I properly appreciate the role of despicable individuals in fiction. If it weren’t for them, every death in the story would be tragic. Thanks to them being the sort of character that no one is intended to miss, that tragedy is softened into an interesting happenstance.

After all, someone’s got to get killed for the whole murder mystery thing to work, so it might as well be someone that no one likes, right?

It’s not as mean as it sounds

Just in case anyone is tempted to feel sorry for these hapless chumps, remember that they really do need to be genuinely awful. The hated victim trope is a time-tested classic. It gives us widespread motive, a reason to fear that half the town could have conceivably knocked the big meanie on the head or pitched them off a cliff. They serve a vital purpose and there’d be a lot less mystery without them.

So, while real-life conflict isn’t enjoyable, maybe we should all take a moment to appreciate the concept of jerks in fiction. They may function mostly as plot fodder or a simple red herring, but they do function.

What happened with the marketing service?

With regards to the cruelly-attacked marketer, I went ahead and purchased the cheapest package advertised. The lady actually suggested that I start out small and see how it went. I will say that she was lovely, very prompt and honest, and she gave me a bit of advice that went beyond the scope of the job.

Did it result in sales? I don’t think so, to be honest. In saying that, I can’t really know who saw her posts and maybe came back and bought my book later. But for $12 it felt like a safe bet, and I learned a bit. I happily left her a very genuine and purposeful 5 star review.

In life, just like in fiction, the outcome is as much about how we react to situations as it is about the situation itself. Sometimes our attitude is the only thing that gets us labeled a jerk, in fiction or real life.