Jacqueline Wilson without sour grapes

I haven't criticised J K Rowling and I'm not going to criticise Jacqueline Wilson either. They've both encouraged children to read and, not that it's any of my business, both seem to be thoroughly decent people.

Right - now that's out of the way, there's no excuse for anyone to misinterpret anything that follows as sour grapes, envy or any other sin (deadly or otherwise).

There's an exhibition right now at the V&A Museum of Childhood (in London) called "Daydreams and Diaries : The Story of Jacqueline Wilson".

I've been. I enjoyed it.

It only runs till 2 November 2014 so bear that in mind if you're reading this on 3 November 2014 or later.

An excellent and well-loved author providing material for a (free) exhibition about her life and work which will, I suspect, encourage more children to read. This is all good.

Sure - she'll sell a few more books through the gift shop. But why not? (See above comment about encouraging reading.)

But.

I'm not going to retract or recant anything I've already written. And I'm not (only) talking about myself here.

There are countless children's authors who could use that sort of exposure. And JW certainly doesn't need it.

Then again - why should a (free) museum run a (free) exhibition about the life and work of an unknown author? How many people will it welcome through its doors? How much merchandise will it sell? How many pots of tea?

JW isn't the main beneficiary here - it's the museum that will boost its visitor numbers (does that help with funding?) as well as sales of food, drink and knick-knacks.

Is there any answer to this one? Maybe not.

Sure, the museum or JW could pick a lesser-known author and exhibit them alongside. How crushing would that be for the chosen one - getting a career start via a ride on some generous (and effective) coat-tails?

Some would still take the humiliation. How much humiliation would a typical author (what's that?) take in order to actually get their work into the hands of more than a handful (ouch) of readers?

Maybe more than you'd think. I would. No, really.

Okay, from this point on I'm definitely only talking about me.

I never said I was writing the greatest literature. But I've always maintained that while better books are published to great acclaim, so are a distressingly large number that are hideously rubbish. And, as such, my books have as much right to prominence as any book with a mainstream publisher's logo on its spine.

I wouldn't say that my books are better or worse than JW's - I'll leave that to others.

The problem I have is marketing - a lack of disposable funds to spend on advertising, a lack of ability to gain traction in word-of-mouth.

But I'd have no problem with increasing sales through exposure via a leg-up from a celebrated author.

If I didn't think my books were good enough, I'd be uncomfortable doing so. But if I didn't think my books were good enough, I wouldn't still be writing about them. I'd be rewriting them.