Some months ago, I was part of a Percy Jackson roleplaying forum. It was tons of fun and the roleplayers were so diverse I was overwhelmed. I was sure my experience there would be awesome. And it was, kind of.
You see, they were all very independent and prone to… fiercely defending themselves, often by attacking and blaming each other for things that could be easily ressolved before they escalated. It happened very often. Even when I had to leave the forum, due to time issues, this continued happening -sometimes I liked to go over the roleplays and read the stories they created.
They have survived until now, but just barely.
I think the YA community’s got the same problem.
I’ve learned two important things these last few months I’ve started interacting more with the awesome bookish people out there:
1) Twitter is a gift from the gods
2) We always want to win every freaking argument
I want everyone to be very honest with themselves. I doubt there would be such ruckus if we started turning our sights inward, instead of pointing at one another.
Now, there’s thing that has been nagging at me…
Authors vs Bloggers?
I know, right? It’s absurd. Authors appreciate all the free promotion and support they get from bookworm bloggers and their audiences. And of course, bloggers get excited about the ARCs they get, the book signings, and the great stories. Seems like all should work well?
But we are humans, and humans… humans make mistakes.
I don’t want to adress a particular case, but well, if you’ve been tuned lately, I don’t think you’ll need to.
Goodreads is a site for both authors and readers to interact. A place where everyone can share their opinions. Some authors who have had problems threading the thin line of not angering anyone (the ones who choose to not to go down silently), claim bloggers are mean and seek to destroy authors’ careers.
On the other hand, bloggers, outraged, band together, as the close-knit community they are and tweet like crazy, condemning, and just sinking the ship deeper.
During these dramas, I just read the tweets, and occasionally show my support and tweet about it, but I mostly obseve, eager to know how the thing unfolds. I know many will object this, but here’s what I’ve noticed, from my perspective:
Bloggers can be mean.
I am blogger, and a writer too, which is why believe me, I’m not biased. But it’s true.
Honestly, we all are to blame. We all throw rocks and make it worse, but let’s admit, authors really have it bad sometimes. I mean, the guys lose money, and so do a lot of people that were depending on those sales.
But money issues aside, I’m talking about shunning. Many bloggers say reviews aren’t for authors, they are for other readers. Reviews are meant for them to read and decide if the book is worth their time (and money). They say authors shouldn’t interfere. But, is this really a rule? Or is it just a barrier we’ve established to feel free to say whatever we want.
Is it really that bad if an author replies to a [negative] review? Why is it regarded as a sin? As long as the author is respectful and doesn’t start questioning and justifying the flaws the reviewer found, I don’t see the problem.
Here is where the ‘community’ part comes in. Readers in general are free to give their opinion about books, and the authors’ right is to do so as well. Now, there’s a delicate thing here. Bloggers’ reviews are truly spaces for them to express whatever they want. Even if it’s just a two-word review. Their responsability is less because they choose to do this, they’re entitled to this freedom. Authors are entitled to the freedom speech too, only with the limitations of having to be more professional and respecting the reviewer’s rights.
Blogger-zillas?
Most people are actually afraid of standing up to a blogger nowadays, because, poke a blogger and immediate major Twitter drama. We’re not babies, so let’s stop acting as such. We’re mature, even us kids and young adults. (Reading does that for us). It’s awesome how we can organize together to protect one of ours, but… You know, I have this sometimes annoying habit of always wondering about the other side. I’m unable to not to put myself in the other guy’s shoes. (Unless that guy’s shoes are really dirty and the guy is an a-hole, but those are extreme cases). And I can’t help but feel like this ‘protecting’ is our euphemism for something that borders on bullying.
You might say: ‘Die, bitch die, you’re with, or against us?’ But it’s true. Most of the time the guys on the other side, really didn’t mean what they said. One single tweet, one single opinion, and it explodes, and it was a mistake, but you can’t take it back because internet is forever. I really feel bad about it. And while we’re not necessarily life destroyers, I do think we are pretty ruthless when we set to it.
Most think it’s authors the ones who have the ‘upper hand’ because they’ve got connections, publishing houses and yadda, yadda, but if the recent events are ANY indication, bloggers can be even more influential. Especially those who have established audiences and have the world listening. Anddd it kind of scares me and makes me unbeliavely happy at the same time.
But it shouldn’t, because it’s not a competition. Bloggers are super interesting people who love talking about books and they are a force to be reckoned with when they adore one and want to support it. Authors are really brave, and their imagination knows no bounds.
->Skip this part if you want.
Once, I wrote in my diary (XD I know, I know), that I resented my best friend for being prettier than me. I was 12. Somehow, my best friend read it and hell broke loose. She was friendly and amazing, but that while I was on her good side. I didn’t know at first, I didn’t understand. She stopped talking to me, my other friends too. She got everyone in our class to ignore me and actively bully me too (Except for some guys that didn’t care but they don’t matter). Yeah, my sad sob story. But it all started with one simple mistake. Not technically the same, but still, it makes me think about what really goes on in the mind’s of ‘the other person’ when there’s an argument. I, for one, didn’t mean to hurt my friend, or… make her turn into a monster o.o, but it did offend her, and I’m sorry about that, but it’s how I felt, and I can’t change it but… for god’s sake, would it have killed her to just tell me ‘Hey, you wrote this, and I don’t like you anymore. Bye.’?
Yes, we can’t possibly ALWAYS be thinking about others, and it’s specially hard when we’ve been hurt, and we’re offended, and we just want justice and to change this world that is so wrong. Why can’t they see that that’s wrong?! But we have to do it the right way, and the right way takes time, and it’s HARD.
We should first remember on the other side there’s also a human being. Yes, we do have freedom, but it doesn’t mean we have the right to invade people’s privacy, or attack them.
It’s like with teachers. They represent a role, and they can be bossy, strict and downright annoying. It’s easy to forget they sometimes have families, love ice cream, have a dog called ‘Cuddles’ and love to sing opera.
*
I hate how this incidents lately have been building barriers among us. In groups with a lot of people, conflicts are bound to happen, I get it. But let’s try to minimize them, shall we? Let’s be respectful when directly interacting with others, but without that stopping us from expressing our thoughts. Let’s show support, but not support for attacks.
The drama has to stop because I don’t want us to end up like the Percy Jackson RP forum. We’re halfway there already, you know.
That said, I absolutely enjoyed all the love flowing when Ava Jae suggested the #authoryes hashtag. Let’s keep these kind of good ideas and may the community grow and we all at least try to be more civil and have a less stressful time.
Okay, whoa *finally breathes*
Rant over!
Wow, didn’t know there was so much drama (so glad to be far from the front lines now). I’d say it’s not your fault for writing about your BFF in your diary – I mean, it’s a diary for a reason – personal notes for personal thoughts. I do remember one funny moment where my BFF read my diary (she stayed over at our house). She was guilty about and told me. What was funny was her reaction. She didn’t discover some deep-seated hatred or dark secret. Her remark was just, “You didn’t write about me.”
Jee Ann recently posted this awesome thing…Enter “A Slice of Quietude” by Sharon Cho
Yeah, that was my conclussion later, when I could see the bigger picture 😛 I’ve made my peace with it. Some things do happen for a reason. But I don’t keep a diary anymore o.o
The above discussion concerned a ridiculous but predictable situation. The proliferation of bloggers focusing on YA exclusively is, in and of itself, comedic irony. The bottom line is that this generation of kids do not read, not much anyway. They play video games and most would rather argue or vent moral anger than to actually spend as much time as it takes to finish an entire novel. This observation is not a criticism of kids — they are the products of our society’s increasing value of instant gratification, including and flash fiction indoctrinations.
Most YA, in my opinion, is actually read by adults, some to lazy to digest complicated twists and turns in morality or social commentary, and who want to escape daily overstress by reliving their fictional childhoods.
In my opinion, after stating that you’ve waited to start a blog, and then to specialize in YA, well that’s a total waste of making your dream come true. Your view of YA influencing the moral fiber or character development of teens is naive. As much as we all as adults wish that it wasn’t true, the average child is sexualized by age 6 or 7, calling each other “dildo” as an insult by 10 or 11, and, etc. The “F Word” is probably the most spoken word in any middle or high school, by far.
Don’t you remember the infamous insult in E.T.: “penis breath?” There’s not a single preteen who watched that movie who didn’t understand the implications of that insult, and that was years ago. Have you ever watched South Park? Hundreds of thousands of preteens and teens watched an effeminate school teacher appear to have orgasms as a gerbil, shown by X-Ray, crawled up his anus and move around inside his intestines.
It would be no loss to literature or civilization if every YA blogger grew up overnight, including yours, no insult intended as I can tell that you mean well, just a little idealistic. Please don’t get me started on Romance novels — they are almost as bad as YA bloggers!
I notice that people under 30 are often involved in these actions, which are actually cyber-bullying. I wonder if it’s because of growing up with computers/internet/social media being so accessible. Those raised in the days of paper and pen were always taught “Don’t put anything in writing you don’t want your mother reading.” Not that people over 30 don’t get involved or those under 30 practice discretion.
I think you’re right. I always worry about how what I write might sound because the way I hear it in my head often differs from what I perceive when I re read a comment/tweet/etc. It’s a matter of awareness. Everyone’s entitled to voice their thoughts, but without attacking.
Respect is key and I think that basic courtesy is often what is pushed to the side on the internet when it comes to any interactions where strong opinions are concerned. Pierre behave differently I think with the anonymity of the net. It always saddens me when drama flares up and I pretty much just stay out of it. I can honestly say tho that usually that sort of drama turns me off to both the blogger and author. I wish both sides could be more comfortable. I love getting comments from authors even in negative reviews tho I rarely get them anymore these days. I even remember at least once being asked to read the second book. Great discussion topic.
Tabitha (Not Yet Read) recently posted this awesome thing…How do you interact with the Blogging community? My Tips & Tricks
Thanks! And respect indeed is the key. We just kind of forget that there are actual people on the other side.
What’s the most difficult about all of this is that tone cannot be conveyed electronically. People can read in to things and as a result things get blown out of proportion.
I’ve only been blogging about a year and I’m so afraid I’m going to piss off someone with a review or a discussion post. It’s not a paralyzing fear, but I posted a negative review today for a pretty popular series and there were some negative tweets the last time.
Terri M., the Director recently posted this awesome thing…Book Review 62: Written in My Heart’s Own Blood by Diana Gabaldon
I agree that it’s sad that we all feel the need to take sides. I DO think that there are times that both authors and bloggers behave badly. I’m generally not one to jump on a bandwagon, but I have been turned off by things an author has said or done before – unfortunately, that’s the way life is. We can’t help but be influenced by the stories we hear. Still, I try to keep an open mind and give people the benefit of the doubt whenever possible.
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted this awesome thing…Let’s Discuss – Online Identity: Who are You Online?
Yep, that’s probably the best way to go. I also feel that most of the time, the people involved would like things to just stay quiet, unless stated otherwise. But every time the thing just goes boom in such a short period that with some many people giving their opinion it’s hard to get a grasp of the real story there.
I completely agree—I think somehow we’ve come to associate our sense of honor with being right, or that we only have to agree with people who align with our beliefs even if they aren’t like us (i.e. I can be really supportive to gay people even though I’m straight but I can’t be accepting or kind to anyone who disagrees with that, etc).
I really loved Ava Jae’s #authoryes hastag and wish I’d had some time to participate. Even then, I think part of it is that we’re on the Internet, and it’s a lot easier to call you something that would make your grandma faint with a screen, instead of watching your emotions crumble in your very eyes.
So, yes. I agree. We have our troubles in this department.
Heather recently posted this awesome thing…On the Subject of Internet Safety
You’re right. Hmmm Things are complicated. There are some many things that are important here that every time I think about maybe doing something to help, I feel so small. Lol.
There are many authors who are close to readers and interact constantly, but maybe we could try expanding the group a little. Bloggers support one another, but perhaps we should start including more authors into this circle too. The lack of communication wouldn’t be so bad then. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for dropping by!