A couple of things have happened recently that got me thinking. Yes a strange and scary thing in and of itself. You may recall Jane talked about authors needing to reach out and touch a reader. I sort of went ‘uh, no thanks’ on that one.
Then I stopped to think well, isn’t that what I do with my guest days & weeks? I think it is trip to have Jo Goodman answer questions. I am loving it that Lisa Marie Rice will guest and Shannon McKenna who both seem to enjoy Italy way more than spending time on the net. And well I can’t say I blame them *G*.
So I thought maybe Jane had a good point.
Then Barbara Samuel posted about the RITA and Why Readers Should Care. I have to say I had something of a what the fuck moment while reading that post. Reader bloggers do care, it can be argued we care a touch too much. Before I could get too annoyed I remembered many authors aren’t ‘plugged in’ and well Samuel’s has been moving more and more toward Woman’s Fiction. So maybe romanceland isn’t all that well travelled by her.
Of course that idea was shot to hell as Alison Kent kept saying no, she has romance coming out. And I found out not only was she aware of Dear Author and the different things the Ja(y)nes do to help keep readers informed but she had won the 100 bloggers blogging contest. A well established author who has won many a RITA, tells a reader she is hostile to the author agenda after accepting a prize that same reader created to help raise reader awarness of a new author.
::blink:: it was within the rules… but really that makes the whole hostile comment smell a touch too much for me.
Then last night I ran across a post by Tara Marie, which pretty much spelled out how I was feeling. So I am thinking many a reader was feeling the same way.
Next I ran across a post called The Reader/Author Canyon on WriteMinded written by Larissa (a soon to be published author) talking about the same RTB post that made me go WTF but from an author POV. She sez:
So why is this happening? Are authors exposing themselves too much? Are they not exposing themselves enough? I’ve seen comments about how authors are ingrates. I’ve seen comments about how readers are too harsh in their reviews–and that they don’t even have the qualifications to review. I’ve seen authors say they are readers too, and readers say that authors can’t be true readers anymore.
The comments are interesting. I hope Samantha Hunter comes back in a year to let us know how disappearing from all publicity but author signings and only letting people review her book if they buy it works for her.
As I was firmly back in my corner and thinking Jane was nuts and that I should stop any and all book talk for fear that I might help an author sell a book Sharon came on the scene and reminded me (in part) why I do like to do guest days, line weeks, contests, guest posts and just in general talk about books. She said:
I DO think that readers get a bum wrap. Im sure authors do too, but I guess I empathize with readers more because I am such a huge reader myself. So many readers spend a LOT of their time talking about romance books. I just don’t see the bad. They’re passionate, vocal, supportive and damn hard to please. Just the way I love em. And really, what’s wrong with that?
And then Jaci came along and made two great points that I think many an author forget:
Everything that everyone says has merit, unless it becomes a personal attack against the author or reader as a person, and those I don’t listen to.
I also don’t have to agree with someone’s opinion about any of my books, or an opinion someone else makes about a book I’ve read. Isn’t freedom a wonderful thing?
Love that! So, so true and if you look at the comment, I think it speaks volumes. The successful authors are really easy to pick out.
At the same time Jaci touched on something I have been giving a lot of thought to recently, reviews and the personal attacks. That is against the rules right? A huge no, no! I recently emailed a friend and told her, I know it is none of my business and probably completely out of line but when you said X you crossed that line. Authors private lives shouldn’t be involved in a review of the book. She was completely cool with it (my most vocal and horrid reactions to anything I have done online have been from reviewers, go figure).
(Yeah, sort of amazing anyone returns my emails huh? I am an oddity maybe because this is me. What you see is what you get no matter online or in person, which is something Emma Sinclair touched on [in general not about me] but that is a whole other post)
Later on I was thinking on the whole thing again, which is normal and spoke to another reader about it. She made me stop and think. Yes that is the ‘rule’ but why. I say unless the author invites its. Meaning… LKH… she invites you to stare and compare. Maybe that is just me?
But what about those blog posts… the ones that tell TMI like there is no such thing as TMI. I had no answer because “I” don’t believe in Too Much Information. I delight in talking about sex and all of lifes messy details. But if you are an author and your job is to create books for me to read – if you pony up info how am I not suppose to have that help shape my view of your book.
You thank your hubby for all he has done and talk about how you met sparked the idea for the story. You tell the reader your novel is based on X. You let it all hang out on your blog like they do on The Lipstick Chronicles or Jacquelyn Frank does. Where is the line? Is there a line?
How do I the reader keep that separate? Does that mean I agree with Larissa because I don’t think I do. And god help us all if the answer is etiquette lessons from someone whom I would be shocked knows what the word means.
And then I went back to Tara Marie’s blog. I went back to Kristiej’s oh so nifty author ‘touch’. I went back to Jane, who instead of reacting as I would have, took the whine-a-rita and turned it into another contest. More money out of her pocket to do something RWA, the publishers or the authors who think nothing of the RITA fees, cost of buying OOP books and/or experience shock over readers not wanting to pay repeated shipping fees should do.
I remembered I am here for the readers. I am here because I love romance novels. I am here because I love to talk about them, buy them and hunt them down. And I am here because I adore many an author. They wear their reader hat well. They talk books not only when theirs are coming out but when they have something interesting to say. They make me sqqquuueee with delight when I close their book and make me want to tell everyone I can stop long enough to listen to me about it. They make me proud to be a small apart of romanceland.
As for the rest of it… what the fuck ever… we need something to point and laugh at right?
Sam Hunter and Cobblestone Press must have the same advisor. Don’t send to blogs for reviews. No press there. I noticed that your blog and your Brennan post were both picked up by USA Today and Reuters. I wonder if Hunter does not like that kind of exposure.
As for Barbara Samuel – I am not sure why she thought I was hostile to her goals but I don’t understand why she thinks I should embrace them either.
I know you are against the Reader Rita Contest but after all the talk about it, I wanted to be proactive instead of just sitting back and bemoaning the current state of affairs.
Not to be dense, but I’m still not clear on why I should care about the RITA, despite hundreds of comments at RtB and SBTB and elsewhere in blogland. I’ve read several winners and finalists, and didn’t find anything particularly special about half of them. Some were well-written by ~meh~ to me; others were outright stinkers and I wasn’t sure how/why they received awards; some were very good books. I didn’t seek any of them out because they were RITA winners. Unless/until RITA becomes a more accurate marker of excellence, it isn’t going to be a benchmark I use.
On the matter of author adoption and authors reaching out: this is going to sound cynical and bitchy, but the longer I participate in the online romance community, the less interest I have in interacting with authors on a personal level, by and large. That’s not to say that I didn’t squeee like a ‘tween catching sight of JT when LaNora posted a comment on my blog, or that there aren’t a couple of author blogs that I’ve lurked at regularly since joining the community (multi-pub’d and newly pub’d). I enjoy reading author comments at DA and SBTB…but that’s not why I check out either site. I do think that there is a large divide between reader and author, based on our competing interests: maximizing our book dollars vs. selling more books. I don’t think that Average Author is necessarily the person whose advice I want or need when it comes to my reading choices.
Sybil, I’m so confused…
There’s no flippin way I can follow all those links and keep up with what’s going on. Readers should care about their books, yep. Should readers care about RITAs? I dunno. Somebody would have to give me a reason as to why…a good one. So far, I haven’t seen too many good ones.
Should authors reach out and touch someone aka get more involved in the online community. Well, can they do it without making an ass of themselves later on down the road? If they can, and if they are able to do the online thing (some authors I know are so frickin shy, they couldn’t. I mean literally.) But if they can, and they can do it without making themselves look the fool, why not? Doesn’t hurt.
Should reviews get personal? Don’t see why. You don’t like a book, that’s fine. But it makes me blink when I see a review that starts going on about the author on a personal basis instead of the book. Personal attacks require a lot of energy and a lot of passion and if you think a book sucked, why would you want to expend that much energy on it? All it’s going to do is sell more books. People wanna see why it was so hated. It also confuses me because I’m too lazy to get that worked up over a book. If I didn’t like it, fine. I’ll give it away and pick a different author next time.
And I dunno… some people I’ve seen online could benefit from etiquette lessons. ;o) Readers can insult authors all they want. It might tick the author off, but it doesn’t really hurt the author professionally. But when the author slaps back…different story. That can, does and has hurt authors.
So there’s my two cents, although I’m still not exactly sure what all you are talking about. ;o)
BTW… why are my comments orange?
LOL
you just noticed that?
CUZ! you are extra special!!!!! it is to help the peeps see your posts on your guest day. I was gonna leave it that way for a few more days. Want it changed back now?
I still don’t see why I should need to care about the RITAs. What Barbara Samuel really wants is more recognition for people who have won RITAs.
I see where you’re getting at with TMI blog posts, and while it may affect a reader’s opinion of a book, I think it’s very distasteful to mention it in reviews. Does it really matter beyond “I didn’t like the book”?
JMC it took me a second but got it, Justin! loooollll
Nora Roberts is hands down a class act. It is funny because I never bought a Nora Roberts book. Never read her (or Robb) because she is so fucking huge I didn’t see she ‘needed’ a new fangirl like some midlisters might and because I mainly read historicals when I started reading romance.
I still don’t think she needs another fan but I do read contemps now and I love, love, love some of the older category romances. But the main reason I have picked up some Robert books is because of the author. I am sure she has had her moments but if there is any author in romanceland that could be the biggest bitch ever and get away with it – it would be Nora.
She isn’t. She gives back to RWA and other authors. And really all the way around is fucking awesome.That is why I picked up a book by her to read.
That is what I mean by reading those comments you can tell who is successful and who isn’t. I have found doing guest author days the authors that are concerned about getting everything done, on time, as best as they can and doing their part are the names you see get bigger and bigger.
so if i’m punkin orange, i get noticed… not cuz of my sparkling wit… ;p
nah, i don’t care… and i think i noticed yesterday…just didn’t say anything.
;o)
That is what I mean by reading those comments you can tell who is successful and who isn’t. I have found doing guest author days the authors that are concerned about getting everything done, on time, as best as they can and doing their part are the names you see get bigger and bigger.
This is SOOOOOOO true.
What Barbara Samuel really wants is more recognition for people who have won RITAs.
Really? I took away that she wanted more recognition for the award itself. You mention RITA in any literary community, and I doubt you’ll get the same recognition of what it is as you would the Edgars or Hugos or Nebulas or any other of the genre awards. That’s what I felt she was addressing. Why no one knows what the RITA.
I don’t imagine I’ll ever care as much about awards as I do reader opinions.
See…what Shiloh said was exactly what I meant about authors being out there too much…some authors just dig themselves graves every time they post in a blog or on a board. I think it’s part of the gap I see. And I really don’t get the UBS thing…I’ve given a lot of authors a try because of a book I found at a UBS…which led to sales of their new books. I’ve bought at least ten new Sherrilyn Kenyon books because I found her through a UBS.
Which is totally off topic, but after reading the posts you linked to, I had to comment! *g*
Larissa, I have no probs with UBS either. I know what it’s like to be broke and needing your reading fix. I found so many faves thru UBS and because I loved their books, I didn’t want to find one used when a new one came out. I found a way to buy new.
Not everybody can afford to buy new, but they shouldn’t be attacked over that. Most of us have had to deal with tight budgets , after all.
*G* on the graves. Some of them dig themselves in so deep, they couldn’t get out with an extension ladder.
Hey Larissa, nice of you to drop in. I am not sure if anything around here is ever on topic so go for it *G*.
the authors that are concerned about getting everything done, on time
….
*runs away*
😀
And I would say more, but Shiloh pretty much said everything I would. And her comments are so pretty, like the color of my hair.
Shiloh, LMAO @ the extension ladder!
Sybil, heh–off topic is my specialty! As long as someone hands me one of those extension ladders…
On time? Meljean, I’m running with you–shoving you out of the way, really.
But the main reason I have picked up some Robert books is because of the author.
You know since I started writing and blogging and reading other blogs, I’ve picked up many more new-to-me authors than I think I would have otherwise for just this reason.
As for the UBS thing–what Larissa said which is similiar to what PBW saida few months ago. And TMI well, some authors do it better than others. And by TMI I mean getting really personal and stuff.
Okay May okay I’m going to do that interview right now 😀
I think it’s possible for readers and authors to interact and do it well. I do it all the time. I see it all the time. Take away our ‘titles’ and we’re just people. At the core, we’re all booklovers, trying to muddle our way through this new age of blogging and technology. All we really want to do is talk about what we love. Maybe I’m being simplistic about it, but I think it’s all in how we approach it. And that’s where the waters get muddied by a few.
I’ve found some new authors through reader blogs, and for that I’m grateful. If I wasn’t online and tooling around blogland, I’d never know.
And its quite possible I have followed Larissa into off topic land. She started it. 😉
As for the RITAs…I’ve entered them before and will continue to do so, because within our industry its considered a prestigious award. Didn’t enter this year because I didn’t have a book that qualified because of copyright date. But in my personal opinion the RITAs are for professional recognition. I doubt a reader cares whether a book is a RITA award winner or not. Not sure how it could even be changed other than noting the author is an award winner on future books, but even then, does that impact reader buying decisions?