And ironically, I was catching up on my blog reading when I stumbled upon this gem by MaryJanice Davidson, detailing hers and friends' involvement in internet brouhahas.
My spiritual mother is right. No good comes from a writer responding or acknowledging other people's
I admitted my fee-fees were hurt. Now it's time to let it go.
Just one problem--I'm a classic Scorpio with a damn near eidetic memory.
In other words, I'm fucked.
I agree with her mostly, but not completely.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that griping about bad reviews is freaking stupid. There've been enough kerfuffles spreading across the internet (seriously, this is the Twitter age -- how can anyone think that a snark will stay between you and your reviewer's tiny blog??) that any writer with enough brains to work a computer should know by now not to do it.
And you know, since everyone should know not to do it, I have no problem pointing and laughing at the people whose stupid kicks in over this stuff, especially famous people who should really know better, because unlike you and me, they have huge spotlights constantly following them.
I had to browse through some of the Fandom Wank post (that site is a guilty pleasure -- I never go unless I trip over a link, 'cause if I subscribed I'd never get any writing done) and this comment was pretty much perfect:
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There are books that don't make you think that hard.
If I think any less while reading her books I'll be in a coma.
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'Cause seriously? The writer totally opened herself up for that. [eyeroll]
And I'll admit I only read the first three books in the series under discussion, plus some fanfic, but isn't it spelled "ardeur?" Did the author really misspell her own made-up word throughout her snotty, whining blog post? o_O
It's like she wants wank. And I'll grant that, especially for someone of her stature, it probably is indeed a case of all publicity being good publicity, so maybe she does do this stuff deliberately, who knows?
I still have a greatly lowered impression of her intelligence, though.
There are issued I will dive in for, though. I've been known to wade in, sometimes on my blog and sometimes wherever the gluteal haberdashery is already occurring, if someone's being stupid about GLBT issues, or racism, or similar. I honestly don't mind getting a rep as someone who's not afraid to snark at bigots because, y'know, bigots. And I do my best to stay thoughtful and rational when I'm posting or commenting on the subject. Although sometimes it's hard, like when the stupid is coming fast and thick. :/
But I totally agree that going all outraged-writer-hurtz on someone who didn't like your book is incredibly dumb.
Angie
LOL Yeah, Fandom Wank is seriously distracting.
ReplyDeleteBut, yeah, the bigots... [eyeroll]
A female author wrote a very sexist guest post on a blog I read. This morning, I tried to be civil and point out that it was condescending to women. I was then told by both the guest blogger and the host that I didn't understand the piece's irony. That's one blog dropped from my reading list.
Oh, lordy. "But I was being ironic!!" is definitely on the cover-your-screwup bingo card. I wish people would stop waving that one around, because nobody believes it.
ReplyDeleteIt's like how the people who pointed out the racism in the Save the Pearls fiasco were told they just weren't getting the irony. Ummm, sure. Because if you want to show how white people are despised and oppressed in your made-up world, you invent a racial epithet like "pearls" to describe them. While the dominant black people are called "coals." Yes, that totally reeks of non-racist irony.
Maybe whoever did the guest blog post you read is related to the absolutely-not-at-all-racist woman who wrote Pearls? :P
Angie