Monday, April 26, 2010

Shouldn't Authors Be Allowed to Defend Themselves When Their Personal Lives Are Attacked?

Authors are celebrities. Just like musicians, athletes and actors, authors are known because of their work. In every form of entertainment, you have your uber famous and lesser known celebrities. I can't name 5 athletes off the top of my head and I had to Google Justin Beiber to figure out what his claim to fame is. Sports aren't my thing. Neither is music. I can identify any well known, established actor, but ask me to name one indy starlet and all you'll receive is a blank look in response.

Obviously, my entertainment of choice is books and the authors who create them are my rock stars. As far as I'm concerned, authors are far more awesome than other types of celebrities.

As the concept of social media explodes all around the internet, celebrities are clamoring to partake. Twitter is the new fan mail. In 140 characters or less, you can profess your undying love to your idol. The famous are now accessible, or at least appear to be. Is Ashton Kutcher going to tweet you back? Probably not, but your favorite author might.

Authors will respond to a comment you leave on their blog. They might even come comment on your blog too. Email an author and you almost always get a response. Most of the time it's really the author who your corresponding with instead of their assistant or fan club president. I've even received emails from authors just to say that their glad I enjoy their books. I enjoyed From Dusk 'Til Dawn too, but neither Quentin Tarantino nor George Clooney has gotten in touch with me.

We have a local bi-annual horror convention that I've always wanted to go to. When I last checked the website, it informed me that the actors will have a signing area when I can get an autograph for $20. Seriously? You write your name and charge me money for it? I can go to an author signing, buy a book or bring one from home and the author will sign it. For the price of the book, I get the book. The signature is free.

My point is that authors are out there, interacting with fans daily. They go above and beyond what other types of celebrities do to involve us in their lives. That is what makes authors so awesome. Unfortunately, putting yourself out there, especially on the internet, comes with a price.

We, as consumers, judge celebrities. We judge their professional work and their personal lives. You may deny it, but it's human nature. Who didn't have an opinion on the Tiger Woods scandal? Or Michael Jackson's whole life? Whether for or against them, we all thought something. Most of us even voiced these opinions. I see nothing wrong with that. As celebrities, their lives are under a certain amount of scrutiny. The difference is, we only see what the media portrays in these cases. The celebrities aren't responding to our opinions.

I can write a whole post about how I think Billy Ray Cyrus is a horrible father and he'll never even hear about it. If I write a post saying something similar about an author, they'll probably know. Since authors are out on the internet interacting with fans, they often come across mean comments on their personal lives. And, although it's rare, they occasionally respond. They are then judged on their response to the criticism. If they take it well, they're considered dignified. If they lash out at the person bashing them, they are "Behaving Badly."

My question is why is this considered bad behavior? I'm not talking about reviews here. I'm talking posts focusing on an author's personal life. Yes, they shared this information with the world. Yes, you are allowed to have and voice an opinion about what they said. But if you are scathingly hurtful, why doesn't the author have a right to defend themselves and their choices? If you are purposefully mean, why can't the author respond in kind?

If someone walked up to me in the supermarket and told me all the things they think suck about me, I can't say I would be able to smile and walk away. In fact, I'm sure I couldn't. I would need to inform the person why I think they suck as well. You don't have to buy their books. You don't have to read their blogs. You don't have to follow them on Twitter. And you definitely don't need to bash them on the internet. But if you do, I think they're completely justified in attacking you right back.

I think many of us tend to forget that authors are people too. Even more so than actors, musicians and athletes, they are people just like us. They are sitting behind a computer screen in their pajamas, drinking coffee and wishing their kids would take a nap so they can get some work done. They go out of their way, taking time they don't really have available, to connect with readers. The internet has allowed authors to find fans they they wouldn't have been known to otherwise. It has allowed fans insights into their favorite authors works and lives. It's a win/win for everyone involved, as long as everyone can play nicely.

If you read a blog post saying you sucked at your job, how would you feel? What if it said someone should take your kids away? That you and your husband are disgusting? Could you ignore it? Would you be hurt or angry enough to respond? Do you believe that authors should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us?

17 comments :

  1. Fantastic post Jennifer, you are so right and you put it brilliantly!

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  2. I agree with you completely! Thank you for posting this!

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  3. Great topic and I understand its their lively hood, and I do think its great that authors are talking on twitter or blogs comments, because If I like their work, I want them to know and I also like when they are talking to me..

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  4. What a great post! Thanks for sharing and I completely agree with an author's right to defend themselves!

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  5. I just wanted to say what a great post this is!!! Thank you for sharing this. I feel like you too.. if someone where to post/talk/twit whatever... about me sucking.. I am sure I would have a few things to say about it. What is different about an author speaking up for why they wrote or what they wrote or simply for just living the fantasy of what we read... Thank you!!!!!!

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  6. Whoa Jen! What is going on? Author bashing?! Really?! WTH?

    "As far as I'm concerned, authors are far more awesome than other types of celebrities." <<<THIS! I know I really appreciate it when an author interacts when me when I know there time is limited!

    I'm glad you said something. I hope people get the message.

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  7. What is so sad is that the people who need to read the message probably won't and the people who love authors, adore them, bow down to them and want to have their babies ~ we're the ones reading the post above and saying who the heck would be so insane as to bash an author? that is horrible, disgusting behavior! and if it was done by a book blogger then it is even MORE reprehensible! UGH! I'm going to link up to your post if that's ok ~ what a horrible horrible thing for someone to do! But your post is great! I don't think I could be so nice about it.

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  8. authors have just as much right as anyone to defend their good name--- I wonder though-- someone who would look beyond an author's work to bash their personal lives might be crazy in a scary way--- how could the author tell the jerk ones from the crazy/scary ones?

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  9. I think it's all a part of the celebrity culture in which we live. Quite honestly, I am uninterested in authors' personal lives (ditto other celebrities) unless it informs their writing. The book, for me, is what they have offered to share with the world, not their personal life. So we should leave their personal life out of the equation. I do think that often times when an author defends him or herself, it makes more publicity and a bigger kerfuffle than if they had been able to refrain from responding but that is their choice. Just don't make me read any of it!!! ;-)

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  10. I'm with Kristen, I really don't care about authors' personal lives. While I read some interviews and like to learn more about their personality, I mostly think of them separately from their books. I didn't even realize people bad mouthed authors (other than bad reviews)...

    Tara SG -- 25hourbooks.com

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  11. I agree with you. If we're going to take advantage of the fact that authors are more personable and we can interact with them (whereas we can't with movie stars) then we also need to be that much more respectful about what we say about them. Have there really been bloggers that have criticized author's personal lives? That's crazy!!

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  12. Great discussion topic! I totally think authors have the right to defend themselves. I mean, it's only right! I wouldn't expect anyone to just sit there while they'r getting put down and criticized to no exntent.

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  13. What an interesting topic! While I think authors should probably just let it slide if they get a bad review, I would think it's completely reasonable to respond to criticism of their personal lives. That is to say, it's fair enough if they do, but it might not be a good idea, as it might just end up making them look worse. I guess it's a judgement call in each case.

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  14. Wow, that sounded really waffly. Sorry. I haven't had my afternoon coffee. Also, I agree with Jenny- bloggers really shouldn't do that!

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  15. As Sam Sykes pointed out in an interview, these days authors are not just selling their books but they are selling themselves as well. Therefore most authors can't afford to risk turning off readers by offending anyone, and they certainly can't attack them. Writing books doesn't pay as well as being an actor and authors will suffer the consequences of readers rejection much more than an actor or musician. Authors also have to realize that once they put their book out there, everyone is entitled to their opinion of it. Those authors that lash out against anyone who criticisms them are completely out of line. I believe that there are very few instances in which it is appropriate for an author to respond to criticism of their books. And in general, authors have to be very careful of what they say online as they can easily suffer the ramifications. An example: There is an author who I follow on Twitter whose books I will never read or promote because he responded to a comment that I made in an offensive manner. While he did apologize, due to that one remark I will never give this author a try.

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  16. I can't imagine why anyone would make personal comments about an author. Critiquing someone's work is one thing, but his personal life is none of our business. I am generally a "let it roll off my back" kinda person, but if someone said I should have my kids taken away, I'd raise hell. Great post!

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