Getting Your Rude On
Mar. 11th, 2006 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseWhat is it with certain members of the general public and authors? I checked the amazon plogs today (I have one under each byline, and they've been getting a lot of traffic--not so many comments but lots of readers, and sales are spiking, yay!) and among all the nice messages, hiyas from familiar faces, and the usual, was this person who declared in a tone of great offense that she did not see why she had to waste her valuable shopping time with this "baloney" and she would never buy a book by me except as a gift anyway.
I wish I could say this was a factor of online life--trolls thinking the words on the screen are computer-generated and not quite catching on to the fact that they are written by real human beings--but the truth is, this is what book signings all too often are like in the non-virtual world. If you're not being asked for directions to the bathroom or the cookbooks, someone will come along who will tell you your genre stinks, your books must be sucky (not that they would ever stoop to read them), and your mother dresses you funny. If they're particularly fine examples of the species, they'll tell you another author writes ever so much better than you could ever dream of writing (not that they would ever read your books to be sure of this) and you really are a waste of time and space.
It is a bogglement. I tend to write off one-star amazon reviews as either kids (of whatever age) having some fun (beats burning down churches) or disgruntled would-be authors taking out their rejections on those who did manage to get published. But to come into a blog and insult the blogger is remarkably like coming into a signing and insulting the signer. In this case perhaps I can be charitable and figure she thinks the blogs are written by amazon staffers; her post did have the tone of a complaint letter to the company.
But really, these things are posted 'way down the book page, the Add to Bag button is 'way up top, and there's no need to scroll down that far at all. So why get all bent out of shape? Jealousy because only published authors can have a blog on amazon? General disgruntlement with the thought that books aren't automatically generated by some rarefied machine and materialized by magic in Tonstant Weader's hands? Subscription to the academic belief that the only good author is a dead one, and the act of literary creation is so high and holy that no mere, breathing mortal should presume to attempt it?
It is amazing how rude people can be to people who write books.
/rant
Whew. That one's been a long time coming.
In other news, our big storm has been walloping everybody but me. I have literally had a circle of clear sky overhead most of the day--squalls have circled all around, but DHF has been like the eye of the storm. It's probably Pooka's fault. He does hate rain. But he's quite snorked tonight because I won't turn off the wind. That was supposed to be my job.
Dinnertime was quite adventurous. The main herd went into the stalls and paddock at lunch so they would have shelter, and they spent most of the afternoon in two stalls. Yes. Six horses, two stalls. Pandora was separately stowed, since she tends to back Capria into corners and clobber her; she hung out beside the stall where all four Girlz were snoozing in a pile (she took time out to tease Pooka into tearing the hot wire apart in the arena along that side, which made for some cussing and repairing after dinner). Keed and Capria took over the stall next door. When I came out, however, except for Capria who parked in her own stall and waited patiently for dinner, and keed who decided he was moving into Tia's stall, everybody went bananas. They wanted dinner! They wanted the wind turned off! They wanted blankies!. I did eventually get everybody sorted, not without some Airs. And they got dinner and they got blankets and everybody was much happier after that.
By that time the rain finally closed in. It's very windy now, and spitting rain. Feels wonderful after so many months of dry, dry, dry. Horses are snugged up warm with hay and will get more later, dogs are in and warm, life (in spite of rude people) is good.
I wish I could say this was a factor of online life--trolls thinking the words on the screen are computer-generated and not quite catching on to the fact that they are written by real human beings--but the truth is, this is what book signings all too often are like in the non-virtual world. If you're not being asked for directions to the bathroom or the cookbooks, someone will come along who will tell you your genre stinks, your books must be sucky (not that they would ever stoop to read them), and your mother dresses you funny. If they're particularly fine examples of the species, they'll tell you another author writes ever so much better than you could ever dream of writing (not that they would ever read your books to be sure of this) and you really are a waste of time and space.
It is a bogglement. I tend to write off one-star amazon reviews as either kids (of whatever age) having some fun (beats burning down churches) or disgruntled would-be authors taking out their rejections on those who did manage to get published. But to come into a blog and insult the blogger is remarkably like coming into a signing and insulting the signer. In this case perhaps I can be charitable and figure she thinks the blogs are written by amazon staffers; her post did have the tone of a complaint letter to the company.
But really, these things are posted 'way down the book page, the Add to Bag button is 'way up top, and there's no need to scroll down that far at all. So why get all bent out of shape? Jealousy because only published authors can have a blog on amazon? General disgruntlement with the thought that books aren't automatically generated by some rarefied machine and materialized by magic in Tonstant Weader's hands? Subscription to the academic belief that the only good author is a dead one, and the act of literary creation is so high and holy that no mere, breathing mortal should presume to attempt it?
It is amazing how rude people can be to people who write books.
/rant
Whew. That one's been a long time coming.
In other news, our big storm has been walloping everybody but me. I have literally had a circle of clear sky overhead most of the day--squalls have circled all around, but DHF has been like the eye of the storm. It's probably Pooka's fault. He does hate rain. But he's quite snorked tonight because I won't turn off the wind. That was supposed to be my job.
Dinnertime was quite adventurous. The main herd went into the stalls and paddock at lunch so they would have shelter, and they spent most of the afternoon in two stalls. Yes. Six horses, two stalls. Pandora was separately stowed, since she tends to back Capria into corners and clobber her; she hung out beside the stall where all four Girlz were snoozing in a pile (she took time out to tease Pooka into tearing the hot wire apart in the arena along that side, which made for some cussing and repairing after dinner). Keed and Capria took over the stall next door. When I came out, however, except for Capria who parked in her own stall and waited patiently for dinner, and keed who decided he was moving into Tia's stall, everybody went bananas. They wanted dinner! They wanted the wind turned off! They wanted blankies!. I did eventually get everybody sorted, not without some Airs. And they got dinner and they got blankets and everybody was much happier after that.
By that time the rain finally closed in. It's very windy now, and spitting rain. Feels wonderful after so many months of dry, dry, dry. Horses are snugged up warm with hay and will get more later, dogs are in and warm, life (in spite of rude people) is good.
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Date: 2006-03-13 01:51 am (UTC)An apropos perspective...