Naughty, Naughty Authors

Sometimes, authors have a tough time keeping their anger in check. Sometimes, it ends up on the Internet. And sometimes, it makes book bloggers ponder about how it affects their views on said author.

This discussion is inspired by a similar post held at The Broke And Bookish from a while ago. In truth, this discussion was actually supposed to be scheduled for December but somehow, I missed the deadline. So here it is. I guess that also explains why I'm bringing it up long after most of the drama has passed. This topic is simply too intriguing for me to ignore an opportunity to input my two cents.

To be honest, I've always been a fan of scandals, as long as I'm not connected to the scandal, in which case, I scream and cry. But, alas, I am not an author nor do I frequently converse with authors so there's no need for me to worry about being scandalized. Since starting blogging back in August, I've heard a fair amount of reviewer/author drama going down from secondary sources. Most of it from my own research, like from this wonderful feature at Pocketful of Books, but I would consider myself pretty well-informed nonetheless.

Now, I'm not particularly surprised by all these scandals surrounding certain authors. I mean, authors are people too, right? And people definitely screw up and make mistakes so even though it hasn't happened in the past, that's not to say it won't happen in the future. But while I'm not taken aback by the fact that these outbreaks of defensive authors do occur, the sheer amount of guts some authors have is appalling. Sometimes, after sitting back and reading about these scandals, you wonder: where the heck are their publicists? Because honestly, the things they say are absolutely horrifying, in how rude and offensive they are. 

I can tell you right now that I understand feeling defensive when someone criticizes you or your work. It's understandable that you'd be upset over a negative review of your book. To think about all the hours you've spent writing that book and then to have it torn to pieces by a single reader? It hurts, man. And you get upset  which is natural. You vent to your friends - fine. You cry a bit - fine. But there has to come a time where you realize that sitting back and moping won't do you any good. Maybe this reviewer has a point. Maybe I do need to work on character development. There has to be a reason why someone thought what they thought about your book and so maybe before getting all angry and enraged, think it through. When someone attacks your book, often they aren't attacking you as a person. And that's incredibly important to remember. Also that everyone is entitled to their opinion. So while one person may absolutely detest your book, another might absolutely love it (not counting you, the author, FYI). Think about it, is it really necessary to make a fuss about one review? Especially on the internet, no less. You're not only putting your reputation on the line, you're making the reviewer look like a villain when they aren't really doing anything bad.

As a reader though, I find myself thinking: do scandalized authors make me wary of their books? Or do I continue with it anyway? In all honesty, I don't see how scandals have anything to do with the quality of a book. Yes, I understand being disgusted at an author's actions and not wanting to have anything to do with them but on the other hand, their character isn't related to how well they write. I'd rather rely on reviews to tell me that. And in any case, scandals attract me, not deter me so if an author has some controversy surrounding them, I'd probably be interested in what their book is like. However, it's not as if I'm just going to pick every book written by every single controversial author - I actually have to be interested in them. Man, what do you take me to be?

Well, there's my two cents on this controversial topic. Whew, I think I'm all scandal-ed out! Feel free to leave comments below! xxx