Smart Bitches Day...Writers beware!

Apparently I am out of the loop with message boards. As I hie myself off to several romance sites to start scouting out the threads, I wanted to add my SBD post, as if the one below didn’t hold enough bitchiness already.

Let’s just get one thing straight…
I would never and will never discuss my writing on this blog. I will never reveal whether I am a writer or not. That identity (if it exists) is a seperate entity from the Fiona you know. Now knowing what you don’t know, let me begin offending writers everywhere:

When you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, you not only put your very heart and soul into your craft, but you have officially opened yourself to an entire world of criticism. You have taken a step that many fear, to the point of never realizing their writing dreams. Many people dread the writing process because they are haltingly aware of the position of criticism that it puts said author into. And many, frankly, just don’t have the balls to take it.

And now, with the internet and blogosphere, criticism of writers is at its all-time highest. Everyone is a critic. Everyone is an expert. Everyone has an opinion and now the means, thanks to Blogger, to share those opinions with the public sector.

Suck it up.

That’s right. Suck it up. Some will love you, some will hate you, but when you took that all too small check (unless you are Viswanathan...hers was no small check!) that put your name on a spine and your cover on a shelf, you wrote a free ticket to ‘criticize me hell.’

I have heard time and time again that authors should not review books. Says who? So once you pick up a pencil you lose your right to an opinion on other works? I don’t think so! Authors have been reviewing and commenting on each others work for centuries. Why does the romance genre suddenly get a pass on this? Who better to tell me what is wrong with the craft than another in the same field? If I can trust an author enough to devote hours of my life to their words, I can trust them enough to give an honest review. And beyond that, I hold myself in enough regard to know if an author is blowing smoke up my ass or not.

Should authors have anonymous blogs? Yes. If you, as an author, want to discuss the genre, the works and the authors, but are afraid of the backlash or are a black and white, here’s the crux of it bitch…become anonymous. Create an alternate identity. You do it all the time in your books. We (bloggers) do it constantly also. There is no better way to free speech than anonymity. If you are holding back due to the fact that you are published, then create an alternate identity. Don’t punish us by withholding your thoughts and smart ass comments…we need them! They are like water to a dying man. And in response to Barbara of Dishing with the Divas questioning Mrs. Snark…I trust someone who doesn’t feel the need to wave their name around in the air much more than those who try to fit their name into every post, comment and sentence that they write.

Should authors differentiate between the author and the individual? Yes! Are you an author first and foremost, or are you an individual who writes? Many may have a hard time seeing a difference between the two, but I think it is rather simple:

Some people identify themselves as authors, “Hi, I’m Mary Sue, I wrote RomanticRendezvous. Perhaps you’ve heard of me…or it?”

Others see themselves as people who also write, “Hi, I’m Mary Sue."

In my opinion, I like to know that you are an author on one hand and a woman with a mind and an opinion on the other. I look for author information on the author’s website, but I look for the individual on their blog. I think Megan Frampton does this best.

Should authors respond to bad reviews? No! Authors should be the bigger person! You don’t like what people are saying about you? So what…suck it up and shut up...see Wendy’s post here. Don’t stoop to their level and respond! Especially if you have been grievously dissed. It is embarrassing for all involved when you start trying to defend yourself. You sound weak and pathetic no matter how strong and convincing your argument. And you are only fodder for the gossip mills. Lady Whistledown anyone? Yes, let’s not give her any more to report on, shall we?

All in all, if I hear one more author whining about how authors shouldn’t write reviews, I may spew vomit all over the blogosphere. As a published author, you hold a unique and precarious position in the reading community. You are looked up to. Your words have been validated with a cover and back blurb. Many of you are, well, revered. I know it is muddy waters that you have been forced to traverse, but there you have it.

…Fiona…