ArmchairBEA Day2: Author Interaction

 

 

 

 

Here we are at Day 2 ! I really like today's topics, especially the first one:

Author Interaction: Digital Manners

I think many bloggers felt that same sense  of excitement I did upon discovering their  favorite authors on Twitter & Facebook. It’s wonderful to shoot a tweet to an author after enjoying their latest book or add there Twitter name to the review link your are placing online.

However in the last few months I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Bloggers have made a habit of including an @ reply to authors in their negative comments, or in the  links to their negative reviews. A few weeks ago author Leigh Bardugo, of the Grisha Trilogy, sent a tweet out commenting about how it can be hurtful when negative reviews are brought to their  attention with an @ reply included in the reviewers link.

I really felt for Leigh and was suprised that  a blogger would do this. Due to the overwhelming support Leigh received online the blogger actually responded to Leigh’s tweet and  apologized to her.

The second trend I’ve noticed is bloggers bashing authors/books  online. Though they are not sending the messages to the authors themselves , I personally find  myself losing respect for bloggers who just spew venom about a certain book or author.

 

Recently at Wondercon I attended a panel with Kiera Cass. I’ve been meaning to read her series The Selection for a while so it was really fun to hear her talk about her writing process and the series in general. Her talk really made me want to pick up the books. On the release date for the last book in the series I noticed the tweets of a blogger whose posts I’ve read for some time. She must also work in a bookstore because she was complaining about how many copies of The One, she had been selling that day.

She went on to describe it as a horrible Cinderella dystopia when another blogger asked her what she didn't like about it.

It was quite a turn off for me and I haven't visited the blogger since. My point in these stories is not to pick on my fellow bloggers but to remind us that our familiarity and constant use of social media means we might sometimes forget we aren't talking into a void, or chatting with a friend. The internet has a  wide reach. Of course we are each allowed our opinions about the books we invest our time and money in, but how we voice our opinions is a reflection of who we are.

 

 

My Favorite Author Interaction

Since I’m talking about social media today I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite author stories.

I’m a huge fan of Lisa McMann’s  Wake series. A few years ago a few days before I attended my first ALA midwinter, Lisa had tweeted that Simon & Schuster would have limited amounts of her new book  at the event. I sent a joking tweet to Lisa telling her she could feel free to “drop” a copy of the book in my bag if we ran into each other at ALA :)

 

A few minutes after Lisa followed me on Twitter and sent me a direct message. She said she was going to talk to her publicist and see if she could get me on guest list for the Simon & Schuster luncheon. She did! So not only did I get a chance to meet Lisa in person I also got a goodie bag full of catalogs, bookmarks and a signed copy of Cryer’s Cross .  The whole event was amazing! I was so grateful for Lisa for making my first ALA trip such an amazing event.

 

 

 

  What about you guys? What has been your favorite author interaction?