Nenia Campbell's Blog - Posts Tagged "discussion"

Many people have mixed feelings about authors being able to review other people's books on Goodreads. Since I was a reviewer on Goodreads for several years before I published my books, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Particularly since, with Goodreads's being purchased by Amazon, there has been some speculation that Amazon might impose its own rule of authors not being able to review books within the genres they write on Goodreads.

Well. I have several thoughts on this. Because I like to think of myself as a lady, I'll concede to the opposition first. It's only polite.

Why It Makes Sense

1. Authors aren't unbiased.
You could argue that nobody is, but authors actually have incentive to be, hmm, shall we say less than 100% honest in their opinions of other people's books. Particularly their competition...or their friends.

2. Authors are 'public figures' so their opinions will be seen by more people and have a magnified effect.
There is some concern that authors might abuse their fame and fanbase to achieve the ends listed in reason #1.

3. When authors review other people's work, they are putting their own work at risk.
When authors write negative reviews they are opening themselves up to 'revenge reviewing.' Therefore it is in the author's best interests to keep silent and preserve the integrity of their own work.

4. It creates more temptation for sock-puppets.
Authors might write a review and then create several sock-puppet accounts to 'upvote' it. If authors were not allowed to review in the first place this would not be as prevalent an issue.

The Benefits (Yes, There Are Benefits!)

1. Writers generally have an intimate knowledge of the genre(s) they are writing in.
In order to be a good author, you have to read many books--both good and bad. Why? Because you can't know what's already out there unless you open your eyes and take a good, long look. Fantasy authors tend to read a lot of fantasy books, science-fiction authors read a lot of science-fiction, and so on and so forth for all the genres across the board. Reading inspired them to write because they found a genre they really liked and said, "Hey, X has never been done before. Maybe I should write a story just like this about X!" In this sense, I think writers can provide some very interesting insights about the books they've read, including those which they found especially inspirational.

2. The people who read a specific author writing in a specific genre tend to have similar taste to that author.
If a reader is looking at the reviews of an author who writes fantasy novels with strong female protagonists, it is very possible that he or she doesn't like romance novels with extremely passive heroines. So if the author has reviewed a book that the reader was on the fence about, but proclaimed that she found the heroine more representative of the damsel-in-distress archetype, the reader will probably take a look at a book's summary and nod in agreement. If a reader likes an author, it's highly likely that they will have similar tastes in reading to that author. Authors tend to write what they love; the books that inspired them to write will likely appeal to their followers. I know my fans tend to share my tastes quite closely, and we have very lively discussions about the books we love (and hate). Even if authors are not permitted to review, readers will still seek out like-minded individuals and put more stock in what they say than people who do not share their tastes and opinions.

3. Writers are very verbal, and are generally pretty good at putting their thoughts and impressions into words.
I think this is really important for reviews; when you read a review of a book, you want the impression the person had at the moment they were reading it. This is crucial for both positive and negative reviews. I love it when I'm reading a review and someone mentions some small detail that I can completely relate to, and I think, "Oh my gosh! I wasn't the only one!" and you immediately feel that warm spark of affinity with the reviewer. That's priceless. That's how friendships are made!

4. The type of individual who feels compelled to break the rules won't be deterred by more rules and restrictions.
In my experience, I've found that more rules and restrictions tend to force the nice, rule-following people into silence (because they are nice, rule-following people) while simultaneously providing an irresistible lure for those who take an especial pleasure in breaking them.

What do you guys think?

1. Cheating, womanizing slutty, tattooed manwhore boy falls in love with and corrupts virgin girl.

I'm really not comfortable with the idea that it's perfectly acceptable, even desirable, for boys and men to have ridiculously high numbers of partners, because one day they will settle down and fall in love with a nice virgin girl. I also don't like the message that those other girls deserve this treatment for being "loose." Especially since they are frequently relentlessly and viciously slut-shamed by our so-called 'nice girl' protagonist.

2. BDSM-lite erotica knock-offs of FSoG.

This. Seriously. Needs. To. Stop. So do all the parodies, the homages, the satires, the copiers, and the hangers-on who put in their summaries "fans of FSoG will LOVE..."

Slap yo'self.

3. Spoiled teenage bitches having first world problems.

"Mommy bought me a Dolce and Gabanna prom dress when I ASKED her for Louis Vuitton. I'm going to go clubbing and cheat on my boyfriend with the bad-boy who wears leather pants made by Armani, because he is SUCH a bad-ass counterculture rebel with those Swarvoski gauges."

4. Ordinary girl finds out she is the last of her kind and all these men want to sleep with her/marry her/steal her powers/fall in love with her.

In all fairness, some of these can be quite good. But many of them come off as Twiclones. OR, they end up pushing annoying gender roles, slut-shaming, double-standards, instalove, love triangles, and ridiculous storylines.

If your story in particular is about angels, shape-shifters, vampires, or fae, you should probably just stop right there.

5. OMG YOU GUYS I'M DATING A BOY WHO'S IN A BAND.

Because being famous gives a man permission to be a licentious, drug-using, excessive drinking, foul-mouthed, abusive, womanizing, callous, unfeeling, fiscally irresponsible asshole. Okay, then.

6. Dystopian societies that forbid love for whatever reason.

Romeo and Juliet wasn't all that great the FIRST time around you guys--and that was five hundred years ago.

7. 'Trendy' devotionals.

I'm secular, but I get really irritated when I'm going through the giveaways and see things like 'Fifty Shades of Grace' and instructional manuals for girls on how to protect their V-cards and not be whores. Especially when these things are not labeled as Christian fiction/nonfiction; I've been suckered in to everything from 'Christian' housekeeping to 'Christian' medicine.

8. Shape-shifter/vampire forcibly takes/abducts/rapes his (soul)mate.

Most of these tend to be excuses for blatant misogyny and really disturbing border-line non-con. Of course, the woman falls in love with them immediately and once he gets his way, the man gives her his balls to keep in the expensive purse he buys her. These books are ALL the same, and most of them tend to be horrible.

9. Let's abandon all our problems by taking a road trip!

Not only does this say, "Hey! Running away from our problems is the best solution!" (A very selfish and irresponsible mindset, if you ask me), it also is very rarely about the trip itself and more about having frequent and often irresponsible sex with a boy.

The girl almost never tells anyone where she's going, or who she's going with. The boy is usually involved in something bad, and since this girl also wants to do something bad on the trip he seems like an ideal partner in crime.

Now if these 'road trip' books were actually about the places they see and explore, instead of being totally lame, I would be all over this genre like white on rice. The way it is now, though? No.

10. Trashy Tudor England novels.

That wasn't the only point in European history guys. Neither was the Regency period or the French Revolution. Seriously, what about the Italian Renaissance? The Gothic period in Germany? William the Conqueror? Charlemagne? The Jacobite rebellion? Celtic druids? The Enlightenment? Is Tudor England seriously all you remember from World History?

Coming up next: Ten Literary Trends that Need to Respawn

i have news for you: it may be shocking, so hold on to your hats.

some people are going to hate you.

i know, right? how could somebody possibly hate YOU. you are awesome!

well, apparently some people didn't get that memo. or they got it, and crumpled it into a ball which they then threw at your head. (you big jerk.)

there's a wide variety of people who are going to hate you, for an equally wide variety of reasons which may or may not have anything to do with you, personally.

maybe they don't like the way you part your hair. maybe they think you're fake. maybe they don't like the fact that you write left-handed. maybe there isn't a reason that can be put into words.

but that hate? it's going to happen. you could be the nicest person in the world, and there's going to be someone out there who says, "this bitch..." just because you're nice, and nice people suck! damn those nice people! damn them all!

there is a lot of hate on goodreads right now. between readers and other readers, between authors and other authors, between readers and authors. sometimes the reason behind this hate is clear, but other times it is not. it is getting a little ridiculous how quick some people are to jump to the attack, or provoke others. it's not JUST authors doing it either.

but does this mean it is okay for the author to call the reader out on their hate?

not necessarily.

the way freedom of speech works is that you can say whatever you want provided that it doesn't infringe upon the constitutional rights of the person you're saying stuff about. this is why hate speech is not ok and can lead to criminal prosecution, but calling someone a poop-head jut makes people roll their eyes.

if someone is just being mean or rude, but not in violation of any of any rules, guess what? you've got to accept the hate. you signed up for this when you became an author, and your public face became a part of your public product's package. think of it as your karmic comeback for all the times you hated on the kardashians or justin bieber or miley cyrus.

it's okay to feel sad. but the good news is, you will feel less sad as time goes on. why? because there will also be people who like you. hate is exhausting. it takes a lot of effort to hate on people. they will eventually lose interest or go away. but liking people is easy. hate eventually fades, but liking does not (provided that you don't act like a poop-head).

why does the reviewer/reader get to be mean, but not the author?

because the author is the employee, and the reader is the customer. going onto someone's review as an author and being all, "[expletives deleted]" is like punching the know-it-all jerk at the apple store in the face, or spitting into someone's food at a restaurant. totally unprofessional, and grounds for firing. when readers shelve you as do-not-read, they are pulling a donald trump and saying, "you are fired from my bookshelf."

some people are going to hate you, and there is nothing you can do about that. it's their right to hate you, and you can't take that away from them. but you still have control over your own actions, and the kind of person that you choose to be. don't let a bunch of hate take that away from YOU. :)

cheers,

xnenia

All writers have limitations. We have seen them when writers attempt to "branch out" and fail miserably. On the other hand, sometimes an author experiments and really finds their true calling.

Here are some genres/types I haven't written in yet, but would really like to!

1. A bodice-ripper. I have been dared to do this by several friends and GR members. (They know who they are.) It might very well happen. Because, you know, I am just that twisted.

2. A gothic novel. Because I read so many of them, it would only make sense. I need that closure. Because I'm competitive like that, and oh-so-eccentric. Rawr. CRAZY LADIES IN THE ATTIC, BURNING DOWN UR HOUSE.

3. High fantasy. Because...Iunno. Some of them are silly. I would like to see if I write one that is not silly. Knowing me, I'd probably go too far into the opposite realm...of Extremely Disturbing. ^.^; Heh.

4. Fluff. No explanation necessary.

5. Gay romance. Probably F/F, but maybe M/M. I think it would be really interesting to do that. My favorite character in Endgame was Tash, who was into the ladies. I'd like to have a character like that who was the MC. (:

6. Something like The Secret History.

7. A story written from the POV of someone with a mental health disorder. In first person. PORTRAYED AS REALISTICALLY AS POSSIBLE. DUN DUN DUN. ('Twould be a good excuse to brush up on my college textbooks.)

8. Something that could, conceivably, be called literary fiction. Because a lot of what I write is pretty trashy. (But hey - we all need a bit of trash now and then hey?)

9. Something that is pure trash. Like, V.C. Andrews. Something that is so bad people read it for the lolz.

10. A book written entirely from the POV of a dude.

What's something you've always wanted to write, but don't yet have the ovaries or the balls to attempt?

Post your answers in the space down under! vvvvvvv