tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post6931988168937734114..comments2023-10-31T11:37:50.028-04:00Comments on on life & other inconveniences: Just A Different Kind of WhoringSandra Ruttanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-8358492678996740132008-01-03T02:19:00.000-05:002008-01-03T02:19:00.000-05:00To do list-go through posts and delete some. I'd f...To do list-go through posts and delete some. I'd forgotten about the celebrity porn post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-11610248317281882202008-01-02T16:04:00.000-05:002008-01-02T16:04:00.000-05:00Amra, it is such a delicate balance. I totally un...Amra, it is such a delicate balance. I totally understand, and there's another difference for you, as a YA author. I mean, what if parents stumbled across your celeb porn post? I could completely understand taking it down. I think it's very tricky, but, well... I'll save those other thoughts for part 2, if it comes together intelligibly in my mind.Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-39906282197666668342008-01-02T15:42:00.000-05:002008-01-02T15:42:00.000-05:00The reality is we have to self-censor. I once wrot...The reality is we have to self-censor. I once wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about how to be a bludger at work and get away with it. Never posted it though. I need a paid gig and can't take the chance someone at work will read it and I'll be at risk with my job.<BR/><BR/>But I'm also really tired of self-censoring. I feel like I have nothing valid to say because anything interesting gets deleted while my brain is drafting it.<BR/><BR/>Now that I have a publishing contract I'm freaking out even more and my blog has undergone a whole new level of boring.<BR/><BR/>Why do I keep it up? Because it is a marketing tool. There have been a lot of great things that have occured with the blog and a lot of cool experiences with people I've made contact with.<BR/><BR/>I really admire you Sandra for wading into the thick of it and being so brave. While there are back-lashes you don't let it hold you back. You write with integrity and passion and this is the reason your blog is my daily read. In fact it's the only blog I check every day. I think my resolution is going to be to blog like Sandra. <BR/><BR/>I've been involved in a few flame wars with people having a problem with my short stories. The first time it was a shock because I didn't have any idea it would cause controversy. So sometimes you get into the shit without trying because you can't please everyone. So maybe it's just a matter of not caring!<BR/><BR/>In real life I'm really brave. I'm one of those people who says things others are too scared too. I'll get into confrontations and have been called intimidating by some. Yet in the blog world I've taken on a fake personna. And the reason I've done this is because my writing is so important to me and I know that if I'm published people will go through my blog posts and use them against me. What to do? <BR/><BR/>Josephine-just checked your blog and you're going to be on my daily list. Love your resolution to write about books you don't finish and giving out the Emperor Award.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-62269511860334892942008-01-02T14:25:00.000-05:002008-01-02T14:25:00.000-05:00Anne, I would never call you a bitter hag. Totall...Anne, I would never call you a bitter hag. <BR/><BR/>Totally loving what Barbara said as well. <BR/><BR/>In fact, all of this might inspire another post. Eventually.Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-21755441626319025882008-01-02T13:11:00.000-05:002008-01-02T13:11:00.000-05:00publishing is such a strange world. it's kinda li...publishing is such a strange world. it's kinda like being at a huge party where everybody is wearing a mask. you think you're getting people figured out when the lights go off, everybody switches masks, the lights come on and you start all over again. <BR/><BR/>i'm not sure that made any sense. :D <BR/><BR/> something that is true one minute can be a lie the next, and the person who is patting you on the back telling you everything will be okay, might really be positioning his or her hand to give you a shove. :D<BR/><BR/>thanks for the kind words, sandra.<BR/> and even though i'm a bitter hag, i still have high hopes for 2008. <BR/><BR/>xoxoanne frasierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13044828332429421657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-22039777958941678242008-01-02T12:29:00.000-05:002008-01-02T12:29:00.000-05:00I like the sound of "why I stopped reading this bo...I like the sound of "why I stopped reading this book" and "Naked Emperor" reviews - particularly when they lead to interesting debate. I may totally disagree, but it's interesting to know what effect a book has had on someone - and <I>why</I>.<BR/><BR/>One thing I've learned from participating in discussions at 4MA is that the same book can be despised or loved by people who I respect, who can articulate good reasons for their opinions. And that helps me when I write reviews - I know there will be alternative ways to read the book, and nobody should take my word on it alone. That's very freeing, somehow. <BR/><BR/>As for biting one's tongue and not being honest when blogging (or anything else) - I think it's a real mistake to shape any interaction with other people as if it's "another marketing opportunity." I may be put off by someone being excessively opinionated or harsh or mean-spirited, but I'm just as likely, if not more so, to be put off if I think I'm being manipulated or viewed as "another consumer" - or bored because the only subject is thinly disguised reasons why I should buy a particular book. I don't read blogs to be hustled. And I don't, honestly, choose books on the basis of authors I like personally, because there are often times I like someone enormously who doesn't happen to write the sort of book I enjoy. This, or course, applies to my own writing - I admit, I go all gooey inside when people say they like my stuff, but I can't be upset when they don't - because people like different things. <BR/><BR/>I do suspect there's the same kind of risk one runs venting about publishing as when blogging about any workplace (my boss is a complete moron, my coworkers suck, I got screwed). I don't fault anyone for protecting themselves by keeping those conversations private. But a critique of the industry you work in - whether it's publishing or libraries (my other identity) or whatever should be not only fair game but encouraged. How else will things get better if nobody's talking about the issues? Even when I disagree with someone about the issues, I don't fault them for raising them. I just find them interesting people.Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10689314012050314027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-43171977155328794862008-01-02T11:20:00.000-05:002008-01-02T11:20:00.000-05:00Great post. I think this is something we (bloggers...Great post. I think this is something we (bloggers) all think about when we're posting something. I know I've been criticized from time to time - and sometimes rethink some of my own posts. <BR/><BR/>And for the record, Andy Bananaramy is a total prick.Steve Allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747911304010686713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-57934527085139925962008-01-02T09:45:00.000-05:002008-01-02T09:45:00.000-05:00Josephine, I love your philosophy on the reviews. ...Josephine, I love your philosophy on the reviews. And I agree, completely. If a reader strolls by, takes offense to something and decides not to try my book, then that's one thing. If a (professional) reviewer strolls by, decides they don't like my philosophy on reviewing so they decide not to review my book, that's unprofessional and childish - and does leave you to wonder how many of the people they reviewed they then know and like, since dislike of something on a blog will keep them from reviewing something. That reasoning behind that decision smacks of making it personal, and if you make it personal in what you exclude you probably make it personal in what you include as well.<BR/><BR/>I read a book recently I considered quite over-hyped, and now I'll be checking out your blog to see if you've read it and what you thought!Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-14027647504973848152008-01-02T09:36:00.000-05:002008-01-02T09:36:00.000-05:00In order to review a book I need to finish it; in ...In order to review a book I need to finish it; in order to finish it, I have to love it, and there are VERY few books I love.<BR/><BR/>Which is why I started a "Why I Stopped Reading (This) Book" feature on my blog, and my "Naked Emperor Award" which I give to the REALLY over-rated books. <BR/><BR/>My intention is honest discussion and opinion, nothing more; it's not personal if I give a book a positive or negative review, it's about the writing, not the writer.<BR/><BR/>My motto: And this above all else, to thine own self be true. If someone finds anything I say offensive on my blog, my reply to them is: Don't read it! You want to respectfully disagree with my review of a book? By all means, say so in the comments section, I welcome intelligent debate. <BR/><BR/>If a writer got a bad review from me and wants to slam me or my writing on their blog or somewhere else in cyberspace? Go ahead! Good or bad, it's all opinion, and therefore needs to be kept in perspective. I don't google myself because I see it as an exercise in futility and a total waste of time - you can't control or change what someone writes about you, good or bad, so why bother knowing, or worse, wonder about their motivation or specualate on some "hidden agenda." <BR/><BR/>Don't let the bastards get you down, Sandra.Josephine Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17952030380866201241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-60436099085887799812008-01-01T19:58:00.000-05:002008-01-01T19:58:00.000-05:00Sorry, I've been out all day, and will probably co...Sorry, I've been out all day, and will probably come back to this later, but I'll ask this:<BR/><BR/>Graham, what do you think Roger Ebert's bosses would say if he said, "Nah, sorry, not going to review any Francis Ford Coppola or Clint Eastwood movies because I don't like them?"<BR/><BR/>I think they'd tell him they hope he likes his new job.<BR/><BR/>In fact, it may have been John who told me the story about Ebert smiling about one of the directors being a total ass at a film festival, and saying it was proof jerks could make great movies.<BR/><BR/>Self censorship is one thing, but it's gone way beyond that in the blogging with authors, and with reviewers and to all ends, and if we can't have the same objectivity as a film reviewer then we're all amateurs, paid or not.<BR/><BR/>My 2 cents. Admitting there are times I've had to cleanse my palate after someone's been an ass, but that won't stop me reviewing their book if it's within the spectrum of what I cover. And that's even as a volunteer who buys most of her books.Sandra Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06109584805469336742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-12246691007226656472008-01-01T19:06:00.000-05:002008-01-01T19:06:00.000-05:00Censorship comes in many forms. This is just anoth...Censorship comes in many forms. This is just another way our words get taken from us and even used against us. <BR/><BR/>My grandmother, who never made it through sixth grade, taught me some of the most important aspects of self-expression. "If you're truthful about yourself then screw anyone who doesn't like it." I paraphrased but that's the general message. <BR/><BR/>If who I am offends then I don't want those people in my life. If my career is hurt through my self-expression, I'll find another profession. Life is too short to be something you're not.<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry Anne felt compelled to close her blog. The bastards sometimes get their victories. But, if we all refuse to listen then the bastards will have no voice and will eventually be seen for their true nature.<BR/><BR/>We're people first, writers second. Viva la liberte d'expression!Lyman Feerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02664902181141600106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-28935582582281752572008-01-01T12:38:00.000-05:002008-01-01T12:38:00.000-05:00I think that all of us would say things to our fri...I think that all of us would say things to our friends in private that we wouldn't say to strangers in public, and we think things that we wouldn't say to <I>anyone</I> (unless sufficiently inebriated). I try to choose my words carefully at all times, because I only want to offend those I intend to offend.<BR/><BR/>As for professional reviewers, if they feel they can't be objective then they should decline the assignment. And I believe most would do exactly that.<BR/><BR/><I>...and maybe show a bit of cleavage.</I><BR/><BR/>A good idea in any situation. I've done it myself!Graham Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01775285782385634486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-11761606340528816542008-01-01T12:27:00.000-05:002008-01-01T12:27:00.000-05:00Wow, Sandra. You didn't mention it, but throughout...Wow, Sandra. You didn't mention it, but throughout this post, I couldn't help but think of Ken's Murderati post today (well, <I>all</I> of Ken's posts, since his honesty inspires so much rage).<BR/><BR/>I'm probably too Pollyanna, but what you say is the exact reason why I only stay in things I enjoy and don't worry too much about consequences. I enjoy book reviewing (the limited amount that I do, anyway), and I'm really fortunate to have gotten good feedback even from authors whose works I was critical of.<BR/><BR/>Same with blogging, and I have actually ticked people off with some things I've said, and I'm also afraid of alienating potential agents and editors. The reason I don't blog more often isn't just the lack of time - it's the lack of time I have to pull a post together that is honest but inoffensive but also not obviously inoffensive (so as to avoid being tepid). Ugh.<BR/><BR/>That's one reason I've turned to book reviews - I see them as more concrete for some reason. There's no "he said/she said" or subjective interpretations of actions or voice tone or even third-party nonsense. I guess, after having had my parenting criticized by people who don't even see me for the bulk of time I spend parenting, getting criticized for a book review is small potatoes....<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I don't do reviewing with the same frequency that you do, but your post stands as a warning and a reminder that for me, the enjoyment has to stay at the forefront. It would be so easy to be blinded by the paycheck or the prestige otherwise.Christa M. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14384508556022159789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18499463.post-22663481844091018752008-01-01T11:12:00.000-05:002008-01-01T11:12:00.000-05:00Hey Sandra,You might be interested in the book, "W...Hey Sandra,<BR/><BR/>You might be interested in the book, "Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby," by Allyson Beatrice. It's mostly funny, but she also has a few things to say about what goes on online.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.com