#AuthorYes & #BloggerYes: Those Who Matter to Me (Part 2)

Thank you for being a friendI’m seriously annoyed as all hell by the attention that a certain stalker has been getting; if you’re out of the loop, you can read all about it here or here. No matter what anyone says, it is NEVER okay to hunt someone down in order to confront them over a negative review.  Smexy Books hits it spot on when she says:

It’s absolutely ridiculous and horrifying that someone is celebrating the fact that they looked into the window of a blogger who gave her a bad review.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they do NOT have to justify their opinion to anyone but themselves. If an author doesn’t like it, that’s their problem. If an author can’t handle it, then they shouldn’t be reading ANY reviews.

If you want to try and have a reasonable conversation with them, fine go ahead. Send them an email asking to discuss the review; but if it doesn’t happen, then move the fuck on. Put on your big girl panties and be a grownup. All opinions matter. End of story. If the reviewer doesn’t want to discuss it, it’s their prerogative.

So no, I do NOT believe it is alright for someone to be congratulated for stalking down a reviewer for an opinion that didn’t match their own when they didn’t want to talk about it. So, I’m also taking a page from Wicked Little Pixie (and others), accepting her challenge, and listing my 5 authors and bloggers who have made a difference in my life.

AUTHORS:
Kelly Meding
– When I my reviewed Kelly’s Three Days to Dead, a couple things had made her curious and she emailed me to see if I would expand on my thoughts. I still remember talking to her about it; I was a little nervous, thinking it was a little too negative, and she said something to me that stuck.

Definitely constructive criticism on some parts of the book.  I like hearing what doesn’t work or is less than clear for folks; hopefully I can improve on those things in future books. So thank you. :)

The fact that she liked hearing why some parts of the book didn’t work for me, and was curious enough to ask me to expand on another part of my review, showed me that my opinion mattered. To be perfectly honest, it’s because of this conversation that I started making sure that every review here on LE contained something the reviewer didn’t like about the book. If there’s something we don’t like, how is an author going to know unless we tell them? Even after five years, this is one email exchange I still remember clearly.

Melissa Marr and Vicki Pettersson – These two fabulous authors made me feel like the work I was doing was worth it. I’m not talking about reviewing either. I’m talking about the NEWS feature that had run on LE for over five solid years before I began horrifically slacking on it. I had heard from readers about how much they enjoyed seeing the daily posts, but it was the first time I heard that from an author. They both told me that seeing the news posts pop up in their feeds, saved them time since they got a lot of the news they would normally have to dig for. Since those news posts took an easy three hours to do, on a good day back in 2010 so you can imagine it takes longer now, hearing that they were useful for authors as well as readers told me it was time well spent.  *grin*

Jenna Black – I cannot thank Jenna enough for being my first. For getting me addicted, not only to her fabulous stories, but for taking the time to be my first live interview. She was willing to meet with me early one morning, during my first RT Booklovers in Columbus, and was patient while I stuttered my way through a list of questions. She was even willing to sign my books after instead of trying to run away – even after I expressed my displeasure at the ending of her Morgan Kingsley series. *grin*

I’ve been trying to think of a fifth author who has made a significant impact on my life, and I can’t think of just one. There have been so many over the years that have affected me in some way – Chloe Neill, Jess Haines, Carolyn Crane, Shiloh Walker for making me laugh, have fun, and not be a wall flower at conventions; Ilona Andrews, Keri Arthur, Jeaniene Frost, Nalini Singh for the fabulous conversations and ignoring the simple fact that I was doing a lot of internal fangirling.

I could go on and on. I don’t know if I could narrow it down to just one more person. So I’m not going to. Instead I want to thank all the authors who have visited LE, met up with me at conventions, chatted about everything under the moon on all the social media platforms. THANK YOU SO MUCH for being fabulous, so approachable, so generous with your time.

BLOGGERS:
Rachel from Bitten by Books and Mandi from SmexyBooks – I told myself I was going to name five bloggers that haven’t been mentioned yet, but there was no way I could leave Mandi off my list. Both Rachel and Mandi have been there when I really needed someone to talk shop with, when I had no idea what I was doing and needed some advice. They’ve been willing to answer most any question, actually I think they’ve answered all of my questions, and have never shied away when I needed someone to talk to.  Thank you so much ladies. It has meant a lot to me.

Rachel from Parajunkee’s View – Have you seen her Blogging 101 posts? I don’t care if you’re a seasoned vet at this blogging gig, there is never a time when you can’t learn more about what you do and Rachel has made that a lot easier. Even after over seven years of book blogging, there is so much I still don’t know and Rachel is right there with the answer. I haven’t opened my feed in over a year, but even during my drought, I ALWAYS make it a point to see what was new on Parajunkee’s View. Rachel has always been there whenever a question has popped up and she doesn’t hesitate to help.

Larissa from Larissa’s Bookish Life – Where Jenna help kicked my addiction to live interviews in gear, Larissa was there to help feed it. During a too short time, Larissa and I took talking to books to the airwaves with the joint feature Bookish Escape. We talked about our favorite novels and evolved into talking with authors about their fabulous books. She was there when we talked with Gini Koch about her Alien studs, Adrian Phoenix and her Hoodoo, Jess Haines and her Others, and more. It was doing this series, and the eventual hiatus, that made me start looking for other ways to help promote authors. That I didn’t just have to be sitting in a room with them in order to interview them. I could do it from the comfort of our couches and let the world watch.

Dana from Readaholics Anonymous – Now that LitEsc Media has finally been put out there and I actually have my first client, I have to say that it wouldn’t have gone live without Dana’s help. When I started looking into the idea of being a virtual assistant, of offering various author services online, Dana was there to offer advice and encouragement. Whenever I had a question, she was there; whenever I had a doubt or was nervous, she was there. She’s been so supportive and I have appreciated it so much.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

2 Comments

  1. {{{{{Jackie}}}}}

    I remember that email exchange too. I am absolutely floored that it made such a difference for you, and I am so thankful that I reached out. You were one of the first reviewers I ever really talked to, and I know it’s had a difference in my writing. Thank you.

    -Kelly

  2. Thank you, Jackie! You have been a huge inspiration to me. The manner in which you support the blogging and the author community should be a blueprint for others in the blogosphere. I’ll always remember my very first co-host gig with you on Bookish Escape, it was awesome. I too appreciate you!!!

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