What the hell is up with people these days? You want to talk about folks doing some absolutely stupid things, I’ve got four that take the cake! It’s not like the good old days when communication was slow and slanted. Heck, I remember that time. We had TV, radio and newspapers. Okay, and TIME Magazine and Readers Digest. But these days? Now we’ve got social media outlets and that’s opened up a whole new door of stupid.
One wouldn’t expect poor behavior out of a writer, would you? I mean, we’re not the people you’d put at the top of a list of Potential-Psychotics-R-Us. Give the wrong one of us a bad review, though… And I’ve had some crappy reviews. We all get them and that’s because not everybody likes our work or even us. Sure, it’s mind-blowing since we’re so damn likeable and, son-of-a-bitch, we’re NICE! Still, tell that to independent author Jacqueline Howett who not only berated a reviewer for making certain comments about her novel, but then went batshit attacking folks who defended him. Oh, yeah. We’ve got crazy in our ranks, too. And the story went viral! Google the name if you don’t believe me.
Just a side note here, but some of the worst reviews authors in the M4M genre receive are actually from other authors. Even worse than that, they’re M4M books written by women and reviewed by other M4M authors who are women. Oh, yes, it gets catty. My good friend GA Hauser could tell you some horror stories. Just, please, don’t get her worked up. It’s not pretty.
Now, let me say that I’m not a fan of Jackass and no plans of attempting to become one anytime in the near future. Other people love it, but it’s just not my thing. That’s fair, right? But when Roger Ebert tweeted out about Ryan Dunn that “Friends don’t let jackasses drink and drive,” it came out as needlessly tasteless lacking in respect for the man’s family and friends. Did Ebert not hear about what happened to Gilbert Gottfried? Speaking of jackasses…
I guess this last bit is kind of a tie. Between Anthony Weiner’s wiener getting the chop and 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan going on a stellar little tirade about the gay community, I’m not sure which one is living in fairytale land. If I ever sent pictures of my manhood out…well, people wouldn’t look. They respect me too much, which is more than I can say for our politicians. And for Tracy Morgan to say what he did? I imagine some of the cast and crew would like a word with him upon his return. Hello? You work with Tina Fey! She kinda likes us.
So, where do I go out on a limb in all of this? I mean, I’ve pointed out some faults of other folks, so shouldn’t I put myself on the line just a tiny bit by speaking my mind? Here goes. As one author to another, Jacqueline Howett acted like an idiot and while I wouldn’t normally give a book of hers a second look much less a first one, she did issue a public apology and genuinely wants to move on from that mistake. I honestly hope she grows. Roger Ebert was an insensitive ass and should have kept his comments to a personal Twitter account so that only people he chose to let follow him would see his tweet. If his name wasn’t worth a thousand punny titles, Anthony Weiner would be utterly forgettable. Finally, Tracy Morgan… I’m sorry, but I always found him to be the weak link on 30 Rock and didn’t much care for his performance in Cop Out either. I can’t say it’s a loss not having him a friend to the community.
Right. So, who did I miss who’s done something stupid lately?
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Kage Alan is the If Tomorrow Comes watching, Tony Riparetti listening author of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Sexual Orientation,” “Andy Stevenson Vs. the Lord of the Loins” and the first book in a separate series, “Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell.” He’s very pleased to have received some new, rare soundtracks in the mail today that include Cyborg (Director’s Cut), Prison, Masada and Cherry 2000. There’s going to be some gooooood listening tonight!
There’s only one response to a bad review. “Thank you.”
The great EM Forster said “Some reviews give pain. This is regrettable but no author has the right to whine. He was not obliged to be an author. He invited publicity and he must take the publicity that comes along.”
Good post.
Even if no “thank you” is forthcoming, silence would be appropriate. Someone posted a review on Amazon knocking my first book and, honestly, I highly doubt they even read it based on the review. But that happens to all of us. It’s almost like a rite of passage.
Kage,
I always enjoy reading your blogs, your honesty & wit is awesome. I also appreciate your sense of humor. Plus you keep me up to date on the latest happenings and stupidity that has become an everyday thing for some people. My blogs are boring compared to yours.
Martha
Martha, my dear, your blogs are NEVER boring. You show more heart and depth in one of your blogs than I have in almost 70 of mine.