Harper’s Harpings: Dear Authors full of Hate, You Should Be Ashamed

(Picture sourced from google images)

My social media timeline is full of authors of some description, that’s expected, I’m an author too.

Yesterday, I read an author’s timeline, I dip in and out of social media when time allows and I was curious. I am sick and tired of reading the nastiness about a book she wrote and a film that has been released. I wanted to see how things looked from her timeline.

She is one classy lady, if I had her timeline, I would react in one of two ways, deactivate the account or tell everyone to sod off. She doesn’t, go and look at her twitter feed and see how she responds. As I said, classy lady.

To be honest with you, the nastiness hasn’t just started it has been there for a while. I don’t remember it being there six months ago or a year ago.

The author world has turned into one big bitchfest, where has the support gone, why has it turned into a competition? It’s not an either-or option, a reader doesn’t have to choose between books they can buy both, go figure, they can buy them all.

Let’s get back to authors, I chose ten of the nastiest comments/posts/blogs/tweets/status and checked out the people behind them. I wanted to know if they rip everyone to shreds or have saved up their vitriol for one author in particular and guess what? Yup, this is the only book/film they have decided to attack so venomously.

What is their motivation?

At this stage, I want to make it clear, I’m not talking about a critique or a balanced review.

The eBook world has exploded, there are millions of books out there, millions of one book wonders who ride on the skirt tails of others. There is room for all authors, if you have a long-term plan, have the capacity to write a dozen books then you can expect success.

Why would you tarnish your hard work by being a bitch? Why would you vilify a fellow author? You don’t have to like the book, no one asked you to. If you haven’t read the book (and fifty percent of the authors I researched hadn’t) why comment on its contents?

Listen to this concept: this author has no obligation to write the story the way you want it written, she had no obligation to write factually, she also has no obligation to portray any group of people the way you want them represented.

There are two reasons why:

• It’s an impossible task, we all have our own point of view, needs and wants
• It’s a work of FICTION

So, let’s look at my second reason. The characters are not real, the situations didn’t happen, it’s a work of fiction and it came from one woman’s imagination. She wrote the story she wanted to write. Writing is an accepted kind of insanity. I described to a gorgeous lady who is also an author yesterday and I said:

You have to be a little insane to let the voices in your head have a say, to take over your life, move your fingers across a keyboard like you’ve been possessed.

I genuinely don’t understand why there are so many angry people about a book. Take a look around you, there are a dozen reasons to be angry in real life. Look at the community you are in, look are the minority groups that need help, that need championing. Use the energy that you are expelling at a fellow writer and campaign for something real.

Leaver her the hell alone and stop being a bully, it’s unseemly, unnecessary and just makes you look like a bitter person. She realised her dream, go and realise yours. You don’t have to destroy others to do it.

Laters baby

Grace

X

Harper’s Motto: You will not be everybody’s favourite flavour, but that’s ok, because they will not always be your favourite flavour.   Be who you want to be and you will attract the people who will support you no matter what.

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