Monday, May 11, 2009

The not-so-dusty kind of fans

By Jamie Hill

This is one of those topics that made me stop and go, "Huh?" What would I like to tell my fans? Well, gee. I have lots of fans: ceiling fans, whole house/attic fans, stand fans...I got fans, baby. I guess I'd like to tell them to go dust themselves.

Another kind of fan


Oh, wait. I suppose that's not quite what Jude had in mind when she chose this topic. Okay, what would I like to tell the people who read and enjoy my books? I dunno. Thanks?

The thing is, with the Yahoo online community, I feel like I have the opportunity to talk to my 'fans' every day. I can post as little or as often as I like, and there's usually someone out there to agree with my rant, to chuckle with me, or give me a pat on the back when I've done something pat-worthy.

It's another feeling, indeed, when people think I suck (and not in a good way.) There's one blogger out there (probably more than one, but one I've read) who thinks my writing is crap. She keeps reading my books, and keeps calling them crap. (Go figure?) Honey, if you're buying them, I guess you can say whatever you like. It stings, sure, but taste is subjective. I've tried to develop a thick enough skin so every bad review doesn't give me the shakes like that first one did.

I remember the first day I was blog hopping and stumbled onto a conversation about one of my books. They author and her commentors were talking about my stuff. Not some big, famous author, me. Some of them liked my book, some were so-so, but they were discussing the merits of my work, not me personally, which I thought was great. There are too many bloggers out there who make personal attacks on other people. It makes me sad, and I don't choose to comment or go that route.

Bottom line, if I could say anything I wanted to my fans, it would definitely have to be thanks for your support. Please feel free to spread the word if you like something I've written. If you didn't like it, I accept constructive criticism every day from 12:00 to 12:03 a.m.

Seriously, anyone who has a question for me, or would like to request an excerpt, can find me at one of two Yahoo groups daily:

Infinite Possibilities

or

Books We Love Spice Readers


Stop by and say hey!

~ Jamie

9 comments:

  1. I remember a sign up in a local business. If you like what we do, tell your friends. If you don't like what we do, tell us! Not a bad philosophy to live by :)

    Kim Dare.

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  2. I know you have scads of fans, because every time you post, there are dozens of comments!

    I envy you your experiences with chat loops. Given that I'm 12 hours away from most of my fans, chatting in real time usually isn't in the cards.

    Fun picture, by the way... Maybe that's Bob Brakethrust...?

    Warmly,
    Lisabet

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  3. I don't know how insightful my opinion is but I hate it when people blast an arthor just because they can. It is ok to say you don't like their books but don't get personal about it. Not everyone has the same taste in reading but you always have a choice to read or not.I am just thankful there are all kinds of arthors to give me a choice in what I read.
    Debby
    cleo@hbeark.com

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  4. Hi Jamie,

    You've told me about your reviewer/nut, and I think it's hilarious myself. I can't imagine why she keeps going on about your books if she doesn't like them. I is nice that she's still buying them, but it honestly defeats me as to why she does it.

    Great post.

    Oh, Deb, I'm going to dive in here unasked and all that. Input from a reader can make an author swoon. It happens so little that we treasure each word. Honestly. You're why we keep submitting books to publishers.

    Hugs

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  5. Hey Kim,

    I agree with that philosophy, too. *G*

    Thanks for stopping by.


    Jamie

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  6. Hi Lisabet,

    Maybe it is Bob, who knows? *G*

    The twelve hour thing would be interesting to work around, for sure. At least you can post to Yahoo and people can comment at their leisure.

    Take care!

    Jamie

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  7. Hi Deb,

    I agree with you, blast a book if you want, but leave the personal remarks out of it.

    Thanks for commenting!

    Jamie

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  8. Hi Jude,

    Yes, we've talked about that person before. Trying to figure people out is a waste of time, I'm afraid.

    *sigh*

    Hugs,

    Jamie

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  9. Well put Jamie. I love the fan pic you chose too.

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