boy! didn't I get told.
1 Dec 2004 10:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigouGundam Wing Addiction feedback sent
by applebee_42@yahoo.com (Apple)
from 216.86.67.206
on 01-Dec-2004 at 21:06:22
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[quote]Until I'm a well-known author with several publishing credits under my belt, I can't afford that.[/quote]
Take a step back, read this letter over again from a completely objective viewpoint and then take a humility pill because, honey, modesty is a /good/ thing and you need to grow some. I suppose the only justice is that you'll be shot down well over a hundred times before you'll get published -- if ever -- and maybe from that experience you'll grow up a bit, but really, you need to drop the diva thing because it's not pretty.
App~~
*shakes fist*
I am a DIVA! Fear me!
Geebus, people.
You yank one damn story from the internet, try to be polite and explain why, and there's always got to be someone who gets on your case about it. Asuka K., got any tips on stompage, or should I just let it go?
So I wrote Tyr, and said, remove my email address. (Zan, same goes for you.) Remove anything that can be used to find me. Cause y'know what? There's no point to reviews outside of the ones I get here on LJ and the ones I get on the BBS. The people with constructive things to say find me here, there, or already have my email address. The rest of 'em? They have nothing constructive to say, and as seen above, often they're just outright destructive.
The irony, of course, is that any such comments/responses on my part would automatically be seen by the fandom as whining. Here, let me play my goddamned violin. Oh, please. Do so few people truly understand the difference between getting a rejection letter from an agent or publisher and getting a nasty email from some malicious person with a keyboard and an internet connection? Like I told Tyr, for over a year now - almost two years? - I've prided myself on being someone who replies to crits and reviews with at least a thank-you. Not always - I get bogged down and fall behind - but I do try.
But it's just built up, and I'm sick of some of these people - a great majority of the email-based reviews, actually. The ones that tell me I'm writing my story all wrong; the ones that call me a traitor for writing a pairing they don't like; the ones that call me a bitch or a bastard for not continuing that sequel or starting this sequel. But the worst have got to be the ones that tell me I'm full of myself for thinking an agent would care whether Dancing is on the web. The one above is the most egregious of the recent lot, but it's not the first. And truth is, those agents will care. And gods forbid they ever do a search and come up with that title showing up on sites and think I stole it from somewhere/one else - because it's definitely a distinctive title - and I sure as hell don't want some agent dumping me for not telling them the story's origins and WHY the fuck do I feel like I have to explain myself AGAIN?
I don't have to explain myself to agents, not like fans expect me to explain (and then get on my case when I do). With agents, it's very simple. I write my query letter. I obsess over it. I polish my draft until I'm quite sure I can see my reflection in it or maybe I'm just so sleep-deprived I'm hallucinating. And then I send off my letters and I get back my rejection slips, and is it REALLY that amazing that the rejections are all POLITE? Why do people tell me that I should be able to 'take criticism' as though having a thin skin for someone's malicious attitude is somehow MY problem? Maybe I just don't LIKE malicious, smallminded, demanding emails. Write this! Don't write that! You're so stuck-up! Those rejection letters in my folder upstairs say things like, "thank you, but it's really not what we're looking for right now," or "thank you, but it just didn't capture my imagination," or "thank you, but we're not taking any new writers at this time." Notice what's in common? Yes: "thank you." They're polite. They know I took time to write them, to write my story, to write the query letter, and at least they're nice enough to acknowledge that I didn't have to send it to them, and that I did put time and effort into it. Hello! Does it really do their business any good if I go on the 'net and tell other writers, "this agency was unbelieveably rude to me"?
Big fat no. Cause, hey, we writers do talk. A lot.
Oh, there are writers I've met who are just devastated when they get back rejection letters. They're in love with their stories, and are crushed when it's not accepted. I get that. I'm pretty much in love with my stories, too, and I won't deny that it's really damn disappointing to see that SASE come back at you with a xerox note that's probably the same thing sent to a hundred other writers in the same week. Not this time, kid, better luck next time. But then sometimes I get comments like the guy who added, "you write a great query letter," which was rather unexpected and made my day despite the let-down. Or the agent who lauded the first chapter but said it still didn't really do it for him, and he admitted that's a subjective thing. It was disappointing, but I never felt like any of the rejections were saying, "you suck." Or, "don't even bother writing another word; you'll never be published." Or, "you are so full of yourself to think your stuff is even worth lining my cat's litter box."
But that's what I get from fanfic reviews, sometimes. I get some very sweet reviews through Tyr's auto-review function, but damn if I don't get some really nasty ones, too. The option of being anonymous really seems to bring out a thrill in some people that they're going to slice at me while knowing there's not much I can do about it.
No. I'm not going to stop writing original fiction. Please. I will be published. Maybe not this month, maybe not next month, but I will, and someday I'll be able to tell Tyr and Zan and the rest of them to put on my page and little note that says: "to anyone who ever sent a negative crit to Sol, please read this." And it'd open on a big page that'd just say, FUCK YOU I WON I'M PUBLISHED.
Okay, maybe not, but it's nice to think about it.
I'm going to go work on ch13 of Dancing, and relish the thought of looking forward to a whole bunch of rejection letters that are polite, diplomatically phrased, and sometimes unexpectedly complimentary. And maybe some of them might even ask for the entire work, and then maybe one or two of those might even say they want to represent me. But at least I know they'll all be very nice about it, and it won't be personal. Either my story's good, or it's not, and if it's not, I'll just keep going until it is.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a life to get back to.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 03:50 am (UTC)http://www.trickster.org/symposium/symp146.html
Act like it, NOW!
Poor Sol.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:13 am (UTC)Heh.
Well, that'll teach me. And to think, I do wanna be a BNF, but of my OWN damn show or movie or series of books. YES! Then I will pimp my stuff and freely be egotistical because there will be a PAYCHECK attached.
But sadly, that essay is all too accurate. I'd suggest a self-help group, but I don't think we're the ones that need help. *snark*
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:20 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:15 am (UTC)1. Eat fewer chocolate chip cookies.
2. Be more of a diva.
3. Create world peace.
I think the third is probably the most likely, at the rate I'm going.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:25 am (UTC)I've never understood why people are so rude to fanfic authors. But then, I don't get rudeness period (unless thoroughly provoked, of course.) Didn't any of these people ever hear of "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?" What a bunch of idiots.
What really puzzles me is the people who demand you write something the way they want you to. What the hell is that about? If they want to see it written that way, or they want to see some other pairing, they can damn well write it themselves. If they don't like the pairing they're seeing, they can stop reading! Why is that so hard? Why do they feel they have the right to dictate what other people do? THEY'RE INSANE!!!
Pardon me, rough week. Anyway, ignore the morons and do what you want. And when you get published let us all know, so we can go buy the book.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:29 am (UTC)It's amazing what people will do/say when they're convinced they won't get caught.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:30 am (UTC)I blame the parents. No, really. What happened to kindness and decency for it's own sake?
And wasn't there a bit of tongue-in-cheekiness in that quote of yours? Or am I misinterpreting it out of context?
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:25 am (UTC)And personally, I prefer flames to reviews TELLING me I should do something. There's a big difference between someone telling you about a weakness in a scene or a plot inconsistancy, and someone who gets pissed because you split of their OTP (<3<3<3).
Just amuse yourself thinking about how the people who complain about your responses will feel if they submit query letters to agents. ;)
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:34 am (UTC)Heh.
And CP's never said half - or even one-hundredth - of some of the things I've gotten in reviews. (Which is a good thing, both for my self-esteem and our relationship.) But if getting even a mild version in person is damn hard for me to take, so are compliments in person. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather hear, "You wrote such-and-such, right? Yeah, I read that." And leave it at that, unless it's another writer and we can begin comparing how we tackled a similar premise. Otherwise? I squirm.
However, the more I get complaints about splitting OTPs, the more I find it fun to do. Hey, if ya gotta die, why not do it by denying someone's romantic ninja fix, right? Someone very wise said that to me once...
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:10 am (UTC)But I can't. I still have unfinished stories!
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:26 am (UTC)I get that way, too. My beta, Lockheed, is one of those gem betas -- partly because she knows me so well that she often gets what I'm trying to say even when I don't, and helps me express it better. But any time I send a chapter to her, and I get it back covered with notes, I have to read it once, and then put it away to get over the hurt-feelings phase before I can start making edits. :)
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:45 am (UTC);D
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:43 am (UTC)WILL / LOVE
- V -
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Dec 2004 04:59 am (UTC)Oh. And if you ever feel irritated because someone thinks you're a diva, or a bitch, etc, etc, just think if Tritorella. And you'll feel better. :)
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 05:12 am (UTC)ROFL. No, that's a stature I don't think I'll ever achieve. I'm just a bit too easy-going for that one...
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 06:05 am (UTC)What amazes me, though, is the sense of entitlement that the Internet seems to impart to a substantial number of people. "I have the right to
call you namescriticize you because..."No. You really don't. But then I suppose that telling you she was sorry to see the story had been taken down because she'd enjoyed it/heard good things about it and was hoping to read it wouldn't convince you that you might just as well put it back up so she could because you'll never get it published, the way her actual message did. Oh...wait...
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 08:00 am (UTC)But then I suppose that telling you she was sorry to see the story had been taken down because she'd enjoyed it/heard good things about it and was hoping to read it wouldn't convince you that you might just as well put it back up so she could because you'll never get it published...
Hrm, y'know, you just might have a point there. Either that, or it's someone who's cranky that a fanfic writer is trying to write ofic. I've seen some rather underhanded comments made on the wankier boards about fanfic writers who do so. I think it's a variation on the old "mustn't let you get ideas above your station". That to strike out and become what's essentially legit is somehow traitorous.
Which is really rather amusing considering how those who only write original fiction frequently see fanfic writers - to dabble in fanfic is to be traitorous to the Grand Holy Concept Of Protect Thy Copyright And All Copyrights By Principle. Bah. I fully intend to support fanfiction - albeit very quietly, because it is a gray legal area - if I'm ever published. However, if CP follows through on his threat and comes up with Spark/Largo slash, I just might kill him.
Hmph!
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 03:23 pm (UTC)No, seriously. Some people just need to grow up. You have a very educated way of expressing yourself, and some people can't take that - mostly because people get a.) jealous that they can't do it themselves, or b.) angry they don't understand what your saying. Either way, it's their loss. Not your problem.
There's a German saying that says soemthing along the lines of "Politeness is like air in your tires - it's free and absorbs the shocks." Very true, and crucial in these things. You're letting us ("us" here being the online public) read your work, you don't take charges, and you allow crit& comments. That deserves a thank you, at least.
And on an ending note -- Not that it means much, but I respect you lots. You'll be published, and I'll buy the books. Definitely.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Dec 2004 06:18 pm (UTC)*deep breath*
I suppose there's no point in trying to explain that to an idiot such as the one who wrote that message.
The entitlement thing that so many fans have going really is infuriating. And what they write is not crit, nor constructive. It's just nasty whining. *sharpens claws while eyeing stupid fans*
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 11:36 pm (UTC)I recall the fanfic_hate thread about GW, and being named - someone pointed out that Kracken and I are the only two writers who are publicly known in the fandom to be actively seeking a career as full-time writers. The response was, well, negative, to say the least - but not in a "they're not good enough!" but in a "just who do they think they are?"
For a short time after that, I wanted an icon that said, I'm SPESHUL 'cause I want to make you pay $15 for my story.
But I won't turn down $25 per, if it's offered.
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 11:56 pm (UTC)...will it come with a FOLD-OUT MAP?
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 09:37 pm (UTC)Love, Caroline
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 11:37 pm (UTC)*contemplates making icon...or billboard...or REALLY BIG FRICKIN' SIGN...*
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Date: 4 Dec 2004 01:14 am (UTC)I SO crack myself up!
Caroline
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Date: 3 Dec 2004 06:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4 Dec 2004 01:15 am (UTC)How do I steal it?
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Date: 4 Dec 2004 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 Dec 2004 09:53 pm (UTC)I'm always very wary about crit on fanfics - to be honest there are some, er, popular writers who would have me red-marking their paper up if we were in a creative writing class. Maybe that's why in general there are more flames than constructive criticisms; since it's the internet and I don't know these people in even a class setting, I don't want them flaming me after I give them constructive criticism, so I don't comment at all. Hence the overabundance of flames.
And all you people with betas - lucky. I need to find someone for both fanfic and original fic to tear my writing apart as much as I know I do for other people when they ask. ^^;; On the other end of things, I seem to get few reviews but by at least semi-intelligent people (well - in FMA. Not for another series I write for). Or is GW fandom just more evil in terms of reviewers?
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Date: 2 Dec 2004 11:45 pm (UTC)This is called exchanging crits. I've got a running exchange with several folks now, and I really like doing it that way. It becomes a standing situation, so there's less "oh fsck where did you come from?" and more of a "okay, your turn!" The only thing I ask is clarification on which type of crit - conceptual (characterization, plot, ambience, pacing) or editorial - (grammar, punctuation, spelling, structure). I specify for my stuff, and what you've got, I crit, and when I post, you crit in return.
And actually, I get very few crits from FmA, and the majority of non-anonymous crits are quite solid and helpful. Here on LJ and on GWA's BBS, I've gotten crits that have really made me think hard, revise harder, and have improved the story and my skills. It's just the anonymous crits that - like habibti says above - can really go south on simple courtesy.
But the offer stands, if you want to exchange crits. Hell, Hinotori knows when she's got her thesis ready I will happily apply my technical and editorial skills and return the crits she's doing on my fiction, so you're not just limited to returning fiction for fiction, if you'd rather offer up academia on the altar. ;D
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Date: 6 Dec 2004 06:15 pm (UTC)....yay. I love reading others' work, too.
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Date: 4 Dec 2004 06:19 am (UTC)My bet here is on sheer jealousy.
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Date: 4 Dec 2004 06:46 am (UTC)