AAR

[mirole]

Following discussion of Fifty Shades of Grey on Let's Talk Romance Forum and seeing as another book, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, is also popping up in that discussion, and both books being controversial in their own way, I'd like to start a discussion here and ask the following questions:

1. [Using FSofG as an example] If you are not familiar with the controversy, I refer you to an excellent post by Cora on that thread:

http://www.likesbooks.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=9935&start=210

about half way down on that page.

Do you consider this author so unethical that it would prevent you from buying/reading this book?

2. [Using BD as an example]. The controversy here is that the author was not happy with a certain one-star review on good reads (while I'd say 80% of the reviews were 5- or 4-star reviews) and she went after that reviewer/reader in quite an undignified fashion. You can read about it on Dear Author not in Jane's review but later in responding posts.

[url] http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-c-reviews/c-reviews/review-beautiful-disaster-by-jamie-mcguire[/url]

Would you still read a book after you knew all the details of the author's behaviour or do such things put you off possible reading experience or if you do read, do they influence your perception of the book?

Do you think that an author has a right to defend her/his books from harsh reviewers on public forums?

I will answer my questions myself for a start:

I first read BD and am happy about it because I would not have enjoyed it as much if I read it after FSoG. And even before that I gave it 4* on Goodreads while later gave 5* to FSoG.

I learned about BD from Jane's review on DA and while I saw the problems pointed out by Jane in her review and did not like (mildly put) what I read about the author's behaviour, the story still got me interested and I went on Goodreads to check it out further. There I read all Jamie McGuire's vitriolic posts (they were very childish and unprofessional). And yet I bought the book curious to read it for myself (and it was a bargain at $2.99). The story was so engrossing I started reading it during lunch on my computer screen in the office. I loved it for the most part but not the last 20% of it and some things bugged me (I agree with Jane here, e.g. every single female except her friend America was evil/slut/dumb blond, etc. or the fact that Travis is such a superior fighter while he does not train but smokes and drinks).

Anyway, I am still disgusted with the author's behaviour, I would not want to have her sign my book if I had a hard copy yet I liked the book overall and I don't begrudge her earning money through me. I sincerely hope she will mature and see that she acted like a diva and will not act like that in the future.

I am strongly against the author "defending" their books or even responding to any reviews. I can understand extreme reactions between reviewers, even 'wars', etc. But, IMO, once an author has published her book, she's fair game for any kind of reactions including harsh criticism.

I would even prefer if authors did not respond to good reviews either, only on their own blogs or websites.

Or if an author responds to a negative review, the least she could do is to be respectful and explain her position although I think that everything should be explained in the book in the first place.

Now, about EL James and FSoG. While I understand the outrage of the fanfic community, I don’t see anything unethical from my point of view. If I saw somewhere proof of her really evil intentions or bad behaviour a la Jamie McGuire, I would be very disappointed in her as a person but not as an author.

Speaking of the fanfic community, I don’t understand one thing and maybe someone can explain this to me: on the one hand, ff folks were outraged at her betrayal and she’s now considered a pariah there or Judas, but what about her following, ‘Bunker Babes’, did they also turn their back on her or do they continue to support her? If it’s the latter, then I don’t understand how they can continue like that, being part of the ff community. Or did they sever the ties with it?

I apologize for a long post.

[library addict]

I cannot comment on either of these two particular authors as I have not read either book and have no plans to do so.

As for authors behaving badly, I have not bought or read Janet Dailey any since it came to light she plagiarized Nora Roberts. I also no longer buy/read Suzanne Brockmann. Not only because I was so disappointed with Dark of Night and the direction she took several of her major characters (which probably would be enough on its own to keep me away from her books), but because of her behavior with her message board at that time and her accusations in the Q&A she did at Barnes and Noble. That was what convinced me I would never even be able to reread the earlier books I had of hers and so I got rid them.

I also would not buy/read Cassie Edwards after she plagiarized so many people. But I was never a fan of her books anyway. I also remember at the time Diana Gabaldon commented that what she was accused of was not plagiarism since the books were out of copyright and you couldn't plagiarize a book out of copyright. And Jennifer Crusie* thought that Sarah and Candy were just mean girls to be picking on Cassie Edwards. As did Deborah Smith who seemed to feel Nora Roberts had no business commenting on the issue. However, they are not authors I read regularly either, and I'm not sure (with the exception of Edwards) if I was a real fan that their behavior would have been enough to make me stop buying them. It would have been enough for a while, but if one of them wrote a new book which intrigued me, I can’t say I wouldn’t have gotten it from the library. Since they were all authors I had at least tried in the past and didn’t enjoy enough to continue reading it was/is a moot issue.

I would probably hesitate to buy/read anything of Tara Taylor Quinn's after the fiasco of RITA awards dinner back in 2005. But like the authors above, I had tried some of her books before this incident and they were not to my taste.

I have read about other authors such as Victoria Laurie complaining to/about reviewers. But they are not authors I would probably pick up anyway. And confess I do not recall their names at the moment and am tired of googling.

This kind of thing is why I feel it's sometimes best to know as little as possible about authors. I also think authors have to behave pretty badly to cross my personal line in the sand. Thankfully none of my list of favorite authors have done so.

[* I know that Jennifer Crusie gave her explanation for the comment and though I felt at the time she was out of line, I can totally understand why her fans and others consider this a non-issue.]

[Eliza]

No, I wouldn't want to support a lack of ethics or even anything just this side of ethical. Selling a parody of a classic author is okay with me because that was pretty much de rigueur in classical times--to use classical themes and heroes, that is--but it absolutely has to be obvious and transparent to the reader.

An author does indeed have the right to defend her books--free speech, and all that--but I think it's rare that it will work out to her own benefit. Some authors may be able to pull it off with a little style, but it's a risk because being on the defense takes a unique kind of talent. She might win a particular battle but lose the overall war. Not fair, but it is what it is.

As a general rule I don't want to know too much about an author either, at least living authors. There's a risk that some outrageous or unlikeable behavior will stick in my mind and come between me and a story. I should be able to separate the two--the work independent from the creator, I know--and many times I can, but some times I can't. It all depends. I think I see a controlling or condescending author attitude start popping up in her books, which has happened to me.

[Nicole]

I can't really comment on those two authors because I did not follow either story nor did I read the books. I will say that in the case with 50 Shades of Gray people seem to be very defensive about how they feel about it one way or the other. As I have no plans to read the book ($10 is a bit much for an eBook I think and I refuse to pay it on general principle what with these rough economic times) I don't really have the energy to get worked up about it. If people read the book and loved it, and see no problem with the the way it was published then that's great. If people are outraged by the situation and feel negatively about the author and the book, I think that there has been a strong enough case for that too. I think that both positions are defensible.

Now as to the case of authors behaving badly I did get rather outraged by P.C. Cast's response to a mother's letter that was concerned about how fond she was of using the word retard. Described in further detail here:
http://www.thebooklantern.com/2011/07/c-word-on-pc-cast-incendiary-language.html
And then again here:
http://wickedlilpixie.com/2011/12/10/author-fail-mocking-authors-the-r-word-the-c-word/
I don't agree that she should censor herself, but I thought she was completely condescending and rude the way she handled it. I personally think she had the higher ground and that she was correct that she didn't have to censor herself, but her response to it made her look like a jerk. I did happen to agree with mother of the letter that this type of reading material is distasteful for adolescents. I'm glad she didn't let her daughter read it. Anyway, I'm not the YA target market, but I'll never purchase her books.

So yes, an author's negative behavior will cause me to not buy their books. I guess it just has to be about an issue I care enough about to get outraged by.
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She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. -Louisa May Alcott

[Yulie]

[MMcA]

If I knew a book was published fanfic I wouldn't buy it - though I enjoy books that are essentially out of copyright fanfic - Jane Austen spin-offs, for example. If the original author was happy that the fanfic was being published - like if J.K.Rowling endorsed a 'Best of Harry Potter fanfic omnibus' - I'd buy it then.

And yes, there are authors who I don't buy because they've behaved in a way that I've disliked, or have expressed opinions which I find objectionable. On the bright side, there are probably more authors I've bought just because they seem such nice people, or because they've interesting views and I'd like to see how that comes across in their work.

Julie Cohen, for example, I happened across because she behaved so politely when a blogger I followed reviewed one of her books in a rather unfair way. That led me to wander over to Cohen's blog & read an excerpt. She's been an autobuy author for me ever since.

[Linda in sw va]

Mirole, I think I've said my peace about FSoG and again it's coming from the POV that however it came to be, I'm just glad it was.

I didn't realize there was such a controversy surrounding Beautiful Disaster, I'm glad I was removed from that when reading it. It wasn't the best book Ive ever read but certainly not the worst and there were parts I really enjoyed.

There was an author that used to post here and every single time someone would post that they were asking for a certain plot scenario she would chime in and suggest one of her books. Amazing how she seemed to have anything at all someone was looking for. This was such a turn off to me that I never could pick up one of her books.

Years ago I saw Nora Roberts go after one of her readers on her forum that was critical and admittedly being a jerk. I think they accused her of making too much money or..something like that, it's been a while. She went after them in such a way that it really rubbed me the wrong way and it was hard to look at her books the same. Yes the reader/fan had behaved badly but she matched it.

I think sometimes we forget that authors are just people like us and that they're not perfect. But I admit I am sometimes affected by their behavior, I try to put it out of my mind and sometimes I am better at it than others. I've learned not to seek out my favorite authors much on the internet anymore, in case I'm not thrilled with what I find.

Linda[/list]
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner

[Kristie(J)]

If I am made aware of bad author behavior then yes, that definitely will keep me from buying/reading their books. In no way do I want to "reward" them for their poor actions.

This is why I prefer, as a whole, to keep a distance from authors in general. I don't follow them on twitter, visit their blogs or Facebook pages. There are exceptions of course. I have met a number of authors and while maybe not calling them friends exactly, their is a closer relationship than author/reader.

As far as responding to a negative review, the author is as human as the rest of us in wanting to defend ourselves against criticism and I would say write that outraged response, get up, work out, throw pillows, do whatever it takes to diffuse the mad, then go ack and DO NOT hit send, but rather delete it. Once they hit that send button, the damage is done and thief deserve all the flack they get. They are putting something of themselves out to the public and must accept the fact that now its open for negative reactions. If they can't handle anything, good or bad, that might come their way, then they shouldn't put it out there.

[maggie b.]

I don't mind fan fiction. In fact, I tend to like it. So published fan fic is not a problem for me.

Other than that, I tend to do my best to ignore author behavior and concentrate on the book I have at hand. I am just a lot more interested in what the book is like than I am in anything the author might have going on.

PC Cast is probably the exception because I find the "r" word offensive. Since I also think she is a no talent hack and that her ridiculous House of Night books are an insult to the entire YA genre, that works out pretty conveniently for me.

Just to show I am fair, I also find William Faulkner offensive. Endless use of the "n" word in his Rose for Emily put me off him for life. (He has a lot more talent than Cast, though. A LOT more.)

maggie b.
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http://maggiebbooksandteas.blogspot.com
She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain. - Louisa May Alcott

[Eliza]

[dick]

Nah. If an author can write what I like to read, I really don't care about the rest of his/her life. Until after I've read the book, I pay no attention to reviews anyway, so I also don't care if they respond. When it comes to plagiarism, I think it's so difficult to prove--especially in romance fiction where so many plots, characters and settings are the same--I only pay attention when it goes to court. I will repeat that I've always thought the relationship between readers/authors in romance fiction, perhaps in all genre fiction, is too close. If we were to cease reading books because of authors' bad manners, poor character, or whatever, we'd have to cease reading. Austen, for example, could be downright cruel in her letters and even in her fiction.

[jaime]

Mirole, I gave my opinion on E L James in the other thread and won't go into that again.

As to the other issue you raise in your post - yes, the behavior of an artist, writer, actor, etc. does matter to me and I won't support bad behavior with my money. I used to like Mel Gibson and his movies but since he went off the rails and his awful prejudices came to light I refuse to see any movie he is involved in.

In general I feel an author should only respond to negative feedback with a polite "Sorry the book didn't work for you and thank you for reading and feed backing". If they can't be polite about the criticism they shouldn't respond at all. Going off on the negative reviewer always backfires and the author ends up shooting themselves in the foot. We readers wield a lot of power with our pocket books.

[ChrisReader]

An author would have to do something pretty egregious or really rub me the wrong way for me to be put off their writing. It would have to be so annoying or significant that I would have a hard time separating their actions or behavior from what I was reading.

I can't remember who the reviewer was (and I want to say the author was Theresa Mederios) but the reviewer was no longer reading this author's books or following her twitter because the author kept mentioning a longstanding love for Donny Osmond since childhood (and was rooting for him on Dancing With The Stars maybe?) The reviewer disliked him because of his Mormon based views on gay marriage and therefore couldn't listen to the author because she liked him. That to me is pushing it too far. I don't have the political leanings of every star or childhood crush committed to memory so if saying I loved Davy Jones offends someone so be it.

I've heard a number of people express the opinion they have not and will not read Anne Perry's books because she is known to be a convicted murderer as a teen. Their feeling being they don't want their money going to support someone who has murdered and now writes about murder mysteries. (She did however, serve a number of years in a facility for her part in the murder and has repented and partially blamed the medications she was on for what she believes was her altered mental state.) I guess it comes down to whether you believe rehabilitation is possible and how long a sentence is appropriate for an act committed when underage. Also- does decades of lawful living in any way prove a person "deserves" a second chance.

I had bought and read a couple of her books before the news came out about her earlier life and went back to reread them after knowing about the murder and definitely looked at them differently. I guess I generally look for the author's point of view in the protagonist's and the second time around I was looking for it in the murderer's.

An author having a bad day or posting one snippy comment isn't enough to turn me off their work. A pattern of poor writing or obnoxious agenda pushing can. Similarly, there are authors with great online presence and seemingly great personalities who create books I have not been able to connect with no matter how I try.

[xina]

I stay away from gossip in real life, and I hate it online too. But it's hard to stay away from it in the online romance community.I hate to say it, but because the community is made of mostly of women, sometimes it seems like we are all 12 again. I sort of miss the days when we knew nothing about authors personalities. Usually, the authors that I stay away from are the ones who join in on a Witch Hunt. I can't read them or support them in any way.
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"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

[Islandgirl2]

The only thing that would sway me from reading the author ever if I heard of plagarism (Janet Daily). Or some admitted racism or some kind of prejudice that they are well known for. The true deciding factor is always their work.

They are human and I expect them to have a moment on an issue they are speakikng about it's their right. Even if said view doesn't match my own. I purchase their books for the story and what I prefer to read. Not any personal issue.
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Romance my favorite reading pastime.