What do you do when you get dumped, fired, and turn thirty in a single unfortunate week? You book the last available ticket on the next plane to Greece. Or at least that’s what the normally unadventurous Anna Cox does in a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity. When she panics as she belatedly realizes that not booking a hotel room in a country she knows nothing about might not have been the best or smartest idea, the charming and easy on the eyes Englishman in the seat next to her comes to her rescue – he takes her to the rural island village in Crete that he calls home.
Hoping to improve my writing and maybe pick up some ideas on how to spread the word about my book, I joined several online author associations.
Has my writing improved? If it has, it has nothing to do with the online associations I joined.
Did I pick up any useful ideas on how to promote my book? Nope.
All I’ve learned for sure is that I quite dislike authors, or at least the majority of the ones who join online author associations.
These authors come across as pompous, pedantic and patronizing. Their egos seem so inflated I have to wonder if they must attach lead weights around their ankles to keep from lifting off the ground and floating off into the stratosphere. They talk about their “art” like they’ve created a viable alternative to crude oil or a panacea for every disease known to man. And the way they boast about their talent as though it’s a gift from some higher power, which makes them better than the rest of us mere mortals, is so preposterous it’s almost amusing.
I love books. The great ones transport you from your own life and into the lives of its characters. But the truth is novels are simply entertainment, and occasionally educational or enlightening. Authors are simply entertainers who occasionally manage to educate and enlighten.
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Sofia Essen |
Elizabeth Guizzetti
May 30, 2012 - 12:39pm
I am sorry you had such a bad experience. There is the unfortunate tendency to be bigger than life on-line. Or worse, a jerk. As for writing help, I have found a local group that works okay for me, but even then sometimes I get frustrated with them. (I'm sure this frustration goes both ways.)
As always good luck to you with either with finding a group or if you've completely stopped looking...just write your next book. I'm sure it will be fantastic.
Sofia Essen
May 30, 2012 - 9:47pm
Thanks, Elizabeth!
It was an interesting experience more than anything else. And it confirmed what I already suspected - take all self-proclaimed experts with a healthy pinch of salt.
Nathan Weaver
August 20, 2012 - 11:47pm
A good online community is hard to come by... that's what I've learned.
I will say though, there was one time I found an amazing online writing community, and it was called Storiesville. And I'm not the only one who still sighs over it in the night. I joined it back in 2005 or 2006, and stuck with it until its untimely demise. I met a lot of talented writers there, and while there were over thousands of writers and some of them petty and narcissistic, there was a small community of amazing ones. NOT THAT I'M INTENDING TO BRAG ON MYSELF, when I say that. A group of us, about 50, really latched onto each other, and helped each other out a lot. I can honestly say my writing grew immensely, because of those folks. And after the site died off, we still held onto each other, as those who really cared for bettering ourselves and others had managed to stay in contact via email. A lot of that group now is either published, being published, or publishers themselves. It quite amazes me when I see how they are truly chasing their ambitions, and making things happen, when I know that just 5 or so years ago we were posting short stories online, reading/critiquing, and saying ridiculous things in the forums.
BUT, after that, I've never been able to find a semi-similar experience elsewhere online on other communities.
And lately, I've found myself realizing something profoundly ridiculous... we're expected to connect with other writers, when in reality its not writers we want--we want READERS. Blows the mind.
And I'm also sorry you experienced silly stuff.
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