Yes I interact with authors on Facebook , and on Twitter. I have become good friends with some authors but since I haven't met them in real life then its okay.
I live in area where there are some local authors , and I did become friends with Brenda Pandos . I have read and reviewed two books of hers on the blog. I also got to know through MOPS, an organization for moms to hang out. I also became a member of her street team. So I reviewed her 2nd book on the blog and she sent me an email that I gave something away in my review. So I deleted that offending little line. I had to make choice of what was important so I decided not be apart of street team. I think being apart of street team is great way to help an author out.
But it got me thinking about relationships and authors. I am a friend to her , and with that email crossed a line because I wasn't being HONEST in my reviews. But I made a point to friend her and just read her books, and no reviews up on the blog because I had a personal relationship the author.
Yes I do think friending them does affect reviews whether good or bad because sometimes with the Internet or good reads their actions become known to all. I have friended some authors through Facebook and I think I follow a decent amount of authors on Twitter. I enjoy when they interact with their fellow fans, but if they are just doing the same thing , I not follow them. I have also stopped friending authors through Good Reads , to be a objective reviewer of their body of work.
I am also a friend to Gini Koch and love to read her series...in fact I want to clean her home to read the next book. But I also know if I do meet her and get personal ...my blogging relationship might change. I think that why I want to meet authors but not have close relationships with them.
I do love the authors and the world that they create , but there is a fine line with reviewer/ author and what lines do get crossed with those friendships. That's what I have chosen to do for me.
1/17/12 -- I wanted to add with all the hoopla and good reads with what authors are saying or not saying about book reviewers.I do think that with the book blogging community is wonderful but I also think that some of the authors comments are unbecoming or even doing blog post against a negative review is stirring the pot .
Not all books are created the same just as my reviews don't always reflect how I connected with the characters because MY life experiences either make the book more enjoyable or not.
I want to love every book but I don't.
I want to love every author but I don't .
I want to read all the books in my reading pile but I won't
I want to get the coveted ARC's but I don't
Thanks Karen and Tiger for letting me talk about this topic
I don't envy book bloggers I am sure you all get your fair share of hate mail from author's fan club members.
ReplyDeleteI remember one online book discussion I participated on Facebook last year. The author was someone I have been following for years. I enjoy her writing style and love the characters and world she created thru her novels. That being said, I did not love the book we were discussing. I still like this author and wait for her next book to be released. But when I tried to give my honest opinion, which was simply that while I like her series, I didn't think that she felt the same way about the book she just put out as she did the first (or the first 20). I had stated that if she wasn't feeling the series any more that I would rather as a fan of her series, see her take a break from it and work on something else or end it.
There were a couple other people on there that shared my opinion and we ended up in a side bar conversation and discussed the authors other series that had just started. You would have thought that we were slamming this author and saying awful things about her, we weren't. In the end the moderators asked us to delete our posts as we gave away part of the book, that some people may not have read yet. We deleted the conversation.
I don't think that criticism is ever easy to handle,even more so when someone has spent so much of their time working on something. However, I think authors and readers have to take into account that you can like a person or their work and not love everything the do or put out.
You bring up a great point about the lines between friend/author/reviewer getting blurred and I think there is also a great distinction to be made between being on friendly terms with an author through social media and actually being friends with an author in real life. I am 'friendly' with a few authors but have never had to deal with the awkwardness of reviewing a real life friends book (well that is not entirely true, I have a first draft of a novel that has been on my kindle for 6 months now because it was written by a friend and I'm afraid to read it).
ReplyDeleteBonnie @ Hands and Home
http://www.handsandhome.ca/2012/02/book-blogger-confessions-author-relationships-4.html
I don't really consider authors I interact with on Twitter "friends" but I do have a few author friends & I have been honest with them about their books but it does influence how harsh you are in a review. I think the best bet is to maybe not review their books if your ability to be honest is ever brought into question.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I agree that you have to be careful about your relationship with authors. It has bite me in the butt a couple times.
ReplyDeleteWell said. And I agree that it is a very fine line when you become acquainted with authors. I think you said it best, I want to meet the authors but not necessarily be friends with them. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think it makes me phrase my words better and be more gentle, but if I don't dig something - I say so. Great post!
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