[ SECRET POST #5353 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5353 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 14 secrets from Secret Submission Post #766.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Secret makes it pretty clear OP isn't exaggerating

[(Anonymous)]

I still agree with Sabotabby's point, because Isabell Fall's case was something that was an outlier because it specifically called upon the Attack Helicopter 'joke' as it's main identifier, and suffered from the clickbait effect. Harelequin romances and bodice rippers get published all the time, and no one notices.

[(Anonymous)]

Harelequin romances and bodice rippers get published all the time, and no one notices.

While that's true, I don't see what it has to do with the situation at hand

[(Anonymous)]

What got to me was the expectation that you have to write the "right type" of story (not messy), so that way people on the internet don't mess with you. I pointed out that there are stories with messier content that pretty much pass by unnoticed. No one has time to check every story for a stamp of approval, and worrying about what certain people on certain circles on the internet has to say about it is not a good priority if one is serious about publishing a book.

[(Anonymous)]

Right, but Harlequin romances and bodice rippers are "messy" in a totally different way, and also have totally different audiences. So I don't really see how it's an apt or useful comparison.

I think the worry about how people will react to your work is a legitimate worry. Especially in a case where it's essentially proven that certain kinds of work with certain kinds of themes can get a wildly disproportionate and aggressively negative response, and especially where your work has to do with very deep personal themes about your own identity, and where the response can be used to attack that identity. It's really easy for me to understand how that's particularly harmful and I think it's a legitimate thing to fear. I think it's taking it too lightly to just wave your hands and say, oh, you just have to ignore that.

I don't know.

[(Anonymous)]

I honestly think that if you're serious about being published, you have to prepare for not being a critical success with your first novel. You can put your heart and soul into things, but there comes the great possibility of not being accepted. Or even just executing those ideas poorly. I will say that no matter what happens, there will be negative review, and it's unavoidable except if you never publish at all.

[(Anonymous)]

I have to admit that I'm kind of confused here, because I don't think a mere lack of critical success, or negative reviews, is really what we're talking about at all. I think there's a significant difference between negative reviews on the one hand, and a harassing mob on the other.

[(Anonymous)]

OP hasn't written a story yet, and at this rate never will. They don't have to worry about an angry mob unless they're hoping to win the hearts of people who specifically don't want to read anything but cinnamon roll stories. Write the story, speak to agents, don't interact with that segment of the audience. Don't rub it in the hypothetical angry mob's faces. What is more important? Getting published, or interacting with the few people who will get pissed?

[(Anonymous)]

In publishing nowadays,you pretty much HAVE to have a social media presence for marketing reasons. And it can really mess up your livelihood at least for a while if someone with a big name and tens of thousands of followers decides to go after you.

[(Anonymous)]

I think we've moved away from whatever is in OP's control, to inexorable things that can happen regardless of the actual content of what OP writes. Even authors who do everything "right" can and will be extorted in some manner*. Something can always attract trolls, so why not write whatever you want?

*[https://time.com/6078993/goodreads-review-bombing/]

It's in no way good that people can be attacked for petty things, but also it's out of one's control. Also at the same time, I wouldn't blame a first time published author's lack of critical success on the concerted efforts of trolls on the internet. There are so many factors that could go wrong, just don't make it your own fault for never writing in the first place.