Because LJ's comment cap is ridiculously low...
Mr. Collins, if you're still around, here's my answer to your comment on my last post. I tried putting it under that comment, but it's 1000+ characters over the limit, and there's no way I could find to shorten it.
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( Putting this back here now that the 'show' is over )
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( Putting this back here now that the 'show' is over )
Your "Skin Game" post wasn't terribly rude, but your initial one -- which was an open letter to me, extremely snarky from "fuck's sake" on -- was essentially a challenge, and I had every right to respond.
Obviously I know fans watch these shows over and over, and take notes and so on. But your post (and similar ones by other fans) assumes that professionals doing tie-ins do not watch the shows, are indeed careless and are just earning a paycheck.
I note you do not deal with a major point I raised, which is that often we have to work on tight deadlines and ahead of schedule. This applied heavily to my CRIMINAL MINDS work (because of the Gideon/Rossi change, which meant I had to write a book featuring Rossi before a single episode featuring him had even been shot, knowing that the book would appear after viewers had seen half a dozen or more episodes featuring that character). BONES was done from the pilot script (a rough cut of the pilot came along at the copy-editing stage).
I do think eye color is important, all details are important, and I regret screwing that up, which I have on occasion. I tend to lean on IMDB for this, if I'm unsure of what I'm seeing on screen. But I have also been criticized for over-describing -- clothing, in particular. Some fans seem to think the characters should be walking around naked; any good writer knows that clothing is part of characterization, just as a description of a room tells you about the person inhabiting that room.
On the other hand, the interior life of a character is far more important than eye or hair color ("Eyes Only" is a good point, however). Still, I would rather get the eye color wrong and the characterization right.
I certainly don't dislike fans, although the fans of these shows, the hardcore ones, are not the main readership -- it's more casual viewers, who are frankly more forgiving. The hardcore fans, particularly those writing fanfic, seem to have a strong resentment for professionals. The comments following my response to you were entirely unsympathetic to my viewpoint. You alone offered well-reasoned arguments -- pretty much everybody else was defensive.
When someone is out there saying negative things about my work, particuarly when I think those things are unfair, I will comment, because such negative views discourage fans of the various shows to read the novels and decide for themselves.
And, yes, I do this for a living, so I would like people to buy the books -- it's how I keep the lights on in the house. (I only very, very rarely respond to professional reviewers -- I will at times respond to bloggers and Amazon-type reviewers.)
Fanfic writers do not face the restrictions of professionals -- I spent the last two days revising two tie-in manuscripts in ways that had nothing to do with art or storytelling, rather political correctness, a watering-down I detest but can do nothing to avoid.
I do not understand (and I say this not as a writer but as a person) why commentary on the internet has to be so personal -- yours certainly was, in the first post particularly. And yet you, and those who follow your LJ, seem shocked that I would be offended or find the behavior rude...and are quick to condemn me for my rudeness. What I would ask you, and other fans, to consider is that extreme "for fuck's sake" hyperbole, while fun to write, is if not rude, certainly unkind. The "award-winning Mr. Collins" is a flesh-and-blood person trying to make a living and working at doing a good job. I do not expect anybody to bow down. But I also do not expect strangers to treat me like a thoughtless boob unworthy of the common courtesy you would grant most any stranger.
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By the way, Dumpster is capped because it's a trademark. I think it looks stupid that way, too, but that's an editing thing.
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Just like Band-Aid brand bandages. Even though we refer to similar products as "band-aids" they're not Band-Aid brand, thus not capitalized.
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M.A.C.
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The fact that you found the original post(and you haven't said how you found it) was because you were, essentially, eavesdropping. And everyone knows, people who eavesdrop don't often hear what they want to hear. The internet has led to a blurred line between what's public and what's private...but honestly, you can't expect that if you go into someone's home, among someone's friends, and criticize her opinion that her friends aren't going to jump in and support her, do you? Some of us may have read your books, but essentially, you're just someone who is sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong. People are entitled to their opinions, even if you don't like them.
You say that people aren't considering your feelings...but are you considering ours? You have no idea what our shared language is, what our backgrounds are, or what we do besides all come together in cyberspace to discuss fan issues. You immediately get defensive, and criticize our friend for her valid opinion, in her personal space.
Common courtesy goes both ways.
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I "found" it because I check my name on Google once a week, looking for reviews -- that's the only way I can know if a blog, newspaper or magazine has covered me. In the case of quotable favorable reviews, I forward the URL to my editors.
Similarly, anyone interested in me, or the shows I write tie-ins for, can do a search and easily come up with what you're saying is "private." And your friend's initial post was actually addressed to me -- an open letter to me.
If I am attacked in public, I have every right to respond.
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Sure, you can disagree. You can even say so. But as was pointed out, you're doing the equivalent of walking in to a room full of friends and telling us we're wrong. Not really a nice intro.
If you think you were attacked, don't ever read any of the reviews over at the "Smart Bitches, Trashy Books" blog. They're rife with the f-word and hyper critical of author mistakes that should have been caught.
I think your response could cost you much more than it has gained. Fans talk. It's what we do. Bri's review gets read by her friends list, but you respond negatively and word-of-mouth will spread.
I know several authors (some personally, others just via online communication), and if any of them responded this way to a fannish blog, I'd feel the urge to give 'em a smack upside the head. But then they wouldn't do that, as they know better than to take it personally and do an "open mouth, insert foot" moment online.
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And by replying, I am out of line, and now threatened with a bad-word of mouth campaign.
Nice.
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As far as the "letter" being addressed to you, it's often used online as a form of review. It's not really intended to be directed to you personally. I see it in many blogs, especially those who talk books, but if you haven't, then I can understand your confusion.
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I googled your name too, and didn't find any of Bri's entries at all...although I admit I only checked the first three pages that came up with each search. (And before you ask, I'm a librarian and well aware of how to search. I also know how people DO search, and tried both ways.)
Just because I'm curious...have you ever visited LiveJournal before? Did you have any idea how this site is normally used? Did you look around first to see what kind of posts normally go on around here?
I maintain that Bri's post was not an attack. A strongly-worded question, maybe, but not an attack. You do have the right to respond, of course. But so does everyone else. That's what this community is about.
edited to change a word. "write" does not equal "right". D'oh.
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You're also arguing with at least one other professional in the industry that I can identify right off the bat (not counting me).
The owner of this journal has a perfect right to express her opinion. You have effectively come into HER home and argued with her about why her opinion is wrong. But a review is NOT a debate. It is an impression. You can't change an impression.
I spend about half my life on the business side of the world, versus the writing side, and one thing I know: when a customer comments on their dissatisfaction with a given product, as the vendor of the product, you don't fire back a defense.
You thank them for pointing out the flaws, so you can fix them next time. (And usually send them something nice for making the effort.)
Look, I know all about tight -- impossibly tight -- deadlines, and it's frustrating when people hammer on you for things you had no control over. But no matter what was going on while you were writing the book, whether you were having radiation treatments or preposterously busy or didn't get the job until the last minute ... the writer's challenges simply don't matter on the other end. All that matters is what ends up on the page, and all that readers can critique is what's on the page. All I can say is: sucks to be us, sometimes. And more often, it doesn't.
My shiny nickel. Take it for what it's worth, which is, with inflation, er ... probably less than my two cents.
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