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A Word on Author/Reader Interaction



A few days ago I was on Facebook checking out a post on the upcoming Authors After Dark Convention. AAD is among the best conventions for authors and readers to meet and party.

Anyway, I commented on the post that I hope to attend in 2015. I decided to pop my Convention cherry at RT because I desperately want to visit New Orleans.

Anyway, you know how when you comment on a post, you're alerted to other comments?

Well, later on someone was talking about how wonderful AAD is because she loved meeting her favorite authors, but then she went on to name a few authors who are no longer her favorites because of how poorly treated their fans.

The stories of such rude, ungrateful behavior made me gasp in outrage and brought tears of disappointment to my eyes.

It made me remember the few authors that are no longer my favorites.

But mostly, it made me think of the authors who have always been gracious and kind. I still remember jumping up and down when Eloisa James messaged me of facebook, and my giddy squeals when talking with Shana Galen and Grace Burrowes.

Even after becoming an author and interacting with several of them every day, I still feel like a starstruck fangirl.

And most of all, this story made me remember that all authors, including myself, are nothing without readers. We owe more than our livelihoods to them.

If it weren't for readers asking what happened next, I wouldn't have finished my last book ...or the one before that, or the one before that. If it weren't for readers complimenting my work, I wouldn't have bothered getting out of bed some days.

Seriously, you readers have no idea what you mean to me.

And I vow that I'll never stop adoring you and never become an ungrateful, snotty author.

With that, I can't wait to meet all you readers and my favorite authors at RT this year, and hopefully I'll see some of you at AAD next year!

Which authors have made your day and why?

   

Comments

  1. Thank YOU for saying my name. That was so sweet of you. I know way too many nice authors. I think sometimes when people aren't welcoming it's because they're not used to dealing with crowds and fans that are present at conferences. It's work for us introverts. Still, if you show up, you should put on your game face and be friendly.

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  2. The first time I went to a conference I was so nervous my little chubby knees were shaking but too many authors to mention made me feel right at home. And the readers...Oh. My. Goodness...were wonderful. Without our readers, writers would soon be on the top of the endangered species list. I don't want to be anywhere on that list!

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  3. I love, love, love meeting readers and talking with them! That said, I'm a total introvert! I might not seem like it online, but I am in real life. :)

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  4. Brooklyn Ann, you are inspiring. It is so true...without our readers, we'd be nowhere. They pick up my spirits many a day. Thank you for this lovely post.

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  5. As a reader I have to say most authors are just absolutely wonderful and generous. I think FB brings out a real feel and we readers love that you talk to us. There are a few that don't banter or reply - they put questions out there but never answer back. It doesn't make me dislike them but it also doesn't make me a fan. You have some wonderful authors here and just to name a couple (and not to slight anyone) Grace Burrowes and Kathryne Kennedy have been extremely generous and I just love their stories and as you said, are both gracious and kind.

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  6. Thanks, everyone! And I gotta say that it is amazing how wonderful all the Casablanca authors have been. All of them are the nicest people! And Terry, introvert or not, you're getting a big hug from me at RT!!!

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  7. As a reader I appreciate the comments in the blog and author comments. Just like some authors are introverts, some readers are too. (Hand raised)

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  8. Thank you for that kind mention, but who wouldn't want to talk with somebody who's enthusiastic about the genre? Long before we're authors, most of us were avid readers. I like having that in common with the folks who read my books, and more than a few times, I've to a reader, "Have you ever thought of putting that in a book?" And I'll see a dangerous gleam and their eye, and hope I've started somebody else down the road to authordom.

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  9. I have never been to a convention but have been to several book signings and the authors were wonderful speakers and funny - James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann, Barbara Delinsky and Erin Brocovich.

    patoct

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  10. I was so thrilled to meet authors and amazed at how welcoming they all were. I am very shy and hate to interrupt so I tend to hover in the background but so many of them were so thrilled to see their fans that I was a little more comfortable at at least waving or asking for pictures. The worst problem was that my brain shorted out and I could not even remember the titles of the books that I had read and loved by them, lol.

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