When Posting, How Polite is Too Polite?

Fabulously Young ePubs: When Posting, How Polite is Too Polite?
by Rusty Fischer

I was entering a few book giveaways on Goodreads.com the other day (yes, I’m officially hooked on that “giveaway crack”) and whenever I came across a compelling new (to me) YA book, I would click on the author’s website or blog to check it out.

It was a really nice way to get to know more about some fellow YA authors and I ran across one in particular who was a grade-A, hmmm, how should I put this? A grade-A… personality. And I mean that in the epically most awesome way ever.

Seriously; she had attitude to spare and it was such a… revelation. I think she was ranting about some bad review or another and just really going to town; about readers, writers, publishers, the whole ball of wax. It was great to read because I was like, “Wow, she said what she really wanted in a really honest and unvarnished way… and no one’s running her out of town with pitchforks and torches!”

Personally, I try to come off as very polite, non-feather-ruffling and generally a helpful, nurturing kind of guy. Part of that is the teacher in me; I was trained to be politically correct, helpful, nurturing and generally stay in control of my emotions in front of a class full of kids.

Part of that is just me; if you meet me I pretty much am polite, helpful, calm, even-keeled, etc. But it’s not ALL of me. Drive with me for five minutes and you’ll hear enough cussing to get an NC-17 rating. Stick around while I read a bad review and you’ll hear a whole lot more! And I certainly have VERY strong feelings about writing, reading, reviews, bad reviews, publishing, agents, eBooks, print books and more.

I just always figured I should avoid sharing that hardcore, personal or angry or venting or rant-y stuff with my young, impressionable readers. Then I remembered, most YAs don’t exactly flock to my blog! (Come to think of it, most adults don’t either!) And even if they did, wouldn’t they prefer getting the “real” me versus the watered down version?

It’s not that I’m some big, fat phony when I post. I’m always honest, but I’m generally… polite. I don’t swear or foam at the mouth or rant and rave and, well, would it be so terribly bad if I did once in awhile?

So, I dunno, reading that YA author’s blog the other day was a real revelation. It kind of made it “okay” to be me, or at least a little bit more like the real me.

I don’t think I’ll be swearing and ranting and raving like this one author, but she’s far from alone. I know of several YA author blogs where writers, readers, even reviewers are quite frank, fun, wise, sarcastic, sassy and with plenty of… personality.

So what do you think? How polite is too polite? Or should bloggers abide by a certain “code” and keep themselves to themselves? Comment boxes are open; fire away!"

Yours in YA,

Rusty

~~~

My Reply:
I'm in the same boat as you are. I try to be as polite and tactful in my posts (even my negative ones) while still infusing my personality in what I write. Whenever I read over something of mine and go "Ooh, that's a bit harsh," I delete and re-write it in a less-harsh way.

At the same time, I enjoy reading a couple other blogs that don't hold back anything. They think it - they write it. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I can only wince as books I love get flaming tomatoes thrown at them.

I think that by all means, you shouldn't censor your thoughts or emotions. If something pisses you off, and you think it's worth posting about it, go right ahead.

But most importantly, you still need to tailor your posts to the audience you want to attract. Language, content, and subject matter should focus on them. If you want a blog that can be read by teachers, parents, and teens, you're probably going to be a lot tamer than, say, just writing for high-school/college age.

Most importantly, and I think all writers know this (or will eventually), you can't appeal to everyone. You gotta do what you know how to do, and what you like to do. If you prefer your writing to ruffle feathers, and enjoy reading the responses of such, go for it.

Thanks, Rusty!

Fabulously Young ePubs
Zombies Don't Blog

Marching Into The Black

I know, I know - another week without posts. Don't worry, I'm still here, just had a week-long temp job (yay!) interfering with my reading (boo!). But I'm back on track and am excited to reveal some more reviews, an upcoming release, and a little of what else I've been up to lately.

On the e-reader front, I think I'm narrowing down my search. I've been introduced to the possibility of an inexpensive tablet, which I could then personalize with whatever reading apps I wanted. I'm still not sure about backlighted reading, so I'm kinda thinking about getting a Kindle Fire from Best Buy for their trial period. See if I use any of the apps, and am okay with the backlit screen, then downgrade if I have any issues. Then again, I may fall in love with it - who knows?

In case you've been living under a rock in the last few months, you've no doubt heard about the internet protection, anti-piracy acts being voted on by various and sundry governments. SOPA was struck down or at least deferred for a time, but that hasn't stopped other bills, like ACTA, from reaching other governments and in some cases actually getting approved.

Some artists/activists/internet users have had enough and have proposed a Black March:

So what are your thoughts? Are you for or against the ACTA-type bills; will you go on an entertainment strike; is this whole thing being blown out of proportion? Sound off in the comments below!