It's a small world, no really it is. The romance writers world is small. Word gets around. What else do you expect from a group of 3,000+ women & some men? No, I'm not trashing women. I'm saying I expect a certain amount of cattiness at every conference I go to. I'm catty to a certain extent. However, real bitchiness does more than make you look back in our little secular community, it'll drop you book sales, lose readers and alienate your publisher. Sounds dramatic doesn't it, but it's true. I've seen it happen with my own eyes and not through a friend of my neighbor's son's girlfriend's cousin dog walker.
In my pre-published days I went to my very first RWA National conference. Enjoyed myself until I saw and heard a NY writer trashing another writer. We're not talking catty "Oh did you see her knockoff LV bag?" Nope, I'm talking dip your head in the sewer type filth. The first writer trashed the other writer's characters, plot, covers then moved on to more personal topics like writer 2's looks, clothes, hair style and so on. Rarely am I without something to say, but this vomit of jealously left me speechless. Then I heard a soft sniff behind me and...yes you guessed it writer 2 was sitting on a couch behind these large fern plant things hearing everything the scanky two-bit writer had to say. The funny part of all this is I knew and read writer 2, love her work & still buy it to this day. She's a NY time best-seller now. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
Karma being the bitch she is took writer 1 down. Since the conference this writer was let go from her publishing house, dropped by her agent & is now lucky to publish one book a year from her backlist. Now, I'm not saying she deserved everything she go, but maybe this experience will make her think twice before opening her mouth again.
What's the point of all this? Easy there is none. People just have a tendency to tick me off with their self righteous, aren't I perfect crap. Well that and the over used plot of every other character is tortured and treated like crap by the world at large. Stick a diamond pin in me 'cause I'm done. Done with the tired line, the poor me look at my rough life plot. Where the heck are these people living because where I'm from we don't treat people like fashion accessories (I do, but I'm allowed... royalty and all) Yes, people suck & bad guys are all over the place. However good people are out there too. My previous EDJ sent me into the worst of the worst neighborhoods. I'm talking bad bad places where sometimes the cops didn't even go. Don't ask, I'm not that bright. So I'm in the 'hood or wherever bad people surrounding me when from nowhere good people rise up and correct the wrongs.
So please forgive me if I don't torture my characters with abusive childhoods, vengeful ex-lovers or murdered families. Reality sucks enough, why would I add it to my fiction? Granted my heros and heroines are a bit warped, have only a vague idea of sanity, but at least they don't live their imaginary lives beating themselves or the love of their life over past issues.
As you might be able to tell I'm not big on self-pity. It gets in the way of my ADD & obsession with all things shiny & sparkly.
Now I need to go torture my current WIP with some green Jello & super glue!
Kudos,
Allie
Karma is definitely a bitch and I'd say writer 1 got what was coming to her. I also agree with reality sucking so why put so much torture into the fantasy of books? Unless it's erotic torture if course, but that's another subject altogether. Great post!
ReplyDeleteOnly you would go to erotic torture, Vamp! Sad that I know how your mind thinks :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and recognized a certain fervor in the words. Thanks for sharing and yes Karma will bite you in the butt faster than taking off handcuffs. I'm glad writer 2 faired so well.
ReplyDeleteOh Lordy, there nothing worse than a two bit, self righteous, caddy woman. I love karma! Always comes back to bite you in the ass ten fold. It's nice to hear when she strikes :0)).
ReplyDeleteI like happy and silly, sparkly and shiny...maybe even more than you! Tortured souls do not but make me want to poke at them. Life is a lesson. Learn, grow and move on. The self pity party...I like crashing them! Sorry about my lil rampage ;0). Can ya tell people have been dumping their crap on me this week?! I feel better now. Thanks for having such a befitting post today, Allie. :0D
Thanks for responding, ladies! It's just one of those days & one of those topics that sucked the last of my patience! No more reading that author for me!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a perfect example of why I haven't let alot of people know that I'm writing now. One loop in particular I would get no support and considering the some of the writers on it, I don't write anything like they do so I have the fear of being laughed at. If I ever get published, I will shout it from the rooftops but I will be low keyed on the who, when, why and how. Why you ask? I know that writers are very cliqueish and it can be incetious too. I'm not into all that.
ReplyDeleteYes, will I suffer some because of my attitude? Possibly but I will know that I'm not catty and I truly believe that what goes around will come around and bite you on the butt!
It's sad Harlie, but it's the attitude you have to have. Though I think I'm missing the click part of the deal! Darn it I want my own CLICK!! I want to be snobby and incetious too!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously don't sweat the small people. They'll fall by the wayside of your success!!
I really is sad but the cattiness will bite them back. I'm not one of the "cool" people over there so they are the ones missing out. I don't bow and scrap and kiss their butt all the time, so I'm out. Plus, since I don't go to all the conferences, I'm not in the little circle. Sad, really because I have alot to offer to people.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a hanger on either. Oh well, lesson learned and I have the t-shirt.