 For Authors: April 15, 2015 Issue [#6938] |
  For Authors
This week: Outrage Culture Edited by: Jeff  
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"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make
new things familiar, and to make familiar things new."
-- Samuel Johnson
Trivia of the Week: Even the great authors have had run-ins with audience outrage and censorship. On the long list of books banned some place for some reason or another, you'll find included among them The Diary of Anne Frank, Where's Waldo, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Grapes of Wrath, James and the Giant Peach, Little Women, A Farewell to Arms, The Lorax, Charlotte's Web, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Fahrenheit 451 (ironic as that last one may be). Even more amusingly, the dictionary itself has been banned in more than one school district and library for containing "vulgar words" and "graphic definitions." 
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OUTRAGE CULTURE
A few weeks ago, you might have heard the internet outcry against Trevor Noah, the South African comedian named as the new host of The Daily Show once Jon Stewart steps down later this year. Once the surprise announcement was made, people on the internet were quick to dig through his social media history and drudge up old tweets to question not only whether he's a good choice as a successor, but whether he's anti-Semitic, racist, a misogynist, etc. The issue wasn't whether a comedian posting things like, "South Africans know how to recycle like Israel knows how to be peaceful" and "Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look b4 crossing but I still would hav felt so bad in my German car!" is humorous. It went to the point where people questioned whether a comedian tweeting things that that (some dating as far back as six or seven years ago) were the signs of a bigot. (NOTE: Patton Oswalt responded with a brilliant deconstruction of a joke here. )
The thing is, this outrage isn't just about a comedian trying out racy material on Twitter and whether that disqualifies him from a prime-time hosting gig. You also see the outrage over all kinds of other stuff too... if Ben Affleck is a good choice to play Batman, if a parent who spanks a child is an abusive monster, if a sound bite of a presidential candidate saying that 47% of Americans feel "entitled" to things like health care, food, and housing. Whether the outrage is justified isn't the point... the point is that a culture has developed where audiences just need the slightest provocation to become incensed by someone or something and be extremely vocal about their displeasure.
Writers are by no means exempt from this phenomenon. When you put your work out there for the world to read, there will be all kinds of responses. Statistically speaking, some will love it, some will think it's so-so, and some will hate it. And yet, in a society that's become more and more accustomed to responses at the extreme ends of the scale, it's not uncommon for a book on Amazon, for example, to have a score of "This is the worst book I've ever read!" reviews and another score of "This is my favorite thing EVER!" reviews... and very few in the middle who take the time to say, "Yeah, it was okay." A friend of mine, who self-published his first novel as an eBook this year just got a review where the reader not only said he hated the book, but that the book will make people lose faith in the prose fiction medium, and that the reviewer would have handed out negative stars if that option were available.  My friend is taking it all in stride, by the way, but these are sometimes the kind of reviews and the kind of feedback we're bound to get as writers putting our work out there to be judged by audiences with a predisposition to loudly pronounce extreme love or hate, sometimes even with very little to go on.
Outrage culture is here, whether we like it or not. As authors, as creators, it's important to acknowledge the realities of the world and prepare for them. The reason my friend in the above paragraph was able to take the criticism well and not let it get to him is that he knew what to expect. From talking with other ebook writers and spending years practicing his craft, he developed the thick skin necessary to be able to deal with criticism, both constructive and otherwise. If you're someone who creates and product and puts it out there for the world to consume, make sure you're prepared for at least some segment of your audience to have an outraged reaction to whatever it is you're doing. The sooner you can accept that and process it when it happens, the easier it'll be to ignore when it happens. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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I encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Ninety percent of life is just showing up. – Woody Allen
EXCERPT: Have you ever been cyber bullied? If so, by now you should know that you're not alone. According to the i-SAFE foundation, over half of adolescents and teens have been cyber bullied. Cyber bulling is a growing issue in today's society, but why? Why is it that people feel like bullying others? Is it because they find it fun? And if it is, why do they want to have fun at other people's expense?
EXCERPT: Studies show that one-third to one-half of the population is introvert. All of us have introvert and extrovert personality within us but experts say that one or the other is dominating in each individual.
EXCERPT: The most sacred part of the human’s body is the heart. The heart’s physical responsibility is to pump blood to the entire parts of the body. This amazing muscle beats at nearly 100, 000 times daily. Additionally, the blood vessels, arteries, veins, capillaries, are over 60,000 miles long. In other words, long enough to circle the earth twice. Ironically, the adult heart pumps approximately five quarts of blood each minute, and takes roughly 20 seconds to travel the entire body (The Cleveland Clinic, 2011). The Centers for Disease Control (2009) cites heart disease as the leading cost of death in men and women. The CDC attributes these deaths from contributing causes like diabetes, obesity, alcohol, inadequate diet, inactivity, and stress. Emotionally, the heart’s guards itself against hurting, past events, and unwelcome fears. Spiritually, the heart is capable of believing the impossible, the heart’s leap. Undeniably, the extraordinary brain functions as the center for ideas creation, but the incredible heart is the architect to bring them to fruition.
EXCERPT: This is not a scientific study, nor does it hold any factual information, other than how I understand relationships. You can pick up a science based book that can break relationships down into each little section, how this chemical works this way, which causes this to happen. That will probably get you nowhere unless you are a scientist. You can also pick up a psychology book about relationship that will explain all of the different human needs that we have and how you respond to them. There are also the teen novels with vampires and werewolves that give you their view as well.
EXCERPT: Perhaps today you sense a not righted-ness, perhaps everything in your life is going smoothly and coasting along but you don’t feel the passion that you want to feel, perhaps there is just that little tug of longing for that something you just can’t put your finger on……
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Feedback from my last newsletter about the odds and chances of success:
Fyn  writes: "Excellent newsletter, Jeff! As a publisher, I agree with your findings wholeheartedly. Additionally, the more one writes, (presumably) the odds are the better they'd get... just from the experience, if nothing else! There are no magic formulas - right words at the right time in the right hands gives you - not instant fame and fortune - but at least a shot in the right direction!"
Thanks for writing in and offering your perspective, Fyn!
Feedback from a previous newsletter about ebooks and self-publishing:
J.Cat  writes: "Good item/subject indeed. Been wanting this kind of subject for a while. Kind of I'm affirmed. Thank you."
You're very welcome! 
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