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Today’s Digital Author
Nowadays, authors are typically much more visible to their readers. They have social profiles and personal blogs, maintain newsletters, join online chats, and have many other ways they are able to connect with readers and fans, often instantaneously. Due to this, readers are learning more and more about not only the author’s personal lives but also their writing process, personality, thoughts on past works, and much more.
I have personally connected with several authors online, from following their social pages or newsletters to joining live online interviews, and even reaching out personally on Tumblr (and even receiving a response back to my questions!).
However, not every interaction and insight has been positive, and it’s left me wondering what other people’s experiences with digital authors have been and how they feel about these personal connections to authors. Take one of the world’s most popular authors, J.K. Rowling, for example. Since the Harry Potter series has ended, she has taken to the press, Twitter, events, and a variety of other platforms to reveal some extra information about her series. For example:
- Neville Longbottom married Hufflepuff Hannah Abbott, and she was to become the landlady at the iconic Leaky Cauldron Pub.
- Harry himself made sure that the portrait of Snape made it into the Headmaster’s Office, but she doubts that he ever went to speak to it.
- Voldemort’s death broke the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position; now a wizard or witch can hold it for more than a year.
- She regrets the end relationships and feels Harry and Hermione should have been together instead of Ron and Hermione.
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is approved as canon.
- That Hermione was never written as white. Rowling tweeted “Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione.”
- Through Twitter she has revealed that there was a Jewish wizard at Hogwarts (Anthony Goldstein, Ravenclaw), that there were LGBT students at Hogwarts, and that there were students of every religion . . . except Wiccans.
- The existence of world-wide wizarding schools, and that American non-wizards are referred to as no-majs instead of muggles
- In 2007 she revealed that she’d always viewed Dumbledore as gay.
- These are just some of the revelations J.K. Rowling has announced. To see more details on these revelations and to see a full list of other post-Harry Potter announcements, go here.
As someone who grew up reading the Harry Potter series, I initially loved the insight I gained into the series. Namely, I loved the snippets of back stories, information about the writing process and revisions, and insights into the futures of some of my favorite side-characters.
However, as time has gone on, I’ve begun to appreciate the insights J.K. Rowling reveals less and less, and in fact, some of the more recent revelations have started to hurt my love of the series, and I find myself wishing that she would now just let the series rest. (I don’t think I’ll ever recover from the Cursed Child.)
For the most part, I love the connection I have to these digital authors, and it further strengthens my loyalty to themselves and their work. However, there are those instances where I feel like the authors reveal too much or times when they have personalities that are rude, or completely crash with mine, and hurt my view of their work.
Let Us Know: How Do You Feel about Your Digital Connection to Your Favorite Authors?
Do you enjoy following or interacting with authors online? Has interacting with authors online caused you to become more or less invested in their work? Are there things that you like or dislike that authors do online? As a whole, do you think the instant connection authors now have to their fans is benefiting or hurting them as a whole?
We’d love to hear about your personal experiences! Let us know about your best and least favorite interactions with authors.
Happy reading!
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For the most part, I’ve appreciated following authors on FB and other social media. I\’ve had to create a special email for author mailings because I follow so many.
That said, I’m leery of following authors personal social media as recently, I had a VERY bad experience with one and will no longer purchase her books over it. We follow authors – or I follow an author – to get a heads up when books are coming out, what’s coming up, etc. I DON”T follow them to read about their political or religious rants, or particularly care to watch them bash a follower because they have different beliefs or POVs. I not only buy books for myself, but as gifts for friends and book exchanges. This particular author has lost me as a customer and I just might be one person, but I still buy books. I found the entire exchange to be unprofessional, petty, and childish on the author’s part. (Especially as the person she was berating was not attempting to start a fight.)
So newsletters and professional pages, bring ’em on! Keep the personal stuff out of it.
What Zee said!
Very interesting. My grandmother was an author in the 30’s, 40’s. I read her books, (they were for children), probably the only children books I read willingly. Unlike Dr. Suess she didn’t talk down to children nor feel the need to cajole kids into liking the books, she wasn’t prolific, she had three kids and a Doctor husband, but I still have her books and cherish them since I am pretty sure they aren’t out there anywhere, except my cousin’s house. As far as learning about the authors; do I really need to know? I “pays my money and gets my book” Some time their universal emails they send out are funny, and they are funny because they are human just like the readers are human…..for some of “my favorite authors” I say to myself while reading their emails,’ yes, but how many pages could you have written in the next book while doing this nonsense? Yes I do own the selfish of my feelings. I am a reader. And I own it and say to all our wonderful authors; please keep writing, and I will keep paying you!
That is a double edged sword that I have come up against a time or two. I was excited to be able to chat with some of my favorite authors through Facebook and now I wish I had never opened that can of worms. I don’t expect to get along with everybody or to agree with all their views, but common courtesy and respect are two things I expect from everyone and I do not waiver on that. I have had to “unfriend” and “unsubscribe” more people than I care to count. There are things you can say to friends and family that should never be said to fans and I think digital authors forget that. Separate your Facebook pages so that you don’t share bigoted jokes with the very people you’re disrespecting. I do my best to try to separate the work from the person but there are some authors that went from auto-buy to never-buy for me.
When an author puts him or herself ‘out there’ it is interesting because it gives you an idea of the real human behind your favorite book. I occasionally get a funny reply to something I have commented on…..something I would never have expected 6o years ago when I was finally allowed into the adult library….to me then authors were gods, not to be bothered in any way shape of form. But hey! They are humans with families, bills, editors nagging, in short they live the kind of lives we all live. I don’t for a minute that being an author is any harder or more glamorous as being a nurse or housewife, or teacher or whatever. The main difference is they are out and cannot be as private as us reclusive readers. I rather like that, mainly because I no longer like having to go anywhere, even a restaurant, I would rather stay at home and read another book!