I’m feeling a bit exasperated.
Years ago I used to resent people touting All About Romance and The Romance Reader around as the spokespeople of the online romance community. Judging by some people’s comments last few weeks, it seems that Smart Bitches and Dear Author have taken their places. [Edited: after chatting with a lovely person, I learnt this line caused confusion. This should make a better clarification: it seems some people are replacing AAR and TRR with Smart Bitches and Dear Author nowadays.]
I’m amazed that some people still don’t get the point what the online romance community is supposed to be about.
Let’s remind ourselves: in the online romance community, ALL romance review bloggers and ALL readers in the online romance community are the representatives of themselves. It’s the internet, for fuck’s sake.
The Internet is a place where every reader and every blogger gets to say whatever they want about whatever interests them. And all have good taste in books, regardless of whether you or I like their taste or not. No one is more important than the other, either.
In spite of what we like to think, everyone is indeed equal online. However, it does not mean everyone has to agree with everyone’s opinions, taste, standards and values.
It’s the diversity that makes the online romance community interesting and valuable. That’s what we should always try to remember and respect.
I adore Jane of DearAuthor.com as she’s one of nicest and kindest people I know and I worship Jayne whom I knew from AAR’s golden-era days. Their blog is so crammed with so much interesting stuff and great reviews. Yet they do not speak for me. I liked AAR and deeply respect some of its reviewers and posters. Yet again, they do not speak for me.
I really like Karen of Karen Knows Best because she’s good at… well, being Karen. And cutting through the BS. Yet she does not speak for me. I’m proud and happy that Candy and Sarah of the Smart Bitches who had a book published. Yet they do not speak for me. I will always respect Mrs Giggles because of her huge part in shaping the online romance community – especially the romance reviewing – as we know today. Yet she does not speak for me.
Likewise for all posters I know over last ten years. They have contributed so much to the community, making it one of the most interesting portals online. Yet they do not speak for me.
Nor do I speak for any of them. I know they don’t want me to speak for them and I’m quite sure they know they don’t speak for me either. And that’s how it’s supposed to be. For us all in the online romance community. (I feel bad for some of them because of possibly huge pressures they must have from being seen as “leaders” of the community. Operating under close observation isn’t usually a pleasant experience. )
So why are some people putting some of them up as the community’s spokespeople? Each time a person says something to the effect of “Listen to Them Because They Speak Words of Wisdom! And They Have a Good Taste in Books Because They Know Best!”, I get irritated.
No, they don’t know best. They know best according to their own tastes and interests. Reading is a personal matter. There is no right or wrong perspective. There is no taste that fits all. No blog is better or worse than the other. My reading list will never be superior or inferior to a fellow reader’s reading list, and vice versa.
This is important because if we don’t recognise that, there will be a number of readers who may feel out of sorts for not liking “popular” or “respected” romance novels, or having different opinions about certain issues related to the genre or whatnot.
Ideally, these readers would explain why those books didn’t work for them, but in reality, most won’t. They will lurk and see all the “Oh yeah, this book is fantastic because they say so!” chatter, which will leave them thinking, “I disagree but I’m a nobody, so I’d better not say anything.” I have said this many times over years: it’s not fucking true. Every reader’s opinion counts. Say it, even it means going against the current or any of so-called spokespeople. They have been there, they know and will understand where the delurkers are coming from.
But that is not going to happen if people keep touting the selected few as the community’s spokespeople. That’s just so sad.
I wish people – especially the outsiders – would acknowledge the online romance community as a whole or at least, a wide range of diifferent voices, instead of seeing the community as the voice of a selected few.
That’s quite a long waffle. Sorry. But I feel better getting it all off my chest as it’s been festering last few weeks. Yay! =D
I don’t get the impression that people like Jane at Dear Author and Sarah and Candy at Smart Bitches are claiming to be “the voice of the romance community”. What I do think is that regular visitors to bigger blogs such as DA and SBTB might feel reticent to openly disagree with them on an issue because they’re popular. I think this is bullshit.
If a commenter respectfully disagrees with a blogger, their opinion should be taken seriously. Obviously, personal attacks against the host blogger and/or other commenters is not acceptable. There have been several occasions when my opinion has been of the dissenting minority and I’ve been nervous about speaking up in a comment thread for fear of being attacked by fangirls. Judging by the e-mails I received after my last blog post, I’m not alone.
There seems to be a (in my opinion at least)erroneous belief that speaking out against something a blogger has said or done is synonymous with disliking them and their blog. I frequently disagree with the opinions expressed at DA, SBTB and elsewhere but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying their blogs.
If it hadn’t been for people like Karen Scott, KristieJ, Katiebabs, the DA gang and the SBs, I doubt I would have started blogging myself. In addition to book recommendations, they provide thought-provoking pieces which inspire me to look at an issue from a different angle. It’s not necessary to agree with them on every single point and it would be very tedious if that were the case.
Let me clarify: I never said DA/SBs/etc were claiming to be the voice of the community. Not once did I ever think that.
I was referring to those who frequently presented DA/SBs/etc as the voice of the community. It’s them I resent.
Here’s a question to explain what I tried to address:
How do you define “bigger blogs”? Number of readers’ responses? Traffic statistics? Number of mentions elsewhere? Number of reviewers? Recognisability? Who or what determines the definition of “bigger blog”?
That’s what I was trying to address in my 4AM waffle. =]
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“There seems to be a (in my opinion at least)erroneous belief that speaking out against something a blogger has said or done is synonymous with disliking them and their blog. I frequently disagree with the opinions expressed at DA, SBTB and elsewhere but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying their blogs.”
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Of course. It’s the same kind of people who believe that “disliking a book = disliking its author”. It used to be a widespread belief in the online rom community of readers, authors and reviewers. I didn’t expect to see the return, this time with blogs. =D
No, I didn’t think you meant that the DA/SBs were claiming to speak for the community. I was referring to those who present them as the definitive reps of the online romance community due to the popularity of their respective blogs.
Well-known blogs such as DA and SBTB are certainly influential in that they reach a larger audience than a smaller blog. Plus, the SBs have gone beyond the online community with the success of their book. I enjoy visiting both DA and SBTB but I don’t hold their opinions in higher regard than I do anyone else’s – and I don’t think they expect me to.
I’ve also struggled with the definition of “bigger blogs”, a term which seems to be used ever more frequently. Traffic statistics are a good indicator of how popular a blog is, although they aren’t 100% accurate.
The number of comments is a tricky one. Unless a review is particularly snarky, fewer people comment on them than on opinion pieces. I can’t speak for any blog other than my own but I get more or less the same number of people reading my reviews as my opinion pieces, yet the latter generate far more of a response. In other words, a blog which focuses primarily on book reviews probably doesn’t get as many visitor comments as one which includes opinion pieces. This doesn’t necessarily mean the blog is less popular.
I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that criticism of a book equates disliking the author. Ditto when it comes to blogs. I can vehemently disagree with something a blogger does or says but still enjoy visiting her blog.
Heh, I read this and agree wholeheartedly, no one speaks for me either. Besides, I tend to go against popular trends/views because that’s just how I am. I read and enjoy what I like and don’t give a shit if ten people hated it or loved it.
I’ve told you this before, but I like how you think.
Thank God. Even the people I like, I often disagree with…and I kinda like it that way. Makes things more interesting.
umm.. Shiloh.. would never have guessed that about you, that you are an individual and able to speak for yourself.
I am new to blog land so don’t feel really able to comment on the post, beyond cheers, as even in the short time I have been an observer I have noticed some of this attitude displayed and found it interesting yet kind of frustrating.
@Keishon
That’s so you. =D
@ShilohWalker
Agreed. I love it when I can debate hotly with friends and we walk away still friends. I think it’s because we understand we aren’t trying to change each other’s mind.
@medumb
New, eh? Welcome to blogland! I think it’ll never go away, so we can either accept it as part of blogland or once in a while, react against it. All in all, I ignore it until it gets in my way. =]
Anyroad, I don’t know any blogger who doesn’t welcome newcomers, so I’m 99.9% certain they will be happy if you respond to any of their blog posts, even if your opinion is different to theirs or others’.