A lesson in audience
01/16/08 15:57
So . . .
I got my first hate mail. I'm being extreme, to say
it's hate mail, but it's certainly not love mail.
It's more like nasty mail. It's the first negative
public comment about the topics of my book(s)--I'm
guessing it was spurred on by my trans character,
Gabe. I had hoped to wait until the books are in
print!
My friends & family have been very supportive of this web site, and its address has gotten passed around, even sent out in Christmas letters. Not long after the first occurrence of distribution, a negative comment showed up in my blog. The comment is anonymous, of course, and you can find it in the comments of the first blog entry, if you're curious. But I continually wonder: was it a family member? A friend of a friend? Someone who stumbled on the site accidentally? A student who Googled my name? And why, if this person felt my prose is "absolutely terrible," wouldn't s/he stand by that judgment and name themselves? They didn't want to hurt my feelings?
The main lesson, for me, is one of audience. Obviously, the comment-leaver wasn't part of my audience. I still wish they would have been brave enough to claim their comment.
But hey--all exposure is good exposure, right? I hope so.
My friends & family have been very supportive of this web site, and its address has gotten passed around, even sent out in Christmas letters. Not long after the first occurrence of distribution, a negative comment showed up in my blog. The comment is anonymous, of course, and you can find it in the comments of the first blog entry, if you're curious. But I continually wonder: was it a family member? A friend of a friend? Someone who stumbled on the site accidentally? A student who Googled my name? And why, if this person felt my prose is "absolutely terrible," wouldn't s/he stand by that judgment and name themselves? They didn't want to hurt my feelings?
The main lesson, for me, is one of audience. Obviously, the comment-leaver wasn't part of my audience. I still wish they would have been brave enough to claim their comment.
But hey--all exposure is good exposure, right? I hope so.