The Sad Case of Zoe E. Whitten

Yes, it has happened again. Another author has opened her mouth and created a shit storm. Only this time, she decided to go out in a blaze of glory. In her own terms. Now, I'm not condoning what she said. But neither am I going to jump on the recent bandwagon of slicing and dicing the newest author who is "behaving badly".

Authors Behaving Badly. It's not new. Nor is it all that surprising. We see individuals say and do thoughtlessly mean things on the internet all the time. But authors are supposed to, for some reason, live to a higher standard. We are supposed to turn a blind eye to the snarky reviews that not only trash our work, but us as people. At least if we want to sell books.

But what nobody tells you about this business is how HARD it is. How disillusioning. And what I've heard from others who have been in it far longer than I, it doesn't get any easier. Sometimes it just seems easier to say, "This is it. I quit."

So I challenge you all, when you see these kind of rants, to consider that maybe, sadly, that author has no place else to turn. Instead of spewing words of hate and then going to Goodreads and Amazon, making up reviews to further the discord, offer that author a small bit of kindness. Even if it is by not pressing the comment button. And then say a small prayer of thanks that you have those around you to whom you can turn when things just seem to get to be too much.

I know I do. And to my fellow Muses, I can only say thank you. For being my rock. My friends.

I love you guys

For all the highs and lows, the writing world can be a very lonely place. In the past, we have discussed the importance of betas and critique partners, if only so you present a potential publisher with the cleanest manuscript possible. Yet even considering the invaluable services good crit partner can provide, there remains a higher place of need other authors or readers fill. I don’t know where I would be now were it not for the few but precious friendships I’ve developed since entering the publishing world.

It’s easy being there for someone when times are good. Yet for all the trials an author must go through beyond preparing a manuscript for submission, having an ear to bend during the lower points does wonders. When you receive a bad review—and authors, this is inevitable—talking with friends can help, but no one understands how much a bad review stings as much as someone who has been there already. The same can be said for any number of things: edits, rejection, blog posts, Twitter rants, the full shebang. Having other authors you know and trust to at least listen, even if they don’t agree with you, helps out more than you can imagine.

Fans will be there for the good times. Friends will be there for all the times. Fans forget, friends do not. And that difference makes ALL the difference.