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James wrote: "This conversation suddenly reminded me of Steven Kings novel, Misery, where the fan became obsessed to the point of nearly killing the author because he was going have Misery die in the final story..."

Oooh I hope not... :)

Lisa wrote: "James wrote: "This conversation suddenly reminded me of Steven Kings novel, Misery, where the fan became obsessed to the point of nearly killing the author because he was going have Misery die in t..."

I've had fans complain I was being mean to my characters. Particularly that I should cut poor Leon (from my Unexpected Gifts series) a break. Readers can get very attached to author's imaginary friends, especially in some genres. And you realize that I have about four fans, so I imagine it's much worse for some writers.

James wrote: "This conversation suddenly reminded me of Steven Kings novel, Misery, where the fan became obsessed to the point of nearly killing the author because he was going have Misery die in the final story..."

There is that, lol!

I have no desire to ever be stalked again.(It wasn't because of writing.) It pisses me off and makes me irritable.

D.C. wrote: "I've had fans complain I was being mean to my characters. Particularly that I should cut poor Leon (from my Unexpected Gifts series) a break. Readers can get very attached to author's imaginary friends, especially in some genres. And you realize that I have about four fans, so I imagine it's much worse for some writers."

It certainly gives us food for thought; how do readers perceive our "mean" plot ideas? Have you ever written a scene where you are being really mean to a character and then felt guilty? I killed off a rather despicable character in my book and it didn't feel at all the way I expected it to. I actually felt sorry for him once he was dead. Imaginary friends or not, they can develop a life of their own. :)

Bo Dunboyne just growled and said to ask, "who're you callin' imaginary?" :D

I was following another thread about an authors characters, and most agreed that they become quite attached to their imaginary friends. I suppose some readers can feel the same way.

Lisa wrote: "D.C. wrote: "I've had fans complain I was being mean to my characters. Particularly that I should cut poor Leon (from my Unexpected Gifts series) a break. Readers can get very attached to author's ..."
It's meant to be redemptive, but poor Leon has really had a hard time. Especially since he's meant to be a sympathetic character, not someone who's paying for sins. Although of course Leon believes that he is.

I just killed off someone in a self-pubbed shortie, but he made a very brief appearance and he was a thorough baddie, so I didn't feel any remorse.

Back on the original subject:

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but, whether you like his books or not, Patrick Rothfuss has really set the example � and the bar � for the modern, social media era writer-to-reader relationship in his very reasonable accessibility, blogs and participation in online and in person events.

Katie wrote: "I don't want my readers to have a relationship with me. I want them to have a relationship with my characters, my story, the world that I create.

Social media has completely distorted the role o..."

I agree. It's my characters I want them to have the relationship with. I've had a little reader-initiated communication and enjoyed it, but I don't expect to be friends (online) with my readers or for my friends (real world) to read my books.

When I do interact with readers it's about books and writing, not a personal relationship. It seems that too much personal connection could corrupt the review process, and I don't want that. I want all my reviews to be genuine.

"Relationship" implies rights and responsibilities on both sides of the equation.

On the part of the author the relationship should be cordial and, above all, professional. They're running a business. And in the modern environment where personal access to authors is (or can be) much closer than in the past, authors are really a lot like small business owners--like a restaurant, bookstore, hair dresser, or coffee shop owner. As such, authors should interact with readers who approach them in a professional, personable way. That does not include initiating contact. Nor does it mean responding to negative reviews/comments. You gotta shrug that stuff off.

Now...on the reader's part, the relationship should be respectful and undemanding. Contacting an author is really quite an imposition and one shouldn't expect to be treated like you're a personal friend. The author really has no mandate to hold your hand or be your bestest buddy. Overly demanding customers (and they exist in all markets/businesses) can border on (or cross over into being) stalkers.

Why did I write all that? Here it is for both sides of this relationship: Don't be a dick.

Amber wrote: "Katie wrote: "I don't want my readers to have a relationship with me. I want them to have a relationship with my characters, my story, the world that I create.

Social media has completely distor..."

I completely agree, Amber. Well said.

Marion

Micah wrote: ""Relationship" implies rights and responsibilities on both sides of the equation."

As an author, I am humbled that a reader would expend the time, effort and money to take a journey with me as their guide. Should they choose to interact I am pleased to do so, but I would not be so presumptuous as to initiate contact of any kind.

I believe that Micah’s thoughts present intelligent and valuable insights for all of us.

Relationship?

The act of writing a book is, for me, very far from my readers (future?).

I think that you are talking about selling a book, which is a business.

Those authors, lucky enough to have an editorial behind, are mostly isolated from that phase. It is only the humble self-publishers that have the burden.

I write for myself and if somebody reads my books I am happy. But I especially like to hear their thought, critiques and reactions.

Writing to make $ seems to be too far away.

Antonela wrote: "Wow, such a mix of thoughts over here.

Mixed thoughts, yes. We communicate in different ways as much as we pick friends differently.

Katie wrote: Social media has completely distorted the role of author and reader. Part of that is the need to advertise - as an author you are constantly told not to spam, but to build a relationship with people so they will want to read your work. To be honest, I'm not sure what the 'right' thing to do is. .."

Um, I think a good place to begin is to get clear on your core values as a person. That will help direct how you work. For example you may want to be helpful and respectful or useful. Build a connection based on that.
Aligning your values with what you perform should be the closest thing to the "right thing" for you but these values can differ from author to author. That's why this topic has mixed views.
But 3 things that do help is generosity, complete honesty and opening up who you really are, that simple human being.

D.C. wrote: "I've had fans complain I was being mean to my characters. Particularly that I should cut poor Leon (from my Unexpected Gifts series) a break. Readers can get very attached to author's imaginary friends, especially in some genres. And you realize that I have about four fans, so I imagine it's much worse for some writers."

My last book featured an antagonist whose actions, while 'well-meant', seriously injure a friend of the protagonist. Since the protagonist is an assassin, she puts him down, but one of my steadfast fans was dismayed that 'I killed him' and that I could've 'changed' him so that he could stay in the series.

I told her, 'Katla killed him' and she realized that from Katla's POV, the antagonist had gone too far and she did what she always does when she feels she or her loved ones are threatened...

The fan agreed with my assessment and with Katla's behaviour, but she still grieved for the character...

Cphe wrote: "I know that authors and more importantly their work needs to be seen/heard but I really think it should be left to the reader to make the initial contact, not the author."

I think some authors bypass a simple step of asking for permission.

You ask to meet someone for coffee.
You ask to take that girl on a date.
You Ask!
But in the right way. There's always a right way to connect.

James wrote: "I was following another thread about an authors characters, and most agreed that they become quite attached to their imaginary friends. I suppose some readers can feel the same way."

You have no idea how much I obsessed over the Hunger Games characters and world. Damn, that book was so good!

Cphe wrote: "In a way it seems a bit rude to me.....if a reader has a question (a simple question) to be answered in their profile and that question is tossed aside and the essence of the email is along the lines of.....

I'm sure you would enjoy my book/books etc.....then that is telling me that the author isn't really interested in my thoughts etc..wanting to form a "relationship" to discuss books etc.

That to me is spamming, "

That "I'm sure you would enjoy my book" really is annoying and definitely not the right way to begin any dialogue. In the context of an email, tweet or message that is just wrong and sort of inhuman when it comes to communication.

Focus should go to readers not just to money or reviews.

Cphe wrote: "That to me is spamming, "

It is. And it's a blatant disregard to someone's feelings.

Lately I've been getting friend requests from authors because I marked their book to-read, or in-collection. I haven't requested to be a fan, and I find this intrusive, and too big brother-ish. It puts me off actually reading their books because of the possible reaction if my review is not favorable.

Do readers see "friend reviews" listed the way authors do? It doesn't look good, to me. I didn't even know it would happen until a Fringe Fiction friend reviewed one of my books. I can't even remember why we "friended" each other--mutual interests, I think, since I'm a fan of her blog--but anyway, I see "friend review" and I always think it weakens the review even if it was unsolicited and genuine.

I've never contacted people who have my books on their to-read lists. I don't even look at their names. The main benefit of being GR friends, as far as I can see, is getting the updates so I can see interesting discussion contributions and blog posts. I've found some good groups through seeing what my friends were talking about.

I friend people after they've reviewed my book. Or whenever I see they've added my book. If they accept my friend req, then they can see my posts and updates.

Ok, there really are more than one type of author, but there are MANY kinds of businesses too. (If we want to be considered as a business. So from that perspective...

There are businesses where the owner knows your name, even if you've only been there once.

There are businesses that are cold and calculated. No communication, no friendly secretary. They exist to provide a service only, not to be of service.

There are businesses that'll cold call you and interrupt your dinner.

There are businesses that maybe aren't thriving that want to hear from their customers to improve their business.

There are businesses that only cater to a certain demographic, and they're happy there.

I want to be the Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives version of a business, combined with the improvement model.

Amber wrote: "Do readers see "friend reviews" listed the way authors do? It doesn't look good, to me. I didn't even know it would happen until a Fringe Fiction friend reviewed one of my books. I can't even remem..."

You only see your friend's reviews separated from the herd. No one else will know if they are your friends or not at a glance. It's only evident if someone starts digging through your account looking for connections. I don't have that kind of time to waste or care about that kind of thing. Amber it doesn't seem odd to me if an author's Goodread's friends review their book. I don't mind becoming friends with authors, just prefer it to happen organically, like connecting in groups, or something.

I've had both 'friends' and 'non-friends' review my books and I just look at the content of the review, to see if it makes sense to me. I don't prefer one over the other.

Melissa wrote: "Ok, there really are more than one type of author, but there are MANY kinds of businesses too. (If we want to be considered as a business. So from that perspective...

There are businesses where th..."

I want to be the kind with the hot friendly secretary, ...oh crap I have that.

Put me down as the guy at the end of the bar drinking scotch in the waterfront dive.

I want to be the cool anonymous multi-billionaire business magnate who reaps all the rewards from products you don't associate with my bottom line...but in reality I'm more like a busker performing across the street from the parking lot of a really crowded music festival. {:S

Ahummmm. Are there ANY READERS in this group? The person who set this up, specified "READERS" and all I see are writers commenting here (piling on?) and any poor "reader" is probably being scared away.

I'm beginning to think that there are no readers-only in this group, just authors cruising for sales.

Yes, I know that writers also read, but being a writer skews your outlook on such a question as this. Sooo, the initial question isn't being answered.

Premise: All authors are assumed to be cruising for sales when they participate in a discussion.

It may be true that no readers-only participated, and therefore the question has not been answered to Al's satisfaction from that source,but it is not necessarily true that all authors only participate with ulterior motives. That may be the belief of many GR members, though.

Premise: Author participation scares readers-only away. Since this topic was about author-reader relationships, if that should be true,it would imply readers generally might not want such a thing.

These premises can be tested.

The authors should all withdraw and see if readers emerge. It will be an interesting experiment. 'Bye.

Amber wrote: "Premise: All authors are assumed to be cruising for sales when they participate in a discussion.

It may be true that no readers-only participated, and therefore the question has not been answered..."

It might be better to change the title to match what's happening and then start another thread with dire consequences for any author/writer (there's a difference) who dares to comment. I think this thread has already been poisoned for readers because of the existing mass of comments.

There are a lot of questions involving reader tastes, likes, and "wants" that I'd like to see answered. Yes, for my own betterment as an author and "marketer". Do readers even want to talk to authors (we're a strange group) or would they rather see us spend more time writing the next book? Or some mix? Where do they want to interface with authors? (Am I wasting time on a blog?, here?, Facebook?) You get the idea.

Heck, I don't even know if there ARE any "readers" here that aren't also writers.

Up until one year ago, I was a "reader-only". Up until four or five years ago, I hadn't read much because I was busy with career and child-having (a period of ten-plus years). Before that, being close to authors wasn't much of an option for me. So, I think I'm at least partially qualified to answer the question. I still nearly wet my pants when my fave authors reply to one of my tweets or reads our Facebook comments on their site.

And dang if I wouldn't want to sit in Catherine Asaro's shadow as she sings at a club with her band... but there you have it.

Stephen wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Ok, there really are more than one type of author, but there are MANY kinds of businesses too. (If we want to be considered as a business. So from that perspective...

There are bus..."

Live the dream, Stephen, live the dream.

I would be surprised to find a writer who wasn't a reader first (me included). But once you become an "author wanna-be" or the real thing, your outlook changes. That's why I'm interested in the opinions of readers who aren't also writers. That's the largest part of our market, more so than each other.

Al wrote: "I would be surprised to find a writer who wasn't a reader first (me included). But once you become an "author wanna-be" or the real thing, your outlook changes. That's why I'm interested in the opi..."

Well, I'm a reader, not a writer.

Paganalexandria, the floor is yours.

Well in an earlier post, I did comment about my need not to know too much personal info about my favorite authors because it tends skew how I interpret scenes sometimes. My best example of this is a certain popular urban fantasy/erotica writer, she has a tendency to over-share, and I can't help connecting mid series personality changes to her personal life. Especially, since she's admittedly based characters on people in her real life. This established my hard and fast rule, of only seeking publishing date information about my favorites online.

Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "Lately I've been getting friend requests from authors because I marked their book to-read, or in-collection. I haven't requested to be a fan, and I find this intrusive, and too big brother-ish. It ..."

I would think as long as it's an honest review that anything else would not matter.

I am not an expert on the subject of author/reader communication protocol. The following advice was provided by the representative, assigned by the publisher of my novel, to coordinate promotional and publicity activities. It has since proved to be very sound and effective advice.

The communication page of a book or author's promotional website and/or the Ask the Author segment of a literary website are all that is necessary for an author/reader communication venue. The reader should always intiate the contact; never the author. The author's response should be professional, polite, and succinct. An author should totally ignore negative or insulting diatibes, since such comments are intended soley to anger the recipient and incite an emotional response.

I think the relationship should be totally professional at all times. I am a reader :D ... Professionalism is very important to me at all times.

I am not sure what you mean by being professional. Does that mean do not make friends with the people who read my book.I am an author with one book. Writing my second one now. I have made many acquaintances from the people who attended my book discussion/signing. I also have been invited to dinners and lunches at book club meetings and met some wonderful people who I keep in touch with. Maybe because my book is a memoir with my family dynamics which people relate to and they feel like they know me. People hug me when they are leaving.
This was a very interesting question. I never thought about it before. Are you suggesting that an author should keep a distance from their readers? I don't think I can do that.

Julia wrote: "I am not sure what you mean by being professional. Does that mean do not make friends with the people who read my book.I am an author with one book. Writing my second one now. I have made many acqu..."

To me this means the same as it would in most any business environment to a point. You can have an extremely friendly relationship with people you work with, and for. When you foster a close working relationship, there should always be something that prevents you from stepping over certain lines. I know my hands-off thing isn't the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ norm, and wouldn't expect everyone to have that philosophy, so friending people is okay, in itself. Jumping on said friend's review to "correct" their opinion of your book would fall squarely under the non-professional umbrella. Friending people in order to spam information about your book, would land there too.

Some mistake acquaintanceship with friendship. The average person will make many acquaintances during their lifetime and a few friends.

Author/reader relationship should be the same as any other person-to-person relationship in the world. Respect must flow both ways, that is to say, the author must give as much respect to his readers as he expects the readers to give back.

I have known some authors (and singers and actors and etc.) who seem to think they are a step above everyone else in the world or perhaps just the "common folk." Do that and you've lost my interest no matter how good your product is.

In conclusion, I think that respect is the most important thing in the relationship. Give that freely to readers and they will be more likely to help you.

Cphe wrote: "If your "friends" review your book then how can you be absolutely 100% certain that their review is unbiased."

Good question, Cphe. The answer is, you can't. The same logic pertains to sales.

I am personally aware of thirty-five friends, relatives, and acquaintances who have bought either a print, electronic, or audio format of my novel since it was published three years ago.

Since I am pretty sure most, if not all of them, only bought it because they knew me, I always deduct those thirty-five sales when tallying how many total units have been sold to-date, upon receipt of the quarterly sales report and royalty check in order to determine the popularity among the general reading population.

Cphe wrote: "If your "friends" review your book then how can you be absolutely 100% certain that their review is unbiased."

In the final analysis, "friends" can't be any worse or better than street teams or super fans that rate books 5 stars months before it's even published.

Cphe wrote: "If your 'friends' review your book then how can you be absolutely 100% certain that their review is unbiased."

You can't be "absolutely 100% certain" a total stranger's review is unbiased -- in fact, it probably isn't -- so the question's moot.

Lance wrote: "Cphe wrote: "If your 'friends' review your book then how can you be absolutely 100% certain that their review is unbiased."

You can't be "absolutely 100% certain" a total stranger's review is unbi..."

100% certainty is inapplicable to any aspect of life in general; which is why a statistical analysis course is usually included in any busines, science, political, or liberal arts curriculum.

Instead of absolute certainty: decisions, protocol, and experimentation must be based upon statistical probability, derived from investigative research.

Investagative reaearch has revealed that, in any scenario, the opinion of a close acquaintance or friend is far more likely to be biased than that of a stranger.

There is another issue here and that relates to the nature of the review. There is a popular tendency to confuse the author with the text; few readers seem to be able to accept a narrative for its own sake these days. Too many people seem to be searching for the author in his/her words, and so often this is wholly inappropriate. Each novel has its own integrity; it cannot be recuded to a reading of what is known or surmised about the author. The same thing happens in film reviews; reviewers use the actors' names not the names of the characters they are portraying.
The other confusion in book reviews that I have seen on Amazon sites relates to the readers themselves. Just because one doesn't personally enjoy a book doesn't make it a 'bad or 1*' book. I've seen people give well-written books bad reviews with comments such as 'Not my cup of tea'. That, to me, is a very unfair review. So what happens when your so-called friend doesn't like your work? Moral dilemma or a fair analysis?

Your comment, Jim, although I don't disagree that someone you know is more likely to review with bias, reminds me of Benjamin's Disraeli's remark that "there are lies, damned lies and statistics." :D