You know what writers *never* talk about? Feeling butt-hurt by the results of polls and contests. We tend to suppress or at least muffle our confusion and disappointment -- perfectly natural reactions -- for fear of looking like sore losers. And thats a crying shame. Last March, when my book Xylophone won the EPIC Award in contemporary fiction, I immediately thought of one of the other finalists. Wed had a bit of interaction on Twitter. (Hed made a point of posting on my timeline and was a very personable and gracious man.) Id more or less congratulated him in advance, because I was certain his ambitious novel would win -- and I got the impression he was just as certain. When my humble novella took the prize, I heard nothing more from him. I was tempted to get in touch and say, Dude, I honestly dont know how this happened. Im as gobsmacked as you probably are. Id hoped he would vent, so we could ponder the variables that lead to such decisions. Now, in the wake of the Rainbow Awards, I know there are authors who are depressed and befuddled by their books performances. Yet no one has said so because of all this public image nonsense were hung up on. So ... heres a {big hug} for those writers who need one, and Ill gratefully accept hugs in return.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 18:08:18 +0000
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