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matt_zimmerAs I do with every single note I get, I ignored it. It's amazing how pissed off this makes people.
The note was about how I warn on the very front page that The Un-Iverse is structured like a novel and needs to be read in its entirety in the proper order to properly be digested and appreciated.
This person, this published writer, thought that was an asshole thing to say. People sample comic books in and out of their runs and that specific "demand" will chase people off.
First of all, people can "sample" other comic books because they are NOT structured like a novel. And an Author wanting their work to be read as intended is in fact a reasonable want from a creator. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think Stephen King is an asshole for basically calling every single person who reads the last page of the book first an utter monster and a bad person. But he's allowed that opinion. And while my view is not nearly as extreme regarding spoilers (although I avoid them, I get why other people eat them up) I am confident people picking up the saga midway through will get almost nothing from it. It will not just be hard to follow. The character moments I've spent years building will not land and mean nothing.
As for scaring and chasing people off? Dummy, that's why the note is there! I'm warning people ahead of time that the saga is NOT for casual readers, and requires an alarming amount of commitment up-front. Does that chase people off? Yes! Deliberately! I don't want people to waste their time on a huge sprawling saga they'll need to pay attention to and reread several times without knowing that's the deal ahead of time. I would guess the front page of the site chases off a LOT of readers, especially casual ones. I am perfectly okay with that. The readers who are willing to delve deep after that specific warning are my kinds of people, and who this is actually for.
This person, a published author, they reminded me, was annoyed I refused to take notes, or change my story or approach via feedback. Almost all other writers do this, I'm told.
And you know what? Most fiction sucks ass. There are very few creators who are consistently confident in their own visions, at least enough that I actually trust them at the time.
I LIKE the way I do things. I LIKE that my saga is a mess. I LIKE that some people hate it. Hell, I LOVE that last bit.
I could be way off base here, but I always get the sneaking suspicion Jasper Hansen also utterly ignores notes and finds them useless, no matter who they are from. He can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's something I dig about his work, and it's why I feel our stuff vibes in spirit, if not content.
The note was about how I warn on the very front page that The Un-Iverse is structured like a novel and needs to be read in its entirety in the proper order to properly be digested and appreciated.
This person, this published writer, thought that was an asshole thing to say. People sample comic books in and out of their runs and that specific "demand" will chase people off.
First of all, people can "sample" other comic books because they are NOT structured like a novel. And an Author wanting their work to be read as intended is in fact a reasonable want from a creator. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think Stephen King is an asshole for basically calling every single person who reads the last page of the book first an utter monster and a bad person. But he's allowed that opinion. And while my view is not nearly as extreme regarding spoilers (although I avoid them, I get why other people eat them up) I am confident people picking up the saga midway through will get almost nothing from it. It will not just be hard to follow. The character moments I've spent years building will not land and mean nothing.
As for scaring and chasing people off? Dummy, that's why the note is there! I'm warning people ahead of time that the saga is NOT for casual readers, and requires an alarming amount of commitment up-front. Does that chase people off? Yes! Deliberately! I don't want people to waste their time on a huge sprawling saga they'll need to pay attention to and reread several times without knowing that's the deal ahead of time. I would guess the front page of the site chases off a LOT of readers, especially casual ones. I am perfectly okay with that. The readers who are willing to delve deep after that specific warning are my kinds of people, and who this is actually for.
This person, a published author, they reminded me, was annoyed I refused to take notes, or change my story or approach via feedback. Almost all other writers do this, I'm told.
And you know what? Most fiction sucks ass. There are very few creators who are consistently confident in their own visions, at least enough that I actually trust them at the time.
I LIKE the way I do things. I LIKE that my saga is a mess. I LIKE that some people hate it. Hell, I LOVE that last bit.
I could be way off base here, but I always get the sneaking suspicion Jasper Hansen also utterly ignores notes and finds them useless, no matter who they are from. He can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's something I dig about his work, and it's why I feel our stuff vibes in spirit, if not content.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-16 11:19 pm (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-17 01:07 am (UTC)https://gildaandmeekandtheuniverse.blogspot.com/2020/02/welcome-to-gilda-and-meek-and-un-iverse.html
I read three of your poems at that link. I'm going to read some more later tonight. I thought they were cool in that I have never read any other poems like them. You were sort of pushing the medium there, which is brave and real.
Edit:
I JUST read The Velveteen Rabbit. Real is my new favorite word.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-17 04:04 am (UTC)I'm amused by the idea of blaming the mayor for hiring an idiot. If only.
I have boosted the signal on my blog.
If you have a crowdfunding mode active (e.g. you sell swag of your characters, or you have a donate button) then you might be interested in the Rose & Bay Awards.
>> I read three of your poems at that link.<<
I'm glad you liked them.
>> I'm going to read some more later tonight. I thought they were cool in that I have never read any other poems like them. <<
:D There aren't a lot of people writing narrative poetry, which is most of what I write; and when I write linguistic poetry, that's even farther out.
>>You were sort of pushing the medium there, which is brave and real.<<
Yep, that's me. I'm a pushy little thing.
>> I JUST read The Velveteen Rabbit. Real is my new favorite word.<<
Yay! :D
Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-17 10:20 am (UTC)I finished The Adventures Of Aldornia and Zenobia. Pretty subversive stuff. Your characters don't like being told how to behave and refuse to take the note. I like that.
Edit:
Would you mind if I added you to my friends circle?
Edit 2:
Also read Dragonsilk (or at least what was on LiveJournal). Still looking around.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-18 03:20 am (UTC)That's a good sign.
>> But I am just so consumed in putting the rest of the saga to paper I can't really focus on swag. Maybe if it had taken off I wouldn't mind somebody else handling that (I LOVE swag!) but I'm too busy right now to merchandise! <<
It's okay. You can always come back to swag if you have more time later.
>> I finished The Adventures Of Aldornia and Zenobia.<<
Yay!
>> Pretty subversive stuff. Your characters don't like being told how to behave and refuse to take the note. I like that.<<
That's pretty consistent across all my work.
And yes, this is one of several series I wrote explicitly as subversion, in this case, live happy lesbians because I was annoyed by the dead lesbian stop-trope.
>> Edit:
Would you mind if I added you to my friends circle? <<
Go for it! I can't add people back right now because my account is jammed, though.
>>Edit 2:
Also read Dragonsilk (or at least what was on LiveJournal). Still looking around.<<
That's cool. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2025-04-18 03:48 am (UTC)I will add you to my circle and feel free to add me when you get unjammed.
I will read more of your stuff tomorrow.