 |
| Photo credit: torbakhopper he dead on Flickr |
I will openly admit that I haven’t read the full article that started it all, mostly because as I skimmed through it, I started getting a little nervous that reading a post about how an author stalked a reviewer to the point of confrontation might trigger some anxiety issues. So I skimmed the article and watched people’s reactions online.
A few days passed and the conversation continued. The hashtag #HaleNo cropped up and one of my lovely Twitter friends said this:
Spent most of my early career in marketing/pr & I'll tell you this: the more you talk about people's bad deeds the more power you give them.
— Amy Trueblood (@atrueblood5) October 20, 2014
That tweet kind of stayed with me throughout the day as the hashtag began to pick up steam. And I thought about what I wanted to say, because I felt like I should say something about the whole situation, seeing how I’m someone very much involved in the publishing industry and the whole stalking thing really bothered me, but I wasn’t really sure where to start or if I should even say anything at all.
Then I remembered how during the whole you should be ashamed to read YA explosion, the YA community really came together and started their own positive hashtags supporting YA, and saying why they were proud to read YA, and turning a nasty, negative situation into a really positive and wonderful one.
And I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if someone did that with this situation?
And I realized that’s what I wanted to say. I wanted to change the conversation to something positive, even if it was just within my feed.
So I tweeted this:
And I started nominating writers I really admire, like Beth Revis, and Tahereh Mafi, and Leigh Bardugo, and Corinne Duyvis. And I asked other people to join along.
I thought it’d be pretty cool if a few people jumped in and it’d be really nice if for just a little while, we supported each other and highlighted the really wonderful community we have. I thought it’d be great to bring attention to some authors who deserve it rather than focusing on negativity.
And you know? It happened. Except basically 2,000 times bigger than I expected.
The hashtag exploded, and I know I’m biased and all, having started it, but it has to be one of my favorite Twitter trends ever because the people there? SO OVERWHELMINGLY WONDERFUL. Seeing so many people speak out to bring attention to authors who have helped them, who they admire, who they see as positive influences or just write plain awesome books has been incredible. The whole thing makes me so happy and I might be a little addicted to the positivity in there because it really really is so genuinely amazing.
So I just want to thank everyone. Because the whole thing has been an incredible reminder of how wonderful the writing community is, and it absolutely would not have been the same without your participation.
So thank you. You’re awesome. Virtual hugs for you all.
And I realized that’s what I wanted to say. I wanted to change the conversation to something positive, even if it was just within my feed.
So I tweeted this:
Sometimes writers behave badly, which is sad. But I'd rather instead focus on writers who are talented, kind & supportive. #authoryes
— EVIL Jae (@Ava_Jae) October 21, 2014
And I started nominating writers I really admire, like Beth Revis, and Tahereh Mafi, and Leigh Bardugo, and Corinne Duyvis. And I asked other people to join along.
I thought it’d be pretty cool if a few people jumped in and it’d be really nice if for just a little while, we supported each other and highlighted the really wonderful community we have. I thought it’d be great to bring attention to some authors who deserve it rather than focusing on negativity.
And you know? It happened. Except basically 2,000 times bigger than I expected.
The hashtag exploded, and I know I’m biased and all, having started it, but it has to be one of my favorite Twitter trends ever because the people there? SO OVERWHELMINGLY WONDERFUL. Seeing so many people speak out to bring attention to authors who have helped them, who they admire, who they see as positive influences or just write plain awesome books has been incredible. The whole thing makes me so happy and I might be a little addicted to the positivity in there because it really really is so genuinely amazing.
So I just want to thank everyone. Because the whole thing has been an incredible reminder of how wonderful the writing community is, and it absolutely would not have been the same without your participation.
So thank you. You’re awesome. Virtual hugs for you all.
