The web has made novelists far more accessible to their readers than ever before. But, as author Alison Kent observes, there’s a downside.
I am often amazed that because authors choose to make themselves accessible on
the web, readers feel they can say anything to them in an email.
In my case, it means I get inundated with emails from people asking me to buy their series idea or read their scripts. I delete most of those (and occasionally post some of the best ones here). But I also get a lot of wonderful notes from readers and viewers… and those make me feel great, especially the flood of get-well emails I received after my accident last April.
It’s still amazing to me that I can read a novel and, in many cases, easily email the author directly and let them know how much I enjoyed their book. And it’s still a big thrill for me to get a reply back. I hope I never become so jaded that it stops feeling special.
It’s even better to write the author a letter. I have replies from John Mortimer and George Macdonald Fraser on my bulletin board over my typewriter. E-mail is just not the same.
True — but it seems, somehow, that finding an author’s email address is much easier than getting hold of their home addresses. Authors are more accessible now, or so it appears, than they were before the arrival of the Internet.
And it’s faster to shoot off a quick e-mail, too.
Still, I have some letters from author I wrote when I was a kid still in my desk drawer.
Yes, I’m been harrashing authors all my life. I love it! And I’ve found if you start off with, “I loved your book,” they do, too.