Authors Online

One of the best things about the internet is the ability to connect with low-profile celebrities.  Of course, I don't mean "low-profile" as an insult.  In fact, I prefer "low-profile" celebrities because you can admire them just as much as you might a "high-profile" celebrity, but they're more accessible.

Author Holly Black

Several years ago, I wrote to my favorite author at the time, Holly Black.  She is still one of my favorite authors, but I don't know that she's my absolute favorite at the moment.  (Actually, I don't think I have an absolute favorite right now.)  In any case, I wrote her a letter and felt that, because she lived in Amherst, Massachusetts (not too far from where I lived), I had a good chance of getting a response from her.

While I expected a response, I was not convinced I would get actual answers to the several questions I posed to her.  I included questions about how she did her research for her books and if she liked the Boston Red Sox (because if she didn't, that would be a deal-breaker -- just kidding, but it was important to me).  A few weeks after mailing out the letter, I received a handwritten note back from her, answering all of my questions in detail.  I think this is a pretty phenomenal thing.

Now, if I had written to Johnny Depp, chances are I would never have gotten such a response, let alone a response at all.

Holly also included some stickers that promoted her books, one of which was autographed.  I really appreciated that she took the time to answer my questions thoughtfully and became determined to be an author like her.  (Of course, that meant getting published first, but it's all details.)

Although I sincerely advocate for the Post Office and letter writing (see my post: My Baby Just Wrote Me a Letter), websites like Tumblr and Facebook have given fans an opportunity for authors and their fans to interact on a more immediate schedule.  Tumble, for example, allows its users to submit questions to blogs which they follow and authors are likely to answer questions they receive.  Of course, I can't speak to the number of questions that go unanswered, but my dashboard (the news feed of Tumblr) typically has at least a few questions answered by the authors I follow at any given time.

I imagine this also depends largely on the author, but the authors I follow (Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and John Green to name a few) tend to interact with their fans and followers rather frequently.

In addition to interacting directly, authors also post content that is more personal in nature on their blogs.  Holly Black's Pinterest account, for example, includes pins of clothing she likes, quotes about writing, and research for her novels.  It's a really great way to get to know your favorite authors.  And if you're like many readers and are shy, then you don't even have to actually talk to the author in order to learn more about them on a more personal level.

Tumblr is a popular site for authors.

I'm sure there are authors out there who pay people to run their blogs for them.  At a writing conference I went to last month, some writers discussed serving as ghost writers on blogs.  While they weren't necessarily ghost writing for authors, there are certainly instances of that out there.  Of course, I couldn't say which blogs exemplify this as the point of a ghost writer is to be just that -- a ghost writer, that is, someone who you cannot "see" or are not aware of (hence "ghost").  (Sorry for the poor phrasing there.  I'm just doing a bit of word vomit at the moment, so this post is a bit less organized than typically if you're just joining my magical circle of readers.)

This interaction between writers and their fans creates a great camaraderie between not only the authors and their fans but also the fans themselves.  Because of the internet, people get to meet other people who share their interests.  They can discuss the "meaning" behind their favorite works and get excited about author announcements.

Plus, authors can get direct feedback from their fans.  I once wrote a review on Livejournal for a young adult novel called Geek Magnet by Kate Brian.  Shortly after posting, the author commented on my post, noting that she had not thought of her main character the way I had perceived her.  She seemed grateful for the feedback and I was glad that at least one author took the time to read reviews of their actual readers than of just people who are professional critics.

As much as I love old fashioned things like letters and "real books" (see my last post), I love the internet, too.  It's a great tool to connect with people directly and to get into communities you might not have otherwise.

Authors I Follow on Tumblr
John Green
Holly Black
Cassandra Clare
Maureen Johnson

Search your favorite author on Google with "tumblr" or any other social media platform (Twitter is another popular one) and see what comes up!  Just be aware that there are fakes out there.

Holly Black image courtesy of Strange and Fascinating.
Tumblr logo image courtesy of Tumblr's Twitter.