The Fangirl's (or
Fanboy's) Bill of Rights
Recently I joined 450 other authors for
the Romance Writers of America's Annual Signing to Benefit
Literacy. I had a great turn out. All my copies of The Siren
were snapped up quickly, and many readers came and talked to me about
how much they loved the Original Sinners series. It was a great
night, but I was sad when a fan told me later on Twitter that she was
too nervous to come say hello to me. So for that nervous and
intimdated fan, I give her and the world The Fangirl's Bill of
Rights.
Right #1 – You have
the right to remain silent.
Seriously, if you don't want to meet an
author you love, no big deal. Don't let a friend pressure you into
talking to someone you're not ready to talk to yet. Sometimes talking
to a favorite author can ruin the mystery of the books so feel free
to pretend authors don't exist and just enjoy the books on their own
merits.
Right #2 – You have
the right NOT to remain silent.
Every single author is terrified that
no one will show up at his or her booksigning. It's heartbreaking and
a blow to the ego to work with a bookstore for a couple months to set
up a signing and then sit there alone without a single reader to talk
to, without a single book sold. Trust me, authors at booksignings
want you to come to their signings. It's not an inconvenience to meet
a fan at a signing. If we didn't want to meet our readers, we simply
wouldn't do signings.
Right #3 – You have
the right to ask questions.
Some of my readers have confessed that
they had “so many questions” about the book series, but were
afraid to ask them. Why? There is no subject in the world more fun
for me to talk about than my own books. Ask away! I love to know that
readers are so engaged in my books that they've given them deep
thought and come up with questions.
Right #4 – You have
the right to be treated with respect by the author.
I love my fans. You all keep me in
business. I write for you. If I have a big long line I can't promise
to have a twenty-minute in-depth conversation with you, but I will do
everything I can to give you a good experience. If an author is rude
to you simply for saying “Hello, I love your work,” then you have
the right to say goodbye to that author. Again, if we didn't want to
meet our fans (and some writers are shy introverts who don't like
meeting strangers, and there's nothing wrong with that) then we
wouldn't agree to do public events. If we're doing a public event,
we're here for you. Just don't tackle us if you see us in the bathroom. Peeing time is private time.
Right #5 – You have
the right to get a reasonable amount of stuff signed.
I'm happy to sign anything. I've signed
leather kinky toys, boobs, books people clearly bought at used
bookstores thus guaranteeing I didn't make a penny off their
purchases (and that's ok, I buy used books too)... Different authors have different comfort levels. I'll sign anything. Some authors will only sign books. Don't take that personally. Also, different
venues have different rules. A hugely in-demand author like Stephen
King might only sign one or two books total per reader simply because
the bookstore is trying to get people through the line as quickly as
possible. Book limits are almost always defined by the bookstore or
venue. I overheard people in line once complaining about a famous
author refusing to sign more than two books. I was in that same
signing and I knew that author. I also knew that it was a venue rule and not the author's rule to only sign two books.
Just be aware of the venue's rules before you go to a signing so you
don't leave disappointed.
Right #6 – You have
the right to squee all you want!
I have lost track of the number of fans
who have APOLOGIZED to me for being so enthusastic when meeting me.
Are you kidding? That's the coolest thing ever! Writing a book is a
solitary walk down a hard lonely road. We write books in solitude,
edit in solitude. We don't have coworkers. We don't have
cheerleaders. We sit alone in a room and put our guts on paper. It is
the most wonderful thing in the world to meet someone who has
connected with these fictional worlds created in our fortress of
solitude. It's a beautiful thing to know you've touched someone's
heart, made them think, made them feel. Writers feed off the
enthusiasm of readers. On our hard days it's those little squees and
love from readers that keep us going. Squee away and don't apologize for
it. You're excited about BOOKS and books are the best thing in the
world to get excited about.
Right #7 – You have
the right to be awesome.
And guess what? You are!
