I read a fascinating article (well, it was to me anyways) by Jason Pinter on the mystique of authors. He asks the question: Is social networking killing the author mystique? It speaks to the fact that many authors are using (and abusing) social networking sites to make friends, build a following and sell books. Since social networking is still in its infancy, there are many well known, very successful writers that have never used social networking and have done just fine building a readership. (King, Rowling, Grisham, Graham). The question boils down to this: Are people more intrigued by an author that they know little about vs one they know too much about thanks for their tweets, posts and updates? Sure social networking can increase the number of people you’re connected to, but is this onslaught of information a turn off or a turn on?
As an author I love social networking because it has allowed me to connect and reconnect with many people that I otherwise would never “talk” to. (Talk is used loosely here. Post stuff on their wall, retweet their messages, poke them, give them the thumbs up is more like it.) And for that I am really thankful. But there is a responsibility (self inflicted in my case) that comes along with being so well connected. Once you start, you can’t stop. Once you click, you need your fix. Now that people know I have a website (and since the address is printed in the back of all my books) there is an expectation that I’ll use that website; that I’ll post my thoughts, feelings and musings on a regular basis (in my case, Monday through Friday). And sometimes that’s hard because I don’t see my life, thoughts or emotions as all that exciting. Some days I have no clue what to write about and it frustrates me. It’s hard to find the balance between what’s interesting and what’s boring. Who cares what I had for breakfast or did over the weekend? Do readers of my website want to know about the sometimes mundane moments as well as the memorable ones? I am still trying to figure that out. I love connecting with my readers via my website, but in between posting, tweeting and updating the fun of it all can easily be forgotten. And fun should never be forgotten.
And what about this mystique thing? Well, when you’ve written a book about the inner workings of your heart as it was dragged through a year of blind dates, there isn’t much mystique left. Or so you think. There are things from that year, and my past and my present that I have not shared. It wasn’t an intentional omission or an oversight it was just because those things did not come to mind or lend themselves to my story. What I’ve kept out of the book are things that never fit in it in the first place. And, with all the social networking I’m doing I had to be sure to keep a few things for my tweets and posts, right?
So to answer the question at hand, I believe mystique is what you make of it. Yes, people are sharing more and more information about themselves and it may seem that all their dirty laundry has been aired, but I’m guessing there is still plenty to uncover that may or may not be reduced to 140 characters. I believe the mystique lives on. You have no clue what I had for dinner tonight, and I like it that way!
Well said. We put what we want out there on our blogs, via tweets, on our walls. There is always something left that people don’t know about us.
I agree with HuckabyFam. My online persona is way more lighthearted. I don’t go into the pain of my life at all. And there’s plenty of it!