tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post150455269126925452..comments2023-10-31T16:37:29.340+00:00Comments on A Salted: Don't be a twunt.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00597852661913928616noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-25051030131387336872013-06-23T22:10:04.886+01:002013-06-23T22:10:04.886+01:00Thank you SR Cloud (what an ace name Cloud is). Ye...Thank you SR Cloud (what an ace name Cloud is). Yes, twunts are all around, twuntdom is not limited to just writers. It's just so rude tho'. Stupid twunts!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597852661913928616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-41838259289796064402013-06-11T10:15:42.395+01:002013-06-11T10:15:42.395+01:00Relatedly, I had a friend who only ever contacted ...Relatedly, I had a friend who only ever contacted me when he was trying to sell something. As in literally flog merchandise. Well, he started out as a friend and we drifted apart. He never could close a deal with me. Last time I spoke to him, he was trying to offload a fridge. <br /><br />I recall he was suspended from school in the first year (he was 11 at the time) for stealing someone's violin. Bad genes maybe. Oddly, he rejoined the school in the 3rd year. He was a sublime cricketer, had an average intellect, was tall and lanky. He had yellow teeth as well. Why I am telling you this is to make it clear that unfortunately there are some people operating out there who take others for a ride. And they're not all writers. This guy, for instance, was flogging real estate in Spain, last I heard.<br /><br />Like the personality that's in your writing. I'll subscribe to your blog, I think. Why not. SR Cloudhttp://www.srcloud.infonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-13485062615625482002012-04-27T13:20:05.318+01:002012-04-27T13:20:05.318+01:00Wow, Bob, 50% is higher than I'd have ever gue...Wow, Bob, 50% is higher than I'd have ever guessed. Is it arrogance or ignorance? Maybe a combination of the two.<br /><br />Thanks, Alison and jennifer for your comments. Astonishing isn't it!<br /><br />Elaine, twunt is my favourite word - it's so satisfying!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597852661913928616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-86946638968767844192012-04-25T20:15:14.136+01:002012-04-25T20:15:14.136+01:00Listening to a podcast interview with author A. Ma...Listening to a podcast interview with author A. Manette Ansay today (Barnes & Noble, Meet The Writers podcast), she said that about 50% of the students she sees who want to be writers come to writing without being readers. I don't know how typical that is, but I was surprised the number was so high.Bob Jacobshttp://www.bobjacobs.co.uk/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-60711870373070621182012-04-25T09:18:27.003+01:002012-04-25T09:18:27.003+01:00Hi Sara, I'd never come across the word 't...Hi Sara, I'd never come across the word 'twunt' before. It's got quite a ring, and one of those words you immediately guess the meaning to, so I had to google it. What a combination of anatomy, I must say! :-)<br /><br />I don't network at all, so I can't speak, and when I do, I come across as so awkward, it just doesn't work. So I would be just like you, liable to get hurt by people who just want to get on with their career. But on that one point of 'not reading other people's work', I would contend that it is the most basic requirement for being a writer. How can you develop your writing style and cultivate any smidgeon of talent you possess if you don't read? And that means the good and the bad. And the 'just okay'. So many many famous writers, gifted talented ones, have said and been quoted, about this topic and it comes down to two words, "Read everything."E.P. Chiewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08952934075736969157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-19949205329916487042012-04-20T07:06:29.442+01:002012-04-20T07:06:29.442+01:00how would someone even learn to be a writer if the...how would someone even learn to be a writer if they don't like to read. your'e right!jennifer andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00376053334977127834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-52018498944468962152012-04-19T12:15:46.394+01:002012-04-19T12:15:46.394+01:00Great post, Sara. I just can't understand the ...Great post, Sara. I just can't understand the attitude of that guy who doesn't read and who expected you to do his work for him. You have a lot of patience and tact! But sadly I have come across types just like that. Sadly, some people will just squeeze what they can out of other people and then move on. I don't get much of it in real life but I am getting sick of some people on twitter endlessly asking me to promote their books in DMs and emails. Drives me crazy!Alison Percivalhttp://alisonpercival.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-52771367184542507432012-04-18T11:02:04.434+01:002012-04-18T11:02:04.434+01:00Great post Sara. Not had the misfortune of coming ...Great post Sara. Not had the misfortune of coming across the second type of twunt you mention, but I have come across plenty of the first. <br /><br />On my first ever writing course there was a guy on there who simply didn't see the point of reading other people's work. Needless to say, I don't think he faired well when it came time for final marks and feedback. <br /><br />Since there I have never failed to marvel at the 'writer' who claims he/she doesn't need to read others work, be it on sites they plan to sub to or peers on courses.<br /><br />On my MA, the single best thing so far has been the chance to read other people's work in progress and comment on it. Learnt so much from looking closely at the published novels in the reading unit and the work of my peers in the writing workshops. <br /><br />Thankfully, the writers I've dealt with so far online have all been lovely - which probably means I'm due a twunt or two of my own soon.dan powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131553102349479513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-6007008501338327352012-04-17T17:46:50.383+01:002012-04-17T17:46:50.383+01:00Thanks, Jenny.
Rachel - of course there are finan...Thanks, Jenny.<br /><br />Rachel - of course there are financial constraints - don't get me wrong, I only subscribe to a few, and I try to swap it around sometimes. <br /><br />Jim, Oh goodness, just writing your response highlights what a thoughtful person you are. I'm truly not saying that I think people should be commenting more or working harder with social media. Support can be shown in many ways - I'm not trying to dictate. Matt Bell's post resonated with me. Also, in this post I was reacting strongly to two things: 1) A writer who said he couldn't be bothered to read work at the places he was going to sub to. 2) Various encounters I've had whereby I have genuinely believed my relationship has progressed beyond social media into real life - only to discover that it was a fake friendship that lasted for the duration of my usefulness.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597852661913928616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-37323614330201343812012-04-17T15:47:04.730+01:002012-04-17T15:47:04.730+01:00I try very hard to play by the rules as I’ve glean...I try very hard to play by the rules as I’ve gleaned them from reading articles like this. But I find the whole networking thing hard and that’s putting it mildly. I simply can’t keep track of that many people. I have subscribed to your blog for months—years most likely—but I don’t have the time to comment on all your posts (or even most I would imagine) and after a while I start to forget why I began following you in the first place and you blur into the morass that is my online life. I find I can only handle a handful of friends. And yet I have books I need to get reviewed. So when a new one comes out (I have a new out at the moment) I do the rounds of those I think will do me a solid and some do but not all can and that’s fine because no one has the time to say, “Yes,” to everything they get offered; I understand that. Which leaves me where? I have to start looking at sites I’ve never followed which I have been doing and some say, “Yes,” but a far greater percentage don’t even bother replying to your e-mail. Either way I feel bad for not getting to know them first but I shouldn’t because the vast number of people who’ve approached me looking for reviews I’ve never heard of before and aren’t following my blog. Some of the people who’ve reviewed me in the past I’ve kept following but I wonder how many of them think of me as a friend? And are e-friends to be judged on a par with real-life-friends? That said, I’d hate to be thought of as a twunt or even especially self-centred. It’s a problem. I subscribe to 250 blogs more or less and for a while I really did try and touch base with most of them and I was wearing myself out doing so and losing perspective and when have I the time to read journals? I can barely keep up with the books I have to read. Reading has always been a pleasure throughout myself; now—incredibly, unbelievably—it has turned into a burden. So I had no choice but to cut back. And lose track.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-85125936983581540762012-04-17T03:04:05.215+01:002012-04-17T03:04:05.215+01:00Fabulous post, Sara.Fabulous post, Sara.Jenny Beattiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00640209636605410939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-83542829352066107742012-04-17T03:02:10.575+01:002012-04-17T03:02:10.575+01:00I still follow/cheer on/buy the books of most of t...I still follow/cheer on/buy the books of most of the people I connected with when I first started blogging. I used to comment more but people don't reciprocate. <br /><br />I subscribe to several journals and would love to subscribe to many more but I have no income of my own and my husband's only eeks out so far. I try to get around this by alternating subscriptions and by asking my library to subscribe.<br /><br />I like to think I'm supportive but I guess I could do more.<br /><br /><br />But a writer who doesn't read....sheesh - what is that all about?Rachel Fentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10046917627054462214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-16496766704538494172012-04-16T22:41:25.808+01:002012-04-16T22:41:25.808+01:00Thanks for your comment, SJIHoliday. Twitter does ...Thanks for your comment, SJIHoliday. Twitter does have a smattering of "here's an ad for my book" "Here's a link to my book" types. Of course, it's good to know but not 75 times a day! <br /><br />Oh, and how gorgeous in PANK in print? Such a wonderful journal. <br /><br />Vanessa - oh yeah, bitching to pals is mandatory :) <br /><br />Sophie, alas, you're probably right. I'd like to think it may give one or two pause for thought though. <br /><br />Lucy, twunt is a most excellent word :) And yes, how on earth can someone proclaim to be a writer whilst stating no interest in reading. Tsk!<br /><br />Kath - it's a difficult balance to try and be supportive to online writer chums whilst reviewing their work. Potentially disastrous! Sounds like a good plan to try to avoid :)<br /><br />Rebecca - Heehee - I swear he's real. I gently explained to him that even for an eagerly anticipated novel from a well established big name £20 is a hard sell. <br /><br />Juliette - It's astonishing really that people are so oblivious to their own bad manners. SIGH.<br /><br />Tania - You put so much into the writing community and it's always a pleasure to hear of your new work. <br />I agree with you re: being wary. I'm definitely the same which is why it continues to surprise me when I still end up hurt. To clarify, I'm talking about people I have exchanged emails with, met in real life, socialised with, swapped personal information with - not just people I've only met on twitter or wherever.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597852661913928616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-19264056881235327462012-04-16T22:12:13.871+01:002012-04-16T22:12:13.871+01:00Extremely well said, Sara, and worth saying again ...Extremely well said, Sara, and worth saying again and again. That quote from Matt Bell is so good. I subscribe to as many lit mags as a can, not just to actually find out what they like to publish, but to support them too. And I'm loving my new PANK T-shirt, bought for their Spring fundraising drive. It feels like the least I can do for them. <br /><br />With all this Twitter and FB, I think it's easy to feel that someone is a "friend", but I don't necessarily feel I know that til I at least email them privately if not meet them. I'm wary, maybe too wary, but you don't need that many friends, and I feel pretty lucky. As I'm starting out again on the "Please buy my book" I'm feeling all this very keenly, I hate to do it. But I won't follow or befriend someone, badger them, then disappear. That's not a way to behave. I've had it done to me and it just stuns me.Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-78090039540631298392012-04-16T19:40:05.010+01:002012-04-16T19:40:05.010+01:00Really good post - thanks for being honest and say...Really good post - thanks for being honest and saying it how it is. I've lost count of the number of times people have asked me for advice / sent me their tomes and expected me to review them without even asking me properly or politely first and then got shitty when I've politely suggested that I had other plans than reading the first draft of their thinly veiled autobiographical 50k drivel this morning.... Cheers!Juliettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-86306241227179374462012-04-16T19:30:26.524+01:002012-04-16T19:30:26.524+01:00"Agree on..." oh dear... apologies."Agree on..." oh dear... apologies.Rebecca Eminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01931904595437049369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-64655034569454116762012-04-16T19:29:45.986+01:002012-04-16T19:29:45.986+01:00Fantastic post. I agree on all of it to be honest....Fantastic post. I agree on all of it to be honest. As for the guy with his series of hard backs... that made me laugh. Thank you for posting this.Rebecca Eminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01931904595437049369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-48748153979391130822012-04-16T18:35:37.061+01:002012-04-16T18:35:37.061+01:00Couldn't agree with you more. I don't see ...Couldn't agree with you more. I don't see how you can be a writer, if you weren't first a reader and continue to be one. <br /><br />I also critique and share your reservations about reviewing - if I don't enjoy a book (for whatever reason), I'd rather say nothing at all and definitely wouldn't write a review of it. That's sometimes awkward when you 'know' the author through social networking and they know that you've read their book. As a result, I'm trying to read more books written by authors I don't know personally this year!!Kathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12719765628886270649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-90547411634506260442012-04-16T18:28:27.048+01:002012-04-16T18:28:27.048+01:00Apart from loving the word 'twunt' I absol...Apart from loving the word 'twunt' I absolutely agree. I don't think anyone can claim to be a writer if they don't read. It's the one vital piece of advice I give in every school talk I do.Lucy Coatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774389681477698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-48929109456487230082012-04-16T18:21:41.602+01:002012-04-16T18:21:41.602+01:00This is such an important topic, Sara. However, it...This is such an important topic, Sara. However, it's one of those posts that will probably be read by those who already agree with you!<br /><br />It's disheartening to come across so many people who network selfishly or never read the literary magazines they submit to...Sophie Playlehttp://www.sophieplayle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-35814102501391059472012-04-16T17:59:20.059+01:002012-04-16T17:59:20.059+01:00Agree 200% with every point here - except the last...Agree 200% with every point here - except the last. I think we have to be able to let off steam with friends - and say what we really think, offload stuff that's happened, that we can't talk about publicly. <br /><br />Sometimes, it is necessary to be "pleasant" online with people one would rather not have to be pleasant to because they are in reality slimy, backbiting immature little w**kers. But don't tell them I said that, will you? Ta.Vanessa Gebbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09088301040602803489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13140037.post-6990207959824151122012-04-16T17:55:34.186+01:002012-04-16T17:55:34.186+01:00Excellent post, Sara. I'm relatively new to wr...Excellent post, Sara. I'm relatively new to writing and very new to the whole 'networking' thing and even in the few short months I've been on twitter I've been attacked by the "lets support each other, do you want to buy my book, no, bye then" brigade! And I recently purchased my first ever Pank. It's worth it for the cover image alone. I am really enjoying finding new lit journals and meeting lots of new authors online, but some days I do just think... aaargh! :)SJIHollidayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09395935935929608392noreply@blogger.com