When Elizabeth Taylor got a hole in her throat, I canceled my plane."
-- Shirley MacLaine
How many of you think Elizabeth Taylor deserved her Oscar for Butterfield 8?
Her fellow noms were: Greer Garson in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO
Deborah Kerr in THE SUNDOWNERS
Shirley MacLaine in THE APARTMENT
Melina Mercouri in NEVER ON SUNDAY
I only ask because it relates to the following...
Deni Dietz
QUIBBLES & Bits
Today I'm going to talk about one of my pet peeves. You might even call it a hot-button pet peeve.
No, not sex in mysteries. That doesn't bother me.
No, not multiple POVs. With the exception of excessive head-hopping, I like multiple viewpoints.
I'm not even going to mention posting BSP, and only BSP, on an internet loop. Or answering every damn individual email with a "Me, too" or "Thanks" and then adding a siggy line as long as Cat Deeley's legs. Or writers refusing to trim a previous post because "no one will know what I'm referring to."
Instead, I plan to talk about trawling, or if you prefer, trolling, for votes.
"What the bloody heck does she mean?" I hear you ask. "Is she talking about the presidential election?"
No. At least, not at this time ;-)
Here's the thing. While I know this isn't a new trend, it's become really rampant as more and more authors trawl (or if you prefer, troll) for "votes" in order to win various awards. Or maybe a better word would be plead for votes.
I recently received a cc'd email from an author (whom I know slightly), asking me to go to some website --- she kindly provided a link --- and vote for her book. If I did, she'd win some kind of award for excellence. And, she insisted, I should do this in order to "support small-press authors."
Do you find that pathetic, or is it just me?
She didn't ask if I'd read her book! Nor did she gave a rat's spit if I had. She made it very clear that reading her book wasn't relevant.
Voting was.
If people haven't read the book and vote merely to support a friend, or a friend of a friend, or a friend of a friend of a friend, or a fellow author, doesn't the award then becomes meaningless?
Or, again, is it just me?
Some authors think a meaningless award is worth its weight in zircons. It gives one bragging rights: "I'm so thrilled. 'Gone with the Flatulence' just won first prize for excellence at literary_award_for_sale-dot-com."
Not that I think anyone reading this blog would vote for a book without reading the book first. I'm just sayin.
Over and Out,
Deni
