Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
You can probably tell that the prospect of pretending to be something I'm not, or hiding behind a false persona, is not something I like to do. Mea Culpa. To me, this does not represent the power of the web; it represents its most damaging feature. It's kind of hard for me to get into it, for any reason.
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I don't hide behind a false persona, but I am selective about what I say to different audiences.
I've got some sharply controversial opinions. I'm devoutly religious; I've learned mostly not to mention which of my opinions are specifically religious in non-religious forums. I'm involved with what I think of as "mild political activism"--which means I don't join marches more than a few times a year, am only a paying member of two activist organizations, and only track & participate in half a dozen overtly activist blogs. I have a list of boycotts: corporations, products, authors. (I've never paid for Snapple because I found their early commercials insulting and rude.) I tell people I'm a "radical hippie freak;" I don't tell them what I think that means. I'm very selective about who I'll discuss parenting with; the fallout has a tendency to get ugly.
And I love debate. Love it even when it's pointless rehashing of ideas everyone's done a dozen times; love the chance that *this* time, I will discover the twist of phrase that clarifies my opinion in my thoughts, and nevermind what the rest of you believe. I have joyfully participated in some
epic flamewars.
I don't sell books, but I do keep a journal/blog, and I do want more readers. And I had a choice: be open about all my beliefs, and try to find the readers who already agree with me, or be a bit more careful about what I say, and hope the readers decide I'm not an uncaring jerk *before* they hit that one opinion of mine that hits them like fingernails on a blackboard.
The key isn't "censor yourself down to just the face you'd give to a prospective employer." It's to present yourself as someone who has considered, is still considering, what's important to others before you make an announcement that you know flies in the face of their highest values. Because if it comes across as "this is what I think; take it or leave it," people who disagree will walk away from you, and from your books.
If you can manage to pull off, "I've put a lot of thought into this, and I know [X] is important to a lot of people, but I think [Y] is just that much more important, and I'm sorry for the people who value [X]," you may not get much more support, but you're not as likely to be placed on the permanent do-not-buy list.