Privacy and the Integrity of the Work

[paravil]

While the comments on this week's post about author privacy and self-promotion were very interesting (illuminating even), I didn't see where anyone addressed the issue of how or whether too much exposure of an author's personal life affects their work. My question is, can putting too much of one's personal life--even if it's work-related--out there affect the way their work is read and received? If so, how, and is it likely to affect it positively or negatively?

[maybegenius]

I think, to an extent, an author's personal life can affect how their work is received. It probably depends on the sort of work they produce. If, say, a nonfiction author writes extensively about relationship issues, and their relationship fails, it may affect their readership. On the other hand, if a fiction writer known for their off-the-wall drug-trip novels is revealed as a drug abuser, it's probably doubtful their readership would be affected.

Then there's the fact that some readers genuinely don't care what someone gets up to, they just care about the entertainment they produce. Still others wouldn't read the work to begin with, and just use personal life issues as more fodder to fuel their argument that people shouldn't read books by X author because they hate dogs or whatever.

I do think some authors are held to a stricter standard than others. Children's authors, for example, are constantly scrutinized for their beliefs and what they "teach" children.

[JustineDell]

That's why there are two of me ;-)

Seriously - there's me, Justine Dell with her blog, her facebook page, her twitter account, etc, etc. All devoted to all things writing.

Justine is my pseudonym.

Then's there the other me. The real me. Who thus far has remained far away from her pen name. With exception to my picture no one knows the real me. I didn't give myself a pen just because I thought it was cool. I did it for two reasons. One, my real name is pretty darned common. Two, I wanted the author to be seperate from the person. I didn't want my work, or home life to be meshed together with the rest of that stuff. And because I write both romance and erotica, it seemed like pretty good way to go. Sure, the real me won't stay hidden forever, I know that - but the point is I've made them two different people from the beginning and I plan on keeping it that way.

[tameson]

I can think of one big name writer whose personal views on issues has ruined his books for me. For example, you read this guy talking about how IDers make a lot of good points and then in his scifi he makes some ridiculous statement that shows he has no knowledge of how genetics works, it makes me throw the book across the room. With other writers, I just shrug, think something sarcastic and continue reading. I also know a lot of people who don't want to read an author who they know contributed to the prop8 campaign or said racist things figuring that a portion of any money they spend on his/her books could end up supporting that cause. I can also think of a genre (religious works) who lost all his contracts when he was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife because the religious publisher did not want that behavior associated with their name. So, there are times when an author's private life can negatively affect his sales and ability to be published. Likewise, I am sure that there are positive examples, but the negatives are just so much more fun. :)

[EvelynEhrlich]

This is a very interesting question, paravil. I'm the type of person who doesn't want to know more about the actors in movies because all I care about is the character in the film. Likewise, I find it jarring when I read a great piece of fiction with a unique voice, and then I turn to the back flap and see a photo of an author and a bio that is completely at odds with the main character of the book. Sure, I understand that the author and the protagonist are different people, but I don't want to know the author! I wish fiction writers didn't need to make themselves known for that very reason, but since it is a marketing necessity and reality, I will certainly do whatever is required when/if my day comes.