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Romance (Con) is Dead...

🕑 Added 2025-11-11 14:39:37 +0000 UTC

Comments

Shlom

WorldCon has all manner of drama, but on a global scale, complete with "puppy" incidents, Strange Religion interference, and convention arrangements that I couldn't be paid enough to volunteer to work on. All hail LA Con V.

Jeff Titterington

People are weird. Illogical, unreasonable, endlessly fascinating, always wrathful, and delightfully weird. Also stupid, but you can't have everything.

Graham William Kidd

What!! There's a Turtle!! A turtle!! Why are we only hearing about this now?? I have so, so many questions.

Fenrir Wolfganger

One time during the Cold war a Soviet (Russian) ballet company was visiting Dublin. When my parents arrived they found anti Soviet protesters distributing leaflets and demanding people boycott the ballet (I forget why, there were lots of valid reasons). So my dad talked to them about the best way to get their message heard. The next day the protestors were still distributing leaflets but also telling everyone "enjoy the show". I miss that quality of protestors.

Crochet4Joy

The difference being that this time it's a lot fewer "outraged" people (I gather), just with louder voices.

chromicacid

The last time fan outrage was this big, Conan Doyle had killed of Sherlock

Ekij

"How dare you give your community what they want when it's not what *I* want" - class A narcissist behaviour.

Jill Bearup

I read, though could not confirm it, that authors scheduled to appear at Romance Con were receiving threats of the same treatment Julie Soto had received if they didn’t cancel their appearances. I didn’t put it in the video because I have no evidence to support it, but it would not surprise me. Authors in particular are exquisitely sensitive to cancellation, whether they’re independent or traditionally published, in part because it’s so easy to get a hate mob started, and in part because traditional publishing has a track record of being…unsupportive in these instances, shall we say.

Abraxas

Trying to harness this fanfic-community as your audience seems to be like making riding a feral bull. To have success in this genre you try to appeal to this niche audience, this very very emotional niche audience. And because they are so emotional they will support you as an author if they love you. But they will just as easily hate you with the same furore. So, what's the lesson here... be careful what audience you are trying to please? As the bystander that I am (HP never appealed to me, so I stoically accepted that you couldn't escape HP merch for decades) I am just surprised how a few "strangers on the internet" can cause 200 authors to cancel their attendance at a con. ...oh, and you just admitted that you _CAN_ be bullied into writing a book soooooooo... SciFi-book when? :-D

SpicyMcHàggi

its no use using a hare to keep the tortoise from being lost, the tortoise is too quick

ShdwWolf

So conventions need to learn the lesson that the big businesses are finally learning... The best way to deal with "cancel culture" is to ignore it. The vast majority of their customers don't actually give a sh*t about what a handful of screaming Karens think.

Have another taco

My take, which let's face it nobody asked me, is that you should like what you like. If you have the books … you have them. If you don't have them … you don't have to buy them, or you can get them from a used book shop! Or I'm a major fan of digital content … yo ho! What am I doing on an author's Patreon? Because most publishers are evil scum (notably excluded Baen, you're cool), but I believe in supporting authors directly when possible so they get paid and I have more books to read. It's that simple.

Jill Bearup

The neighbours will NEVER KNOW

Jonathan Campbell

You only put this on Patreon because it features you almost losing the turtle you are babysitting and the pet owners may or may not watch your channel but they aren't patrons- don't try to deny it.

Ann Brookens

Hey, this was fine. I don't read fanfic or go to conventions or ... well, really do anything interesting... but GOSSIP, now! I always find your videos interesting, Jill!

Jill Bearup

I am somehow reminded of the old joke: what’s the difference between a church organist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with terrorists.

Ana (Lariaenl)

Unfortunately, people who cancel other will never be appeased. Their only value is to cancel people, and the valid reasons/people to cancel, soon, either dry out or get out of reach of randos on the internet, which mean, anything is game and they will not stop and they will not negotiate. Because if they do, they will loose their reason to exist.