This post was written on June 29, 2024. I chose not to publish it immediately, and then I forgot about it.
The series book hobby ought not to be stressful, but somehow it is. I wrote about collector negativity in August 2023.
Collector Negativity and Criticism of Other Collectors
If you missed that post, you really ought to read it.
I opened the post with these comments:
I am concerned that the ongoing negativity has already driven many collectors away. I know for a fact that the negativity has reduced participation in the groups. I know this because of comments made to me via private messages.
1. I am aware that some people never post in the groups because they are intimidated by certain people.
2. I am aware of proposed projects that were canned because of negativity.
3. The bullying that began on the old Applewood message board and in the alt.news.nancy-drew newsgroup in the late 1990s continues (click here for more information), although it usually occurs outside of the groups. I saw evidence of this bullying in my Facebook newsfeed as recently as October 2022. They still haven't stopped, and they do drive others away.
Recently the Nancy Drew Book Fans group on Facebook acquired a large number of new members, apparently over a thousand. Some of them found their way to the Collecting Vintage Children's Series Books group. The numbers were much lower, something like 100 or so, but still more than usual. Most of them were members of the Nancy Drew Book Fans group, and the Collecting group must have been suggested to them.
I periodically post cover art, and I wanted to do something for those new members. Choosing Nancy Drew was obvious, and I felt it should be one of the original 56. I tend to gravitate towards certain covers, and if I'm not careful, I post the same ones over and over. I wanted to choose Tolling Bell, Crumbling Wall, Moss-Covered Mansion, and some others. However, I've already posted those.
I wanted to post something I hadn't posted before, and I wanted something that would garner a positive reaction. I choose The Moonstone Castle Mystery, because I have a positive view of both the cover art and the story. I felt sure that others would as well. I was wrong.
I learned very quickly that The Moonstone Castle Mystery's cover art is disliked and that the story isn't good. I want to be clear that I didn't care about whether people like the book and cover art. My issue was something else.
The problem was that my post was intended to be positive and a gift to new members from the Nancy Drew Book Fans group.
I was disappointed that nearly every comment on the post was negative or critical. My plan backfired, since I apparently chose the wrong book. Now I have no motivation for posting cover art images. Do I really just have to select Tandy artwork to avoid negativity?
Again, no one did anything wrong. The problem was that a "group mind" set in, caused by the very first comment being negative. Everyone else followed suit, and positive comments weren't made until one person made a positive statement in order to bring some positivity to the comments. Yes, the positive comment was purposeful as was my response to it.
No doubt I feel far worse about it than I otherwise would have since I've had a difficult month. I'm likely being a bit irrational over it, but this is a good example of how easily feelings can be hurt.
Mainly, I just want to let others know how important it is for posts about books to contain at least some positive comments. It's absolutely fine for people to give their opinions, even if they are negative. It's just a downer when nearly every comment is negative, especially for a book that I never knew was disliked! I wouldn't have chosen The Moonstone Castle Mystery if I had known better.
I also want to remind everyone of this portion of my post from August 2023:
Collectors often poke fun at cover art and illustrations, but sometimes this is taken too far with little concern for how others feel. Around 20 years ago, the cover art of a certain Judy Bolton book was ruined for me because a few other collectors went into great detail explaining what was wrong about how the illustration was painted. I see their comments every time I look at the jacket, and I used to love that jacket. I still like the jacket, but I would have preferred not to have had the flaws pointed out.
Altered book covers can also ruin our enjoyment of the original cover art. I can think of one altered cover that is captioned in such a way that it points out what is wrong with the cover art, therefore ruining it forever. That one is a Hardy Boys book that I will never see the same again. The altered art is amusing, but it ruins the cover forever.
Criticism of cover art is tricky because it can forever ruin the cover art for some other fans. Do we really want to do that?
These are, after all, children's books. The cover art is often excellent, and we mostly love the stories. However, the books were never intended to be great literature, and the cover art was never designed for display in a gallery. We should keep that in mind.
Finally, I want to mention that when I look at cover art, my opinion is formed by how pleasing the overall effect is. I don't look at minute details and consider whether people were drawn proportionally. I don't consider how well certain parts of the artwork were done. Do I like the appearance of what I see? If so, then I like it. I reflect no deeper than that.
In closing, I am left wondering what the new members thought. Did any of them leave the group?
It's now nearly a year later. I went back through my feed to the Moonstone Castle post, checking every post. The Moonstone Castle post was the last time I posted a Nancy Drew cover. The negativity killed my enthusiasm. Why should I take the time to create a post when it might not go well? I haven't cared to do it again.
Recall this past statement of mine, quoted above: I know for a fact that the negativity has reduced participation in the groups.
The negativity further reduced what I post in that group, and I am the founder of that group. How unfortunate.
If the last year had been better, I probably would have overcome my reluctance to post cover art by now. With how things have been, I haven't had any desire return to doing that kind of post.
One post gone wrong ended my cover art posts.
2 comments:
Hi Jennifer - I am sorry you have been and are still frustrated with the facebook group and negativity. I have been a member of that group for maybe 10 years and have learned a lot about collecting these series - there are so many people on there with a wealth of knowledge. Thank you for your contributions. This is the first time I have read your blog but I have often used your website as reference in the past.
The "negativity" is not just on the group but is prevalent throughout all online discussions and postings. I'm sure people have told you to disregard the negativity but I understand it is very hard to ignore. There is a big difference between constructive criticism and negativity; of which most is the later.
It is difficult to put yourself out there and start these discussions - something I am very hesitant to do. In my professional life, even though I am well known locally, I am very cautious and edit myself just in case I say something wrong or may not know as much as another person. This, in general, just causes lack of discussion.
I encourage you to keep stimulating discussion and to keep contributing.
I am sorry you have to deal with this type of nonsense. I have been collecting series books since the early 1990s, and almost quit the hobby in the late 1990s/early 2000s because of the attitude of some collectors. The only things they can say are sneering, condescending, and belittling. I assume doing this makes up for deep feelings of insecurity, but I am pretty much over it.
Many of these negative comments, at least regards to ND and the HBs, seems to have to do with a deep dislike of the revised text books or anything published after ~1958. Well, I'm 61--the RTs were all that were available at the store when I was a child. I got tired of being bullied about this decades ago by mean older baby boomers, and I refuse to hear this nonsense today from younger readers. I simply don't care if you don't like what I like. Some people like some books better than others--at the end of the day, that's what much of this comes down to, not any sort of objective analysis of quality. Frankly, most of the people playing the bashing game do not have the bona fides to make such analyses.
There are certainly children's series books I don't like. Some are entire series, some are certain runs of series. For those series like ND and the HBs, the series have lasted a century and resulted in hundreds of titles--it would be unusual if someone did like all the books. But people need to realize that their comments they intend to be "funny" aren't, and those efforts to belittle others because of what they like are very obvious and silly.
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