The GoFundMe Scandal, and Jena’s pulling the #outrageculture card again!

Good afternoon, you sexy bibliophiles!

What a frikkin week, right?!?!?!  It felt like Monday lasted for about thirty years, and today is not too far off.  This morning, I realized this week isn’t going to get any easier, so, I scheduled myself a writing day on Friday!  I’m super-excited about it.  I have one quick errand to run in the morning, and then the rest of the day is all for me and my characters!  Approximately sixteen work hours and counting!!!

Today we are going to talk about the GoFundMe Scandal and outrage culture.  Are you sick of hearing me use those words????  Me too….

In This Post:

• Double Dipping and the Social Media Shit Storm
  (or How an Author Asked Her Fans to Bankroll Her Salary and Facebook Lost Its Mind)

The other day, I announced I was stepping back from Facebook.  Outrage culture has reached a boiling point and I don’t want to play anymore.  Apparently, I got out just in time because when the news broke among the author community that one of our own has posted a GoFundMe page asking her readers to bankroll her dream of writing full time, shit went straight bananas!  People lost their frikkin minds.  I don’t think the author is asking her fans to bankroll her dream is unethical.  Frankly, that’s what we are all doing by charging for the stories we write.  Most authors dream of the day that just the right person reads their shit and they suddenly find themselves fortunate enough to be able to rely on their writing as a steady source of income.

The truth is this almost never happens.

Most full-time indie authors fall into one of three categories:

1. They have a sugar momma / sugar daddy (aka a spouse that works so they can stay home).
2. They have a side gig to help pay the bills, so they’re still technically working, even if only for themselves.
3. They are one of the miraculous few who happen to hit is HUGE and their royalties are able to support their writing habit. Side Note:  These people are also suspect of defecating large 18 carat gold bricks when no one is looking.  Keep an eye on these ones.

As for the rest of us, those who make up the majority of the indie author community, we have to work full-time at a day job to pay the bills.  As we wait for the rest of the literary community to catch on to the genius that are the worlds we build, someone has to keep the lights on, and we’re it.

I don’t think the issue is that she’s got her hand out.  However you choose to make your living is your business (I still dream of one day running my own mafia….).  The only thing I see as wrong is that she’s double dipping – both asking for people to pay her bills and still charging for her books.  I think the right thing to do would be to pick one or the other, but that’s just my opinion.

I do, however, think this story serves as a prime example of what I was talking about with outrage culture.  Like I said, people lost their damn minds……….and it doesn’t actually have anything to do with a single one of them.  Their bank accounts are not being debited.  No one is showing up at their door demanding their money to fund her salary.  No one is accusing any of them of doing the same thing, so it’s not even a situation of their own reputation being soiled by the actions of another.  It has no impact on them whatsoever.

Additionally, the author isn’t misleading potential donors.  She says right on the GoFundMe page exactly what it is for.  She’s not making any false promises or burying the lead.  And she’s certainly not holding a gun to anyone’s head forcing them to donate.  In fact, when I looked at it this morning, her GoFundMe was only at $280 out of the $12,000 she has set as her goal, so she’s got a looooooooooooong way to go before that is even a reality for her.  If anything, the shit storm that broke out on Facebook HELPED her donations.  When I first heard about it, she had stated that her GoFundMe was over two weeks old, and she had less than $50 in donations.  That means that everyone who is/was throwing a fit over the situation actually drove donations to her.  Good job.  lol

Everyone is freaking out over this today, but ask them about it two weeks from now and I will be SHOCKED if they even remember her name.  Whether or not you think what she’s doing is right or ethical isn’t for any of us to decide.  Yet, the internet has no problem acting as judge, jury, and executioner.  And that is how outrage culture works.  Is it worth getting so angry that you need to post a 6,000 word rant, ALL CAPS, about it and send your blood pressure through the roof??  No.  So, if you disagree with what she’s asking, there is one simple solution:  don’t donate to it.  *shrug*  And that’s why I hate Facebook.

Before you go on your next Redbull and rage infused rant, take a deep breath and ask yourself one simple question:  DOES THIS AFFECT ME?  If it harms you or costs you money, then, please, by all means, freak the fuck out.  If your answer is no, well then……

Alright peeps!  I am getting ready to leave work so I can go home and get some more work done.  Lol  I am hoping to do some writing tonight, but I have a lot of pending Pure Textuality PR business to attend to, so more than likely, I’ll be wearing the PR Monkey hat until I pass out from exhaustion.

And please, feel free to comment your thoughts on the subject.  As always, respectful and intelligent discussion is always welcome, but act like a dick and I will lay your shit bare.  Lol