Tiktok being in my life has brought me very little positives if I’m being real. A time suck at worst, most days, an overwhelming source of writing tips and information I can barely process at best. That being said, it did make me aware of an interesting situation that was unfolding on the booktok side of the app. I’m going to give you a quick recap if you’re not aware of what has been going down, maybe because you are spending your time actually being productive and are NOT chronically online. Sooooo…. let’s get started.
Ok. So. Our story begins with Audra Winter, an aspiring author who through her various tik toks promoting her book, amassed an audience eagerly awaiting the release of her first book, Age of Scorpius. Her world was based on a magic zodiac system that I will not be delving into at this time, but just know, people were excited. I think naturally, people love to sort stuff, especially when it comes to book factions. I think that’s one of the secrets behind the Hunger Games or Harry Potter success so perhaps the same thing was occurring here. It also didn’t hurt that she had an amazing team of artists on her side. She commissioned character artwork, helping people visualize the characters and the world and, as someone who has seen this artwork, it is GOOD.
So the stage is set. Everyone is pumped and she announces she’s going to be publishing her book. Pre-orders come flooding in. It’s a success before it has even found its way into the hands of readers. But then it did…
Age of Scorpius received overwhelmingly negative reviews for poor writing, plot, and editing, despite its viral marketing. Due to the backlash, Audra is reportedly re-editing the book for a new edition, as the first version is no longer available. Wow. Yeah.
So, what happened here exactly? Is the book that bad? According to the overwhelming majority of reviews, yes. And from the passages I have read, also yes. The book reads as a first, unedited draft. I’m not going to pretend I have not produced work similar to Audra. No one is really taking issue really with the work she has produced here, except for the fact that she chose to publish it, expected people to pay for this work, and then had a rather defensive reaction when negative reviews came flooding in. Honestly, her continual reaction to criticism seems to be single-handedly keeping the discussion surrounding this debacle going.
People got what they had paid money for, true, but as paying customers who were dissatisfied with the product, they had the right to leave their review, bad or good. End of story. I don’t think many people would disagree on this point so I’m not really interested in pursuing it further.
What I am interested in in this scenario is what Audra seems to represent here. Their social media illustrates someone very proud of their entrepreneurship and a desire to assemble a whole team and multimedia studio based around their work. All before their book actually came out, mind you. It seemed Audra had built in her head this idea of what her author status would lead to. That everyone would love her book and she would continue to see success… clearly she was getting to ahead of herself, though, because step 1 of the plan was fumbled. Step 1 being writing a good book!
Age of Scorpius read as rushed. It did not get the time, care, or attention the story truly needed. It seemed Audra’s eyes were so set on appearing to be a successful author that they forgot that in order to get there, they needed to make something worth reading. They liked the idea of having a end product more than actually writing. They lost sight of the craft. I think that’s something we can all learn from.
Social media commodifies everything. Everything gets reduced to an aesthetic and/or brand. This process can apply to our hobbies, and then suddenly we are “performing” our hobby and not actually DOING the hobby or enjoying it for that matter. In a world that is filled with terms like “hustle” and a “be your own boss” mindset, it’s easy to see any hobby as a business or a means to an end. We should not be focusing on this when it comes to true craft. Our main goal should simply be to get better. Improve our writing and maybe, at the end of it all, produce something worth other people’s time to read.
If you are interested in further deep dives on the Audra Winter controversy, I’m sure you can find plenty of videos on it on youtube (I should know, I’ve listened to multiple). Mostly the point I want to get across in this post is simple: We are all capable of this. Social media makes this mistake easier and even encourages it. Don’t give in. Get good. Get better. Slowly and steady wins the race.
By the Brooke 