I did not have sex with that woman . . . oh, wait. I did! Yes, I am the Bill Clinton of the blogosphere. I have adamantly denied knowing what I know, doing what I’ve done. I’ve lied to many people, many of you, and now, because the time is right, I’m here to tell you the whole sordid truth.
I *am* one of the publishing professionals behind Romancing the Blog. There. It’s out. No thunder, no lightning . . . whew, I’ll go on.
Back in January, I emailed several friends and said wouldn’t it be fun if we came up with some sort of blog contest. I had NO idea what I was thinking to do or talking about, but wanted to brainstorm something fun that would bring a lot of publicity to the romance genre and the blogs popping up everywhere. I was reading dozens of thoughtful posts and wanted everyone who loved the genre to know these brilliant observations were out there. One member of the group threw out the idea of a hub, and columnists, and a schedule, and RTB was born. I asked one of my design partners to help with the technical side of things. And we collectively tossed around ideas for weeks before coming up with what is the current incarnation of RTB.
That out in the open, I’d like to clear up a few misconceptions and answer the questions I’ve seen repeatedly asked.
1) The blog was never intended as a promotional tool for anyone, and the information that went out to the columnists was clear on that. The hub was designed to bring romance bloggers together to discuss the genre from every angle – reading, writing, reviewing, etc. A deep love of romance – not personal gain – was the driving factor.
2) The concept of “the best of the best” is nothing but a marketing ploy, one ruthlessly borrowed from a good friend who works in advertising and is a firm believe in “if you build it, they will come.” Many bloggers were invited. Many declined to participate. Many loved the idea as much as we did and signed on. Many were set aside to invite at a later date when we felt it was time to expand. The tag line and mission statement were in place long before the columnists. One had nothing to do with the other.
3) The columnists were chosen by secret ballot. One of the developers would submit a name through an anonymous polling feature. The others would anonymously vote. To this day, no one involved knows how anyone voted.
4) All of us involved ARE Kate & Charlie. And we’ll continue to be Kate and Charlie. Up until now, we’ve remained anonymous for several reasons. One being the issue of sparing feelings of bloggers not invited. None of us had any individual control over who would be approved. No one was ever purposefully excluded. We started off small, and have always intended to grow. In fact, this has been a discussion subject for weeks. Who out there did we miss? Who have we since discovered? Who might we get to change their minds?
Additionally, we wanted to run the blog like a publishing business, to approach columnists in a businesslike fashion, something harder to do as just a group of online friends. We would never have been taken seriously as ourselves. We weren’t taken seriously by many as it was. We did seek to get a variety of columnists and regret we weren’t as successful as we’d hoped. We wanted to create a place for readers and authors and reviewers to enjoy. And we thank all of you who’ve been sending us private emails that you’re loving the site. Those of you who’ve made suggestions for improvement, we thank you as well.
We’re proud of what we’ve done, and see a lot of potential as we continue to grow. I, personally, will be taking a break for awhile. After my column on Saturday, I’m back to working behind the scenes. This is a venture we’re all proud of. And I know several of us wouldn’t change a thing about how we went about it. The possibilities on where the site can go are amazing – if everyone continues to work with us.
I humbly apologize for any hurt that may have been caused by this deception.
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here’s the part of the situation I’m having a really hard time dealing with: the sense of drama and thinking about does it matter and to whom should it matter and would it have been better to do this earlier, later, and will it change the nature of RTB and of Alison’s blog etc. . it’s all much more interesting than my current WIP. That’s very bad news, at least for me.
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I loved not knowing who was behind RTB, but now that it’s out, it’s also fun TO know. I applaud Alison Kent for her initiative and creativity (and seemingly boundless energy/time).
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I like RTB and really didn’t gave any thought to who were behind the site, I just liked the idea and enjoyed most of the posts. In some way I had assumed that Alison was one of the creators, or at least that she has something to do with them, but really didn’t think about it much. Probably I felt your enthusiasm and pride about RTB in your posts. I hope than now RTB will continue better than ever.
I think Alison (as well as the rest of the ladies that are standing up now) are very courageous. I’m just one reader, but you have my support. I have to confess that thanks to all of you I have become adictted to blogs :o) . I am a big fan of Alison books, and I think nothing will change that.
I am sending you all good vibes so you can solve the trust-friendship issues around all this.
Good Luck!
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Not sure what emoticon is this, I was trying to use this one :)
PWB , love your blog! I would like to see you at RTB, maybe in the future. Variety is what makes a site like this better.
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When I was approached to be a columnist, I signed on because I was intrigued by the concept. I did ask about the “whos”, but accepted their desire for anonymity as a condition for participation. Would I have agreed to participate if Alison (or Larissa or Emma or???) had approached me as herself? I think I would have, but I’ve also been around long enough to know how the romance community works. Not having a “name” attached to the blog has inspired more variety.
That being said, Beverly posted something on her blog that shook me: I have been pulling punches on RTB. I’m far nicer there than I am on my own blog. And that might have been because I didn’t know “who” I was writing for. The good news is I’ve already written my next post (and month early!). The bad news I have to keep my fingers crossed that nobody beats me to the topic.
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Victoria? Dear?
Go to hell.
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Kassia, you’ve echoed exactly what I said in an email to “Kate” Well the part about pulling punches and writing the bland variety of columns because quite frankly, I had no idea *who* even if I had a good idea (I could have been wrong) was behind the scenes, and as most of the columnists ARE pubbed or aspiring authors, no one wants to screw up a career in the making.
Oh and I’ve shelved two columns so far because three days before my day, someone blogged almost verbatim my entry lol.
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Alison’s title for this entry is very instructive. It is a sad commentary about where we have come as a nation in our views of untruth. We are no longer appalled by lying. I guess those of us that have stuck to traditional values are just too old-fashioned for the modern world.
Anonymity is not an issue. That’s why so many authors use pseudonyms. Nothing in the world wrong with wanting to be anonymous.
The issue as I see it is lying and changing the reasons for the lie as it suits the moment.
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Lydia, I’ve been telling my husband about this whole thing, and he thinks your post was “freaking hilarious” and that I should go buy your book. I think I will.
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I didn’t even know the people behind RTB were anonymous,which just goes to show I live under a rock.
Personally, I would love to see a column by Monica Jackson.
Michelle
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Okay, I don’t really care who thought up RTB and I like it, but I DO think Lydia has a perfectly good reason to feel the way she does and I don’t think anyone should think less of her for that. If I’d had a friend who did something like this to me, I’d be upset too.
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Lying and deception happened. The liar and deceiver confessed her sins and apologized. My only comment:
What would Jesus do? I believe that would be forgive.
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I stopped reading RTB soon after I posted about about being unstimulated by it back here in February.
I would, however, be interested in taking another look if you refashion it. Please post here when it happens because I still visit this blog regularly.
BTW, I love posting online under a nickname and totally respect others refashioning their identity online, deliberately or unconsciously, or even hiding it. Maybe someone should do a meaty, provocative entry on identity for RTB. (Forex, do people ever feel betrayed by authors they’ve gotten to know when they realize that the name on the book isn’t the real name? Like what happens when Eloisa James tells us she’s Mary Bly. Did it feel weird to call her Eloisa after that? This reader is very curious to know. And sorry for going off on a tangent!!)
Oh, and double BTW, the person I’d like to hear from most on this topic is Laurie Gold. She did something similar to Alison Kent on the CanWeTalk Yahoo!Group years ago, IIRC.
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Wow Alison – I picked a bad time to have a 4 day break from blog hopping lol. This whole thing is freaken hilarious. I love RTB, I love your blog, I love my blog. I spend way too much time reading blogs lol.
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It matters little to me. But, then again, I don’t have anything personally vested in this venture. I love having my blog listed on RTB. I enjoy reading the columns daily.
I wouldn’t care who ran the blog. Names are of very little consequence. What matters is substance. Yes, RTB could use a few tweaks. But overall, I enjoy the site.
Grins*