tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post7685579224738120126..comments2023-09-29T00:18:58.055-07:00Comments on Marshall Ryan Maresca: Sesquincententh, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BlogMarshall Ryan Marescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259367667777920728noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-47614344157444409992011-09-22T18:52:53.812-07:002011-09-22T18:52:53.812-07:00It's actually the reader-interaction thing tha...It's actually the reader-interaction thing that would make the most nervous about being published, because it suddenly means that people become interested in you... as in, they want to know what you look like, where you were educated, if you have a family, your hobbies and personal interests, what religion you are, what political beliefs you hold. In other words, very personal stuff of the nature that tends to provoke strong feelings of approval or disapproval. You stop being a person and start being almost like a character yourself... perceived as being subject to interpretation and criticism, and not exactly in an information-seeking, objective way.<br /><br />So, if by any wacky fantastical stretch of imagination that I ever am published, I would not necessarily want readers to find the "real" me online (ie, my Facebook page), and might opt instead to try to erase my existing web presence, however small it is, and re-create it as "Me, The Author." Then I'd have a modicum more control over the "me" I want people to see... or at least, that would be the illusion, if only to myself. Of course, that would lead to the question of if Me, The Author is taken up under the identity of Me The Person or Me The Pen Name. And if I choose Me The Pen Name (whose identity I can invent), then must Me The Person eventually become Me The Pen Name, as well? <br /><br />Sooo... since a question was invited, I'll ask you one. ;) In the event of having a series published and readers overnight flocking to consume every page, are you okay with them knowing "Marshall The Person" with a film degree and a wife and child and home with Mexican-inspired interior decor in Austin, TX, or do you plan to cultivate (or are you already cultivating) your identity as Marshall The Author? Are they one in the same, or would you, like me, strive to draw a clear delineation between the two? Are there boundaries, or is your life the metaphorical open book?<br /><br />(And sorry about the removed comment... it had a typo!)leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16174141098861272059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967806610957360397.post-10837675865435347452011-09-22T18:47:26.000-07:002011-09-22T18:47:26.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16174141098861272059noreply@blogger.com