![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
*points to subject*
So, okay. This kid's already been scammed by Tate Publishing into paying 4K to publish his first novel. He's a very nice kid, has a lot of friends and incredibly supportive family, soooo as far as I can tell no one's ever bothered to tell him that the book kind of sucks (read: it makes Eragon and Twilight look like absolute masterpieces).
Kid has posted a thread on a board we're both part of, asking for advice on a new series. I and several other people give him exactly what he asks for, he dismisses a lot of it, one of the posters (not me, surprisingly) tells him he's being a douche, he ignores that too, responds only to my post, and says he would rather "reply to me on AIM."
Which, y'know, whatever. I want to help this kid, and I don't want him giving Tate any more money; I want him to get good enough that he could be published (gasp) WITHOUT paying money for it.
That's my goal, here.
But I've sent this kid three different messages now, over the course of...two weeks? Three? Something like that. Have sent him a few messages on AIM as well, and had a few BRIEF conversations that never touched on writing.
I'm starting to feel like a jilted girlfriend here. Do I post a follow up in the thread, calling him out on this bullcrap (because he HAS been online, frequently, and has posted in several other places)? Do I say screw this and just start sporking his writing in the hopes that he gets angry enough to work on it?
(No, ignoring the kid is not an option, because I am Emotionally Invested in this by now and also he knows most of my online friends. Also I hate Tate Publishing and any writer I can save from their clutches is more than worth the effort, IMO.)
Thoughts?
So, okay. This kid's already been scammed by Tate Publishing into paying 4K to publish his first novel. He's a very nice kid, has a lot of friends and incredibly supportive family, soooo as far as I can tell no one's ever bothered to tell him that the book kind of sucks (read: it makes Eragon and Twilight look like absolute masterpieces).
Kid has posted a thread on a board we're both part of, asking for advice on a new series. I and several other people give him exactly what he asks for, he dismisses a lot of it, one of the posters (not me, surprisingly) tells him he's being a douche, he ignores that too, responds only to my post, and says he would rather "reply to me on AIM."
Which, y'know, whatever. I want to help this kid, and I don't want him giving Tate any more money; I want him to get good enough that he could be published (gasp) WITHOUT paying money for it.
That's my goal, here.
But I've sent this kid three different messages now, over the course of...two weeks? Three? Something like that. Have sent him a few messages on AIM as well, and had a few BRIEF conversations that never touched on writing.
I'm starting to feel like a jilted girlfriend here. Do I post a follow up in the thread, calling him out on this bullcrap (because he HAS been online, frequently, and has posted in several other places)? Do I say screw this and just start sporking his writing in the hopes that he gets angry enough to work on it?
(No, ignoring the kid is not an option, because I am Emotionally Invested in this by now and also he knows most of my online friends. Also I hate Tate Publishing and any writer I can save from their clutches is more than worth the effort, IMO.)
Thoughts?
