when you post lists elsewhere, you are discouraging writers as much as encouraging others.
I'm not at all certain that's true. Why can't the unmentioned writers either tell themselves 1) well, big deal, they just don't like the kind of stuff I like to write, or 2) gosh, maybe next time I will make the list! Or better yet, 3) drat, I didn't make the list, oh well, who cares? There are thousands of stories and hundreds of authors.
Nobody is gonna show up on all those lists. It doesn't necessarily mean anything.
I just think it's a shame when people are scolded for talking about what they like, because they might have, somewhere, somehow, discouraged some aspiring insecure author. We all need to have thicker skins than that.
PJ
p.s., for those of you thinking, "oh yeah, it's easy for
her to say people shouldn't feel discouraged, she's gotten lots of awards," -- trust me, there have been times when I was left of the list and felt discouraged. I just don't think it'd be right for me to whine about it, and I don't want anyone else whining on my behalf, either.
