If you’ve spent time on any message board or yahoo group, I’m sure you’ve encountered the creature I’m going to discuss…the fangirl. While there are varying definitions of fangirl available online, I decided it would probably be easiest (translation: more fun) to paraphrase a conglomeration of all the definitions for the purpose of discussing romance books and authors’ fangirls.
Fangirl: An obsessive fan who desires to know and follow every detail of an author and their characters’ lives. No detail is too big or too small. She will faithfully
stalkfollow her beloved author across the internet, gushing endlessly about the wonder of her adored author’s every word—including but not limited to grocery lists, blog entries, and message board posts. Woe to any who dare suggest beloved author’s book was poorly plotted, written, edited, or otherwise had flaws. Faithful fangirl will rip you to shreds on one screen while typing furiously on the other to summon the hordes of hell (otherwise known as rabid fangirls) to join her in righteous fury and indignation that anyone had the temerity to insult their wonderful author’s literary genius.
Sound familiar? As a veteran of many internet communities, I’ve seen fangirl behavior on endless occasions, on countless boards. Here are some of the more common fangirl behaviors:
Launching a smear campaign against a review site for posting a less than perfect review of an author’s work. It might not even be a bad review, but one that gives only 4 of 5 stars. Fangirls will amass en force to denounce the reviewer as clearly ignorant and blind to the author’s creative skills. And then flocking to online bookstores to saturate these sites with five star reviews for the author, rhapsodizing on the author’s brilliance in all things writing. At the same time, leave negative, nasty, vitriolic feedback for possible competition. Being unable to engage in a debate or conversation without at least two other fangirls to get their back. Anyone else notice they travel in packs? Wonder if they take their laptops to the bathroom with them? Spending endless hours rhapsodizing about fictional characters’ appearance, personality, sexual habits, hygiene, hairstyle, and whether they like coffee or tea, (Extremes of this behavior result in fans creating little doll worlds based on an author’s characters. No, I’m not making this up. I don’t write fiction). Taking over a publisher’s board/loop (especially in the e-book community) and riding roughshod over other authors’ attempts to do promotion and discuss their books/characters by raving about beloved author’s fabulously incomparable books and characters. Fanfiction. Some characters were not meant to have sex. Enough said.
Admittedly, it can be a wonderful thing for an author to have a dedicated, loyal fan base. But there also are times when fangirls’ behavior can work against the author. Readers who are less familiar with an author’s work can become turned off as the behavior may be viewed as a reflection of the author and, for some people, author behavior online and in real life does, in fact, determine book sales. Other consequences include:
Some readers may perceive the author as cliquish, causing new readers and visitors to an author’s specific message board to be intimidated and/or scared to post. Authors with a large mass of fangirls may also appear to be uninterested in honest opinions of their work, wanting only to hear the gushing details—this prevents an author from getting feedback that could improve their future books/writing and assist in furthering their career. An author’s credibility can potentially be damaged by too many gushing reviews (especially suspect when they are all posted on the same day) and can overshadow honest reviews which readers prefer when choosing which books to purchase. Reviews are already viewed with much skepticism. For those fans who feel as if they “know” or “own” a character—especially a secondary character waiting to get his or her story, if the author takes the character somewhere the fan doesn’t like, this can create a backlash and discordant cry among fangirls (the author still “Totally Rawks” but the fangirls will be seen to moan and wail as if their best friend has just told them their butt really IS too big for those jeans) Author’s with fangirls who appear especially obsessive and overzealous may find themselves objects of ridicule in the romance community, driving off potential new readers and making a mockery of the hard work put in to creating their craft.
Despite the fact that I’ve focused on the negative and more unattractive aspects of fandom and fangirls, I actually think an author needs at least a few loyal fans around her, to boost her up. Writing can be a solitary occupation at times, hard on the ego and full of self-doubt. Fangirls—of a moderate nature—have their place. But is it possible that an author needs, to a certain extent, to be aware of what her fans are doing “in her name” and of the image they are projecting for her? Should she (or he) be held responsible for her fans’ actions and should they reflect on her?
And tell me honestly, are you a fangirl(or boy)?
No related posts.
I am a total fangirl for Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden series. I even wrote her a fan email a while back that may have scared her a little with my enthusiasm.
I have seen some REALLY out there fangirl behavior, especially with the online ebook community. Fortunately none of it has been from my readers *snicker*. Hey wait…does that mean I’m not popular because I don’t have obsessive fangirls? Damn.
Hmm. I’m not a big enough author to have any fangirls. *alas* I could use some positive postings about my book on more reader message boards.
While I’ve never seen truly obsessive behavior and attacking someone for giving me a bad review would make me cringe — I do think it’s great when a reader takes the time to post a kind word about an author or writes a favorable review at one of the online sites.
If a reader really thinks my characters are terrific, so much the better. But when it comes to the heroes, just remember, I saw them first.
Nope, not a fangirl. There are too many good writers out there to idolize just one or two.
Acute post and probably something that needed to be said – that obsessive fandom may hurt the writers they admire.
Great Column Angie.
I wouldn’t consider myself a rabid fan girl, that surely takes too much energy?
I have authors who I’m loyal too, but that only lasts as long as they keep writing good books. I’m fickle that way.
I was on a listserve where your descriptions matched one of the ladies there to a T.
It got so bad, you couldn’t even insult any of the characters jokingly without this particular fan girl going crazy and threatening you with hellfire and eternal damnation.
Her favourite thing was to refuse to ’speak’ to anybody who threatened to take away her precious vampire.
It was beyond scary. I, of course went out of my way to provoke her by poking fun at her adopted character (hey, what did you expect?) and questioning his manhood.
She wasn’t happy. And told me so. In no uncertain terms.
I once asked her if she realised that the characters were fictional. She went ballistic.
I took that as a no.
Is that the kind of behaviour you meant Angie? *g*
Oooooooooooh, fangirls. *headdesk* Met quite a few in my lifetime. I’d say I’m a fangirl of Theresa Weir’s books, but not to the point where I’d beat a reader up for not liking her books. What’s the f. point? If it didn’t work for the reader – fine, move on.
I’d like to point out that there is an element tp how fangirls come to be born: author’s involvement.
More involved you’re with your readers, more likely you’ll create an army of fangirls.
What does reflect on you is how you
controlmanage them. I have met a few armies of fangirls over years to know how it works, so not all authors are innocent here as some have actively encouraged them to defend their books outside their message boards, e.g. flooding Amazon with ‘positive reviews’ and blah blah.That said, there ARE some authors who quickly discourage their fangirls from mishaving, and it’s them I admire.
Ack. Sorry about those typos.
Angie,
Great post, and quite true. I can’t see how any fangirl behavior can be beneficial to the author. But does anyone think the author has some of the responsibility to lay this kind of behavior to rest? (Of course, you mentioned that some enjoy the attention, so….)
Mel~ happily fangirl free…
Angie, so true. There’s a reason I’ve distanced myself from the ebook yahoo group world. I couldn’t take all the gushiness that prevented actual discussion of an author’s books. So you didn’t like what she did, does that mean she’s necessarily a bad author? No.
There are many authors who I’ve started to stay away from because of their fans. You know, the ones with breeds, alphas, pack members (just a few examples)…etc. And the habit of “claiming” characters? Juvenile, most definitely screams “clique”, and is a distinct turn-off for future fans.
I once mentioned very politely in a chat that Ms. Feehan’s books weren’t for me. I stated that I’d read more than a few, and found that they just weren’t for me. I ended up getting a rather mean message from another chatter saying how dare I say something like that. The author might hear about it, not to mention that her books were fantastic and I was an idiot not to see that. Ouch. Now I’ve heard that she’s (the author) a wonderful, nice person (and I generally believe it), but one wonders at these fans and it generally turns me off.
And Jaci, dear, I do think you have a few fangirls out there.
Hate the word. It’s like one of those funny … declensions(?) [or whatever], that used to be around. As in: I am assertive – She is a bully.
Borrowing KarenS’ admirable phrase: I am loyal to an author, She is a fangirl. I’ve made friends over the internet, She is a member of a clique.I am a bibliophile, She is obsessive.
Having said all that, you left out that peculiar specimen, the ex-FG, who I think is really odd. To read a book by an author whom you know longer enjoy reading, seemingly for the sole purpose of being able to post on the internet that you didn’t enjoy the book as you had anticipated you wouldn’t, seems strange.
Hard to know what the overall effect is – I’d guess that for every unbalanced rabid fan who alienates potential readers, there are ten (twenty?) rabid, yet otherwise normal, fans who enthusiastically recommend the author and create sales.
I think the problem with the fangirl is thta she can’t be objective. Her author can do no wrong and thus I believe her recommendation can only be taken with a grain of salt.
Now I’m a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. I buy her Dark-Hunter books as soon as I see them on the shelf, but I also know that she doesn’t always get it right. Her last book wasn’t up to par, yet I’d still recommend her previous ones and tell another fan of the series to buy the latest one. And I’ll still buy the next one as soon as I see it. Fan, yes. Fangirl, no.
I dont think that I am rabid – I email my more rabid comments to the authors themselves (lol). I love certain writers, I tell them so, I think it is fun to have your own hero, so I do protect my Alphas, but not to point of hunting someone down and biting them in person(ha). Yes I will drool/hump/moist hump those authors that get my pantied in a twist. What i don’t do though is bash someone who doesnt agree with my opinion. I won’t mock someone on list. I have a great sense of humor , I know how hard it is to write and I want authors to know that they have an appreciative fan in me. I do love you blog today, I am sure that it will open some interesting conversations, on list and off.
Great post, Angie. I equate fangirls with the girls I knew in grade school who thought Donny Osmond was the second coming. If he passed gas, they wanted to know about it. Fans can be great. Rabid fans can be scary. Or at the very least, kind of sad.
I aspire to have fangirls.
Truly insightful post, Angie. As Stephanie said, rabid fans can be scary, and also sad. I’ve often seen this kind of behavior and it always makes me wonder about the overzealous fans. Are they terribly lonely? Dreadfully insecure? Abused? Are their lives so empty that being a devout fan is the single bright spot of their world? Perhaps they have no friends or family and their main interaction with people is via the Internet.
Unfortunately, online communication provides the safety net of anonymity. I doubt whether these fixated fans would be anything like this if we were to meet them in person. They may actually be meek and shy and have difficulty maintaining eye contact. Sitting alone at a computer, however, furiously engaged in typing gushing or deriding messages and posting them all over no doubt gives a fanatical person a feeling of bravado, power, control, that may otherwise be absent from their “real†lives.
This is one of the problems inherent with chat lists and such. It’s too easy, too tempting for self-doubting individuals to become bullies; to nurture their egos by lashing out and, often deliberately, doing harm; to deeply wound others and cause wide-ranging damaging consequences. It’s similar with people who thrive on inciting flame wars on chat lists. The triumph in their day is relishing in their power to wreak havoc.
Regrettably, I don’t honestly think there’s much that can be done to entirely thwart this activity, to have any real control over it. But while we can’t necessarily control it, we can certainly control the way in which we respond or react to it. Silence is the key. By doing our best to ignore their stabs at creating disharmony, we take away their joy, their sense of power, and hopefully, sooner or later they eventually stop.
I’ve often seen this kind of behavior and it always makes me wonder about the overzealous fans. Are they terribly lonely? Dreadfully insecure? Abused? Are their lives so empty that being a devout fan is the single bright spot of their world? Perhaps they have no friends or family and their main interaction with people is via the Internet.
Ack. I wouldn’t go that far to think that. Many fangirls I know – while they do drive me batty with their antics – do have lives, families and friends of their own.
I think it’s down to perspective. If I write a rant about Scottish historical romances, you can bet that there will be many different perspectives of my rant, ranging from “Hm, that’s interesting” to “How pathetic is that? Taking it so seriously?”
I think that’s what is happening here, having a different perspective of what is nutty and what isn’t. I may be wrong, though.
I consider myself to be a fan of several authors but not a fan girl as you describe it. Fan girl behavior can put off other readers.
I don’t hold a writer responsible for fan girl behavior unless I hear that she’s encouraging people to “defend her honor,” so to speak. It bothers me when authors tell their fans to start a smear campaign or post positive-only reviews at Amazon and the like.
What about blogger fangirls?
Seems to me that’s just as real a phenomenon. There seems to be a core group of 10 or 15 people who all agree with each other on their blogs and compliment each other effusively on their insights. Anybody disagreeing with one of the core group is attacked with the same rabid (and group) intensity you ascribe to author fangirls.
Fangirls are fangirls, don’t you think?
You are so right, Suze. I was just thinking that as I typed a response on the SB’s blog agreeing with something I did. I found myself thinking, my God, I sound like a fangirl. I’m really not, I swear, I just happened to agree.
I do believe that sometimes people find it easier to agree or be agreeable, rather than to be a lone dissenter or one of few. So it appears we have a group of fangirls, when in fact it’s just so much harder to tell an author, a blogger, or anyone that you don’t agree, you didn’t think their book was great, or that they’re not your very favorite author.
However, I do think there is a real concern surrounding fan behavior reflecting on authors. I’ve had people email me, talking about how they might want to try an author’s book, but the fan behavior was really turning them off and making them hesitate in throwing money towards an author who encouraged that type of thing. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it happens.
My naivete never ceases to amaze me. Do some authors really do that? Rally the troops to go bash somebody else? Or just jump to their defense? For realz?
Damn. And I thought I was pushing the envelope by asking website vistors if they want to sign up for a newsletter.
LOL, For a second I was afraid I was a fangirl once.
I don’t think I was ever THAT rabid. I’m a little worried that these chicks are out there, lol.
Not worried enough not to want one or two, lol, but worried all the same. ROFL!!
Smooches,
Dee
Wow – this has opened my eyes. Colour me green as grass, I hadn’t caught on to any of this kind of thing. Maybe I need to get out more.
I think they can be a detrement to an author. There are a couple of authors I have no desire to try because of the nuttiness of some of their fans. I am a fan of certain authors and on very rare occasions will email them – more because I always like it when someone tells me I did a good job and I figure they would like that too, but I’m always aware that no other reader has the same exact taste as I do so if I really like a certain author and others didn’t – hey, that’s fine. I can’t imagine ever getting that caught up in an author I would loose all reason.
I think I’m a fan but not rabid *g* I have fun on the lists and have a ton of authors that are auto reads (sorry I don’t make enough money to have you all as auto buy authors *s*)
I do know that I have to work hard to harness my inner bitch (can I say that word here? LOL). I click delete for a LOT of posts that I almost make. People make me crazy.
I often feel that I just might go to hell for some of the thoughts going through my head…but I do (most of the time) play nice. I don’t have the evil thoughts because people disagree with me though so while I’m a fan, I’m not an evil obsessive scary fan.
From what I understand, the number of readers on the internet that participate in discussions, whether here, at AAR or at an author’s website is supposedly small in comparison to the real world. For that reason, I don’t think that the “fan girl” harms the author. It might deter a few readers who populate that insulate world of the romance internet community but it isn’t going to drive an author off the bestseller list. I think only an author’s writing can do that.
Aww hell. Sounds like fun. I’m in. Jaci, Mary, I’ll be your fangirl!
::Reading rules of FanGirl Bible::
I can do that!
An interesting topic, and equally interesting responses to it.
I’d say at least one of the most recent replies was by someone who HAS exhibited serious fangirl tendencies (both online and off) – but I think denial of their behavior is also quite indicative of the fangirl.
There are authors I support and whose work I enjoy, but never so vehemently as to gush effussively or bash someone else for his or her opinion. I might ask them to explain WHY they feel the way they do, but I wouldn’t hold it against them or beat them up over it.
No two readers have the same likes, dislikes, or comfort level. I’ve read plenty of books others raved about that I didn’t like, and know the reverse is also true, but I have never deliberately panned an author’s work, as I have seen others do, nor will I gush profusely over a favorite author’s latest book if it doesn’t – in my opinion – quite measure up. I’ve taken abuse for stating such an opnion, too, in a group that seemed to idolize one author while largely ignoring others.
The “mob mentality” can indeed be a dangerous thing.
Even older authors/characters have over-the-top fans who should not be allowed in front of a computer keyboard to write “fanfic.” You wouldn’t believe some of the things “fangirls” wrote about clean-cut Trixie Belden
(I know this is a romance blog, not old-fashioned YA mystery blog, but you did mention fanfiction). Sadly, for loyal readers who stumble across some of these stories or, as I did, go looking for more writings (since Trixie’s author was long gone), fanfic often tarnishes the reader’s view of the character/author. I rather regret reading as much of the fanfic as I did.
The last day or so I’ve been giving some thought to this posting about the ‘fangirl’ phenom.
I’m still relatively new to the online communities…message boards, yahoo groups, etc…not quite two years with the first yahoo group I joined. I have to admit to being a bit turned off by the fangirls, as defined above. As I read the more common behavior that was listed, I was experiencing flashbacks to author X’s group and publisher Y’s group. I originally joined author X’s group because I loved that first book. I was already a member of publisher Y’s group and would never have thought I’d relegate myself to lurking there. I was feeling no escape from this author’s fangirls. 
As a consequence this reader has been turned off enough that I’m just not interested in reading anything more by author X. Well, partially due to the fangirls…the author did the rest.
On a side note, I thought the mention of blogger fangirls was interesting. I think I’ve seen this creature too.
I need to get out of my cave more often because I wasn’t even aware of the phenomenon until I read this post. Then…I began to notice the behavior of the blogger fangirls. One blog has so many fans that it reminds me of an armed encampment surrounding the blog author. I imagined that writing a negative comment would be the equivalent of hurling a grenade into their line of defense.
Like Nicole, I’m a huge fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon. But based on your definition, I’m absolutely not a fangirl. I have seen fangirl behavior on her loops and bbs, though. I remember getting into an argument with one fangirl because I didn’t agree about the witchiness of one particular character. She insisted that the character was one who didn’t deserve to live because of her horrible treatment of the heroine, while I predicted the character would be redeemed and would probably show up in a future novel as a heroine.
I left the loop not long after that. Why discuss books if you can’t do so openly and honestly?
that’s okay, though. I’ll just spend my time writing, and on my list..
no obsessive type behavior there unless people start trying to steal my dragons and then i get defensive. 