How friends react to your work

Claudia

Okay, so I’ve long accepted that friends can be a little strange about reading my articles. They usually just look at the photographs and skip the text. I don’t worry about it any more, but today took the biscuit.
A friend of my OH has been visiting us and OH talked about his underwater pics because said friend is a bit of a photographer himself. OH mentioned that I use his underwater pics in my articles, so I showed said friend one of them.
Friend duly looked at the article, highly praising OH’s pics.
Did he actually read my article? I’ve no idea. All I know is that I overheard him saying to OH – “why is her name on this and not yours?”
:rolleyes:

dorothyd

That was most unkind of the friend, surely he could have used a bit of common sense and realised it was your words!

Neph

Aw Claudia that's not nice, although I think I would have been tempted to say something, I seem to have lost a lot of tact lately.

heather

I suppose if photography is his thing then maybe he thought the text was there to support the pictures rather than the other way round. No excuse though, and very rude.

One of my friends is just not interested in my writing at all - I don't know why. I'm sure I don't go on about it very much, in fact I'm very aware of not doing it when she's there as if I do mention it she just makes a passing comment and moves on to another thing. So I've started doing the same when she goes on about her children. :) (Am I very bad?)

Liz

Lol! Friendship means you are interested in your friend, and willing to support, help and listen, otherwise it's not a friendship is it?

Some of my friends are more interested than others, to the extent of coming and listening to me read - about 8 came to hear me to my Uni course and about 11 came to Bath Literary festival to hear me there. I'm sure they'll buy my book... but I wouldn't really chat about my writing unless something exceptionally interesting had happened or was about to happen, ie getting published, going to a retreat etc.

Which is incidental really to the actual writing, I mean you can't actually TALK about writing can you? Edit to say, I mean to people who don't do it? I do to a friend who has just got an agent for her novel.

red-lucy

Claudia-I'm sure that's a 'man' thing anyway-looking at the pictures and not reading the text-so his focus would be on your OH's input not yours, not worth brooding on he's just ignorant.

Heather-I don't think that's bad-in any case sounds like jealousy to me :)

Personally I don't discuss my writing with anyone, occasionally I let my OH read stuff but mostly I just keep it to myself. It's mine and when-and I mean when-it's published then maybe I might be tempted to crow a bit, but until then it's between us and the editors I have sent stuff too :)

dora

I think it's just the fact the guy is a photographer too. Prolly nowt personal against you claudia.

Carol

He was obviously too focused on the photography and was completely oblivious to the fact that the photos were supporting the article and not the other way round.

Claudia

He he! Yes, definitely oblivious to the fact that it was MY article - not OH's!
Also, I should point out that he didn't refer to me as "her" - he did use my name, but I didn't want to use my real name when I typed the quote.
I'm not really upset with him - I was more amazed then anything. :)

Stan2

And of course, the words were better than the piccy! ;)

Rosalie

Some of my acquaintances either overstate my success (such as it is...) and seem to think I'm in the best-seller lists and earning a fortune (I wish :)). Others ignore my writing completely and assume I stay at home and put my feet up all day long.

My friends are different - they are mainly very supportive and give me the chance to 'go on a bit' about my writing from time to time. But I try not to do it too much. Though I do have one very good old friend who always changes the subject if I mention my books... I have never sussed out why this is. I can't think it's jealousy because she is not that kind of person. It's almost like a kind of embarrassment, as though I worked in the sex industry or something...

casey

Claudia, perhaps you should have pointed out that your name was on the article because you're the genius of the team, OH helps out - occasionally!

When I talk about writing to my friends and family - their eyes glaze over.

Lou Treleaven

Oh, how annoying, Claudia! That's why we have TB, because people on here understand what it means to us even when other people don't. My friends are supportive and my husband is great, but my parents never really believe it when I have any good news to tell them. I have had a few 'bites' and a few near misses and they are never mentioned. I know I shouldn't need to seek their approval at my age, but it makes me all the more determined to succeed.

Liz

Lol, on the other hand, extreme enthusiasm is also quite painful... my mum told EVERYONE that I was a children's poet, and insisted on reading them samples of my poems. Even dying in hospital, she asked for me to send her some, and then read them to all the other patients on her ward and the nurses. Then when I visited she would also introduce me to her victims.

She can't have been toooo offensive though, as when she was moved to another ward, her ward all signed a petition to get her back... I've never heard of that happening before!

Rosalie

What a tribute to your mum, Liz - that's lovely. (They must have liked your poems, too :) )

Claudia

Oh Liz - that's fantastic; your mother must have been a wonderful lady.

Mabh

Ooh, Claudia, how annoying. I've got three theories. 1) they think we're boasting, 2)they think we just sent some info and the features editor actually wrote it (which does happen) or 3) they think they could do it themselves it they wanted to, because it's only a load of words in sentences. <shocked face>

As for your OH's friend... pearls to swine, my friend ;)