Authonomy and Out

I clicked my "View Profile" bookmark and received the following message, "Sorry, an error has occurred." Only I knew it wasn't an error. Just shy of my second anniversary of joining authonomy, my account had been cancelled. Since it was at my request, it was hardly a surprise. In fact, it came as more of a relief.

Since January of 2009 when I spent a frantic month reading and backing the book of every person who did the same for The Samurai Poet just to stay close to the top 100, I realized that my book was never going to make it to the top 5 for a look from a HarperCollins editor. I rationalized my continued participation, thinking that, if nothing else, I was exposing the novel to a potential audience (what's known in the biz as "building a platform"). A second look at a post from Victoria Strauss's excellent "Writer's Beware" blog crystallized a truth that had been lurking in my own mind:

While I don't buy into the notion that Authonomy can help writers build readership--a few hundred reader recommendations hardly constitutes a following [. . .]

She made that observation in September 2008, and it has only been proven with more evidence over time. Authonomy support is an inch deep and a mile wide because most readers are only giving your book a cursory read at best. They look for a something unique to comment on, back your book, and move on to the next one. The main reason they return is to thank you for reciprocating or to badger you for not getting to their book quickly enough (the climbers keep lists to track the laggards.)

The last straw for me was when I found myself unable to recall all the titles of the short list of books I had truly liked. So long story short, I sent in my cancellation request a few days ago; fortunately, it was deactivated early in the 28 day grace period they ask for. Now it's time to start culling all the broken links I've left sprinkled on this blog and other sites. If I miss any, let me know.

And by the way, thanks to those who did take the time to read and comment on it--I appreciated it.