A Look Back on Sarah Dessen’s Twitter Scandal
By: Chelsea Thompson
Tags: Writing, Books And Authors, Social Media, Authors, Books

If you’re apart of the book community on Twitter, you might have heard all the hub-bub surrounding Sarah Dessen last year. If not, here’s your recap.

Every year, Northern State University releases a list of books picked by staff, community members, and students for their Common Read Program. The book chosen for that year is read by every first-year student and the author is invited to speak. Back in 2016, then junior student, Brooke Nelson told Aberdeen News that she didn’t think Sarah Dessen’s work, Saint Anything, belonged on the list. “She’s fine for teen girls,” Nelson had said, “But definitely not up to the level of Common Read. So I became involved simply so I could stop them from ever choosing Sarah Dessen.”

Jumping to 2019, Sarah Dessen posted this snippet and tweeted, “Authors are real people. We put our heart and soul into the stories we write often because it is literally how we survive in this world. I’m having a really hard time right now and this is just mean and cruel. I hope it made you feel good.”

Famous authors should as Angie Thomas, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Weiner, and many more were quick to come to Dessen’s defense. Some even going as far to call her names, like Siobhan Vivian, who tweeted out, “F**k that F**king B**ch” or Dhonielle Clayton, who added to her sentence by responding with, “Can I add a few more choice words … f**k that RADDEGY A** f**king b**ch.”

The mini Twitter riot incited conversations about Young Adult novels, believing that Nelson looked down upon YA novels. Northern State also tweeted out an apology to Sarah Dessen, stating their love for YA novels.

However, things came to a head when Brooke wrote Vulture stating that her quote had been taking out of context, “I followed my evaluation of Sarah Dessen’s work with a rationale advocating for three other books that I felt better addressed relevant social issues: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, and When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.”

Suddenly, many people were tweeting in Nelson’s defense. Calling out various authors for jumping on the bandwagon, expressing a boycott of their books, and lashing at Dessen’s fans for driving Nelson off Twitter. An account by the name of “@floricomant”, tweeted a thread of the entire scandal from beginning to end, attached with screenshots of the many authors who participated, and the hashtag, #WhoNotToRead.

A couple of days after Dessen’s initial tweet, the author apologized, tweeting, “Something important I’d like to say,” with a screenshot of her apology:

“Two days ago, I chose to post a screenshot of a quote from a newspaper article that was critical of my books,” She stated in the beginning of her apology. “I want to apologize to the person that was quoted — I’m sorry. Like most authors, I hear all the time from people who don’t like my work. It’s part of the job. With a platform and a following, I have a responsibility to be aware of what I put out there. I know this apology doesn’t change what happened, but I am truly sorry. Moving forward, I’ll do better.”

Many authors began to delete their tweets, while others temporarily deleted their entire Twitter account as damage control. Dhonielle Clayton wrote to Vulture in an email that she should’ve Direct Message’d her tweet to Sarah instead.

Overall, there are several of things people can learn from this whole situation:

1. THE EFFECT OF JUMPING ON THE BANGWAGON AND MAKING CONCLUSIONS TOO EARLY

2. ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SOURCES

3. WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, THE INTERNET IS FOREVER.

THE EFFECT OF JUMPING ON THE BANGWAGON AND MAKING CONCLUSIONS TOO EARLY

Think of entire situation as a game of Telephone. “Telephone” is a game where a group of people sit or stand next to each other in a line. Then, one person at the end of the line whisper something to the person next to them, then that person has the pass it on to the person next to them and so and so on. At the end of the line, the last person has to repeat what was said to them and the person that started reveals what the message really was.

In this case, Brooke Nelson whispered to Sarah Dessen but Dessen said something different to the person next to her. Then down the line, the message gets all jumbled up until what Brooke really said is revealed at end.

The immediate reaction and harassment to Brooke over Sarah Dessen’s tweet is what some may call “a bandwagon.” When everyone takes part in something just because it’s popular or looks right. This is often done with no research going forward into it. It can get really bad when it’s someone famous or someone you trust. You may feel obligated to automatically trust what they say, because betrayal is unimaginable. Everyone has done it, at least once.

Because of this incident, it’s no doubt that some readers have lost trust in the authors that participated. Not just readers that had been following them but new potential readers. Their image of the author as changed. Now every time readers come across a book with Sarah Dessen or Siobhan Vivian names on it, they will cringe and pass on it. Readers don’t want to support an author that condones, and especially, indulges in harassment with blind support.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR SOURCES

The problem here is that Sarah Dessen jumped to conclusion without checking her sources and so did all the others supporting her. They were quick pat her on the back. Not mention the university and publishers like Indigo Teen. No one on her side asked themselves why Brooke felt that way or bothered to compare the other books on the list to Sarah Dessen’s.

The book that had been chosen that year, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, is the harrowing true story about one of the Equal Justice Initiative, or EJI’s, first clients, Walter McMillian who was sentenced to die for a crime he didn’t. The book confronts the unfair justice system in America and how lynching became the death penalty. Same snake, different skin.

Sarah Dessen’s book on the list, Saint Anything, is about a girl who finds her place in the world when she meets the Chatham family after her brother is involved in a drunk driving accident, which left a boy crippled. This book confronts how drunk driving affects more than just the driver and finding a safe place for yourself.

While both books have an important message to relay, I can’t see Saint Anything being a book chosen over something like Just Mercy. If Sarah had just done her research, she would have seen that Nelson’s intention weren’t to hurt her, but merely to spread awareness of other books that have more powerful messages on social issues.

The end lesson is always check your sources. It’s very easy to take hear-say in today’s world, especially when it’s even easier to live in an echo-chamber. Whether it’s from a random YouTube comment or posted by somebody you trusted for a very long time, it’s important to fact check where these articles are coming from.

WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, THE INTERNET IS FOREVER.

While I was researching for this story, I was able to find pictures of many tweets that have now been deleted. Sarah’s original tweet that started it all. Dhonielle and Siobhan’s nasty comments. Many other authors’ support of Dessen. It made me realize how even though some of these tweets were deleted, uploading a screenshot is just a click away. These photos are there forever. A permanent reminder of what happened and a scar on not only Sarah Dessen’s reputation, but everyone that supported the harassment.

In today’s world, where social media reigns, almost anything can be posted online. However, just because can be posted online, doesn’t mean it should be. Not everything needs out there for the world to see. It can not only ruin your image, but ruin your business with future prospects, making it harder to get hired.

There’s one critique I have of Sarah Dessen’s apology.

In her apology, she mentions that, “Like most authors, I hear all the time from people who don’t like my work.”

She acknowledges that she’s heard negative press about her work before, yet she still made the decision to, without any further research, post Nelson’s quote. Instead of taking it with a grain of salt.

Being author requires a strong spine. You can’t unravel and complain at every little bad review that you receive. Yes, they can be harsh, but criticism, constructive or not, comes with the threads. Not everyone will like your work, no matter many praises it gets from readers and publishers.

Another thing being an author requires, is self-awareness. You have to think about what you put out there in cyberspace and do research before you do. You need to know and acknowledge when you are wrong. It may not have been Sarah Dessen’s intent to let her fans to drive Brooke off Twitter, but with a huge and loyal following, that’s what happened.

The truth is, at the end of the day, the fallout eventually faded. It may have caused a small drop in Sarah Dessen’s sales but people will still buy her, and other author’s that had participated, books. The best thing to do is to move on while looking back on things to learn from this scandal and try to avoid making these types of mistakes again.

Sources: Vulture (Sarah Dessen & Brooke Nelson Twitter Controversy (vulture.com)

@floricomant on Twitter: (https://twitter.com/floricomant/status/1195212011598209024?s=20)