Mills notes that, "There's a fine line between coming across as fun and quirky and coming across as unprofessional and snarky."
Indeed, there is a fine line and I have no doubt that I often walk that fine line and (gasp) often fail to walk it, which is to say that I step right on over it into snarksville.
Usually, this happens when I send out pieces of my writing to journals. I find myself habitually writing some funny/slightly sarcastic remarks in the comments box and hitting send before thinking too hard about it. What compels me to do this is my awareness of how many submissions they receive. I often wonder whether they even read them all, and I think that I've convinced myself, perhaps unwisely, that I need to make and impression in order to stand out amongst the masses.
I'm not completely willy-nilly about these remarks. If a journal seems super serious or uptight, I leave the comment section blank, but if they are more laid back and loose, like say The Rumpus, I might tend to put a little something something in there that would make them scratch their head or howl with laughter. Interestingly, this has everything to do with what Mills writes about in his article. I am interpreting the tone of each site, although perhaps I should spend a few more seconds considering how the people who read my comments might interpret or misinterpret me.
Being a smart ass has its risks, but there is supposed to be a certain risk/reward ratio, right? Then again, there's probably a similar correlation between risk/failure. Mills has definitely given me something to consider and I'll certainly be more mindful after reading his article, but I don't think that it's humanly possible for me to go cold turkey on my smart ass-edness. I mean, I've got to be me and this is part of me. Here's to hoping that I find a way to walk the line more than I cross it.
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