Fan Musings: Tales Of Kings and Queens
Who's the fan queen or king?
Who cares, anyway? Not me anymore.
I got out of the "premiere fan" business years ago. I tried to be the most visible, biggest of fans, the most knowledgeable, etc. etc. But that was all when I was younger. At my age now, it's just way too stressful. And it's not always fun. What I learned years ago is when it stops being fun, then it's time to stop.
Here's what got me out of that most of all: I had some opportunities to get up close and personal with my performing heroes. I found out that my so-called "idols" were human. They had doubts, fears and hangups like the rest of us. Some were painfully shy offstage. Others who could entertain large crowds were like fish out of water when having to perform one on one. Or perhaps they suffered from stage fright before going on stage and making it look easy.
These days, if I like what an artist has said or done, I respond from the heart. Sometimes I get back a response or some indication that it's been felt. More often than not, I don't. I admit to being like many in that I'd love to get a response back every time I sent a fan note. But I had to decide each and every time I've sent something that hearing back cannot be the motivation for me to share my feelings. It had to be about something bigger: unconditional encouragement.
In order to bring a little balance to all this, I offer the following perspective to artists out there: You have a tough job keeping everyone happy when you get big enough to have a large and growing fan base. The regular newsletter and/or website update route which many seem to be taking appears to be very effective overall. But a cautionary "be aware" note: if you start singling out fans in these things, that's when you could open the door for difficulty. Remember, you're dealing with humans who all want to be loved and who especially want to be loved by you. If you do something for one, others will want it as well. So be sure it's as much as you can handle. The "group hug" approach publicly whenever possible is perhaps the safest route.
Fan kingdoms and queendoms eventually crumble. We grow up, we grow old, we move on to other things. It's not worth fighting or stressing over. Instead, we all should try to emulate the kingdom of God and lift each other up. Doing it in our own ways, with the colors each and every one of us has to offer each other because God tells our hearts to do so.
--Wendy V