Did Author Colleen Hoover Quit Writing?

Colleen's answer below.

I first wrote about this incredibly popular writer in October 2022. She was the author with 7 Books in the Top 10 NYTimes Best Seller's List that week. That article is here:

Colleen has been missing in action lately and her millions of fans wonder why she’s not churning out the plethora of “normcore thrillers” like she was a couple of years back. What piqued my renewed curiosity about Ms. Hoover was that my daughter just went to see the movie about her most popular book “It Ends With Us”.

Here is Colleens statement about why she is not writing at this time:

“I just want to say a few things.

I have not stopped writing forever. The headline on the Texas Monthly article touched on a small part of an hours-long conversation with a great and very sweet journalist. I explained to her that it had been a while since I’ve been able to write because the landscape of social media has changed and it made me lose the joy I used to have for writing. But I think it’s worth digging into that a little more.

I do not mind bad reviews on my books. When this career began, it began with bad reviews and I continued to write and have fun with it. But as the whole world can see, social media has DRASTICALLY changed in the past few years. It’s bigger and louder and gets more personal, and the more exposure a person has, the more hate they receive. And my conversation in the article centered mostly around how I’m adjusting to it. Do I discuss it and be called weak or ungrateful or both? Do I ignore it and allow things to be said that are ridiculously and painfully untrue? Do I leave social media altogether even though it’s been one of my favorite parts of this career?

It was an honest conversation that I think a lot of us are scared to have, because frankly every conversation that ends up online is accompanied by a layer of fear of what the backlash will be. Because nothing is without backlash anymore. And every single human on the planet now has their very own podium and microphone.

Things are just different, and when you get to a point where you have the amount of exposure I’ve experienced as of late, you naturally receive more negativity. It’s par for the course. It’s sad that it’s par for the course, but we see it with every person who has a following on the internet, and we’re conditioned to run to the comment section to watch it all unfold and get that dopamine rush. I’m guilty of it too.

Am I perfect? No. Do I deserve the success my books have seen? No. I’m not sure anyone does.

But opinions are allowed, and the world now monetizes opinions, so there are LOTS more of them.

I don’t want anyone to worry about me or my mental health. I have a wonderful support system. The absolute best.

I was just trying to express my sadness that because of all the changes, I have had to temporarily back away from something I love because the idea of a release day and what that entails for not just me, but for the people in my life, make it more stressful than fun. And that’s the truth. The end result of writing a book and releasing is just no longer a motivator, and based on the amount of authors who have reached out after my interview, it is not fun for many of us anymore. And the saddest part of that is the fear it probably puts into new writers. I don’t want people to not write simply because they are scared of the backlash for not getting every single sentence or message perfectly right for every single reader. An impossible task.

It’s a tough crowd out there and while I constantly try to do better and be better, I also constantly reassure myself that no one, and I mean no one, can live up to the expectations of the internet.

This week has reminded me that I am seen and I am supported and my books are loved by many of you, despite my lack of being here like I used to be able to be here. And this trailer did phenomenal and blew expectations out of the water, and as much as I love those who are excited for it, I also love all those who watched it over and over to prepare their videos that are sure to rip every scene apart. Because those views counted too.

Hate me or love me, I do not share that anger and hatred in return. I am not built that way and I do not want to be built that way.

I have not succeeded because of anything other than an enjoyment of writing and doing my best to leave this world a better place. To be able to say that I have very few regrets and I am proud of who I am and proud of those in my life and am deeply loved by my immediate family is literally the accomplishment I hoped for as a child.

The rest is just fluff.

I am happy. I need you all to know that and believe it. Legacy means very little to me, which is why I do nothing to defend it. Legacy is something that happens after I’m gone. It affects me none.

I want to be happy while I am here on this earth, in this moment. And I am.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to leave this space feeling the love you’ve all made me feel this week. Thank you for that. From the depths of my soul, thank you.

Colleen ~ May 22 from her Facebook

Real life Drama surrounding the cast of the movie:

Why Fans Think ‘It Ends With Us’ Stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Are Feuding—As Baldoni Reportedly Hires Crisis PR

Any thoughts?