Open Mouth, Insert Foot

This week has been a crazy when it comes to authors/bloggers/reviewers. No, I will not feed the beast by posting a link to the insanity of which I speak, but I will say this -- an author didn't like a review, went insane, and had a mug created in her honor. Authors spoke up about it, reviewers and readers got annoyed, and it was a big 'ole mess. No one came out a winner in the end, which is what prompted me to write this blog.

Perhaps it was bound to happen eventually. We live in a cyber-age. No longer are authors these mystical creatures who write behind massive desks in magical attics. Nopers, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Wordpress, and Goodreads. Want to say hello? It's as easy as typing your maximum word count. No fuss, no muss. There is a flipside to this, however, which really bothers me.

Author TMI.

To be fair, I do blog about my life a bit. I talk about my kidlets, my husband, and my obsession with horror movies and music. I can't say I've never shared. With that said, I also choose what I put into the WWW. For example, once I was very vocal about piracy. Now? Not so much. It isn't that I'm pro-piracy. Rather, I've learned that most of the people who visit me here are honest people who purchase my work. It's not fair to rant to you when you've done nothing but support me.

The same goes for other things, like say...my sex life.

I don't know what it is, but I'm shocked at just how much people will share about themselves, their sexual desires, and what they are thinking with the reading public. I know as a reader, I don't want to know if my favorite author likes anal sex, has put on a strap on, is thinking about *insert actor here* and him putting his massive winkie inside his/her cream filled Twinkie, if you know what I mean. For some, there don't seem to be any boundaries whatsoever. Does this mean they won't sell books? No. But it does mean "I" won't be buying one.

I think authors have a responsibility to be professional. This is your job. Of course, as an author, it is your business so you can run the ship how you see fit. Perhaps there is a market for sharing these things. Maybe authors believe it makes readers feel closer to them. Or maybe they just don't care either way.  I do know that romance authors have to work twice as hard to achieve the same level of respect of writers in other genres (although, it is only fair to state the behavior I've witnessed doesn't occur solely within the romance community). I have to question if the behavior of some is a reflection of why the community is as shunned as it is. If you want to be taken seriously, don't you have to be, you know, serious?

Although I'm probably going to get slammed for saying so, I think more people should think before they speak (or in this case, Tweet). And yes, before you ask (as I mentioned above) I'm guilty of opening my mouth and inserting my foot directly into it. Of course, I'm a once bitten twice shy kind of gal. You don't have to slap me twice with a dummy stick to get my attention.

I know most of you are on Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger/Wordpress. What do YOU think. Can/do authors cross a line? Or am I just an old codger who needs to get with the times? Let me know via a comment. ;-)