They Who Attack

Good morning and welcome to Thursday Thoughts. Today, we’re addressing a topic that has, unfortunately, become rather prevalent lately. Can you believe there are authors bashing other authors on social media? Some of today’s authors have decided the way to deal with another author they’re upset at is to bully them.
This first came to my attention when I noticed a post during March that chilled my blood in a way it hasn’t been for many years. I was reading a post about an author who is also a cover artist being bullied by a group of eighty authors who sent her PMs via Facebook. They were telling her to kill herself because of something another author had alleged. Now, the meaning behind this particular move by this author didn’t become clear until much later; it was something to do with cover art. The exact details are unclear, since those who did the bullying and drove the author being attacked to attempt suicide never once mentioned their dastardly deed and the reasons behind it until after they’d been outed by the writer community.
This was the second mistake they made. The first being to attack a woman until she literally thought suicide was her only option. Not owning up to what they were being asked to do before they did it has many in the rather large writer community actively searching for those involved. None of us want to be associated with someone who would do something so heinous.
Let me be blunt here. If the accusation was right, if the person who was bullied did take original artwork from another author’s book and use it to make a cover for another author, that was wrong. However, since this information didn’t come out until these people had literally shamed a person into attempting to take their own life, many people don’t accept their excuse. I am one of those people.
Bullying in any way, shape, form, or for any reason is unacceptable. There are other, more professional ways of dealing with what happened. The authors involved in this problem have yet to identify themselves. To be honest, doing so, even if they do apologize for their actions, won’t change the outcome. The writer community has made it known that if they discover any of their author friends were involved in this act, these people will be shunned. We cannot and will not accept bullying of anyone, no matter what they are alleged to have done, and especially  in this matter.
In this twenty-first century of indie and self-published authors, we must remember one thing. We must work together in order to succeed. We can’t tear each other down, or we will end up struggling even harder than we already are.



About K.C. Sprayberry
Born and raised in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her
She’s a multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair characters and coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond. game when plotting a new story.

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