I Thought This Was Interesting
Five Things New Writers Do That Guarantee Readers Won't Give Them a ChanceI've been poking around the web, checking out various forums and venues for book promotion, and one thing I've noticed is how rude and crude and clumsy BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) has gotten again. It's like we've come full circle. When I first experimented with self-publishing (waaay back when iUniverse was the hottest game in town), aspiring writers frequently did things like spam everyone on their mailing list, bombard discussion lists with announcements of their releases, butt into every conversation with clumsy references to their own work...and so on and so forth.
And what happened, inevitably, was that readers and other writers got fed up and began to lash out at these hapless newbie boobies. It was a brutal but effective learning curve. And in fairness, choosing to go it alone is such a scary, solitary road and it's understandable that these inexperienced scribes would grab desperately at every chance to keep their book afloat.
The problem is that while a single writer inserting himself and his book into every conversation might be overlooked as the gauche behavior of one member of a community, five hundred authors doing the same thing will be viewed as an assault. The barrage of spamming ensures that reader tolerance will reach its limit and snap. Often the unhappy recipient of all that pent up reader antagonism will be someone newly arrived on the scene with the sheer bad luck to open his mouth at the wrong moment.
Now with self-publishing reaching a whole new zenith, Author BSP is sinking to a new nadir, and once again it's getting ugly and hostile out there. No wonder. I've had several posts from authors in the past couple of weeks featuring subject headers that would do the purveyors of penis enhancers proud. I THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERESTING proclaimed an author who shall be nameless. The message?
Book Title X now available as ebook on Amazon, Google Books and Barnes and Noble.
Come on. Seriously?
Why would anyone think this stark, unvarnished spam from a stranger -- directed to another writer no less! -- would be anything but irritating? I didn't check Amazon, Google or B&N, I didn't even click on the author's profile. I hung onto the message so I could write this post. Period. Spam is spam, and unwelcome advertising, be it for learning to speak a language I have no desire to learn, "a life full of hot babes," or a book with the same generic titles as a dozen other books, is not going to persuade me otherwise. Adopting the tactics of the worst email spammers -- people who rely on hitting that lucky idiot out of every thousand targets -- will not be successful for most people trying to sell literature.
1 - Don't resort to the shlocky tactics of sleazy offshore spammers.
2 - Don't bombard every list you belong to with repeat announcements about your book. At the very least, mix it up, trade off excerpts, personalize them, and above all don't post every day and don't post more than once per day unless you are actually engaged in conversation.
3 - Don't drag your book into every conversation. Let's say you wrote a mystery and you're hanging around the Amazon mystery forums desperately looking for an opening to mention your book. Someone asks for a recommendation of mysteries with strong middleaged protagonists and you wrote a mystery with a middleaged protagonist!!! It's Fate! It's the perfect opening! No. It's not. DON'T jump into the conversation to recommend your own work -- unless you can also recommend several other titles by others (and personally I don't think you should mention your own work even then).
4 - Don't keep commenting on your own announcement posts in order to keep them high on a forum page. This is rude behavior -- and the fact that you acknowledge the rudeness by excusing it on the basis of "posts falling off the front page so quickly" doesn't make it any better. Everyone wants a turn on the front page. Get in line and don't take cuts.
5 - Don't make up an alternate ego to do any of the above on your behalf. First of all, we all know that no one -- not even the most devoted of readers -- spends all her time hitting lists on behalf of her favorite author. Besides, bad behavior on the part of someone representing you will reflect on you.
Readers, what are your biggest turn-offs when it comes to authors trying to promote themselves? What tips could you give them from the reader perspective?
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Jun 17, 2012 05:40PM
Have you read about an author that shot himself to advertise his book? ~__~;;
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Other big turn-off, not just authors but musicians as well, is when they retweet every nice comment made about them or their work. Kind of lame when your whole timeline is full of retweets. I know and like your work already if I am following you. No need to hear every person ever gush about your work too.
iYok wrote: "Have you read about an author that shot himself to advertise his book? ~__~;;"If only more of them could be persuaded to do so.
Sars wrote: "Other big turn-off, not just authors but musicians as well, is when they retweet every nice comment made about them or their work. Kind of lame when your whole timeline is full of retweets. I know ..."Retweets or thank-yous? I try to thank everyone but even that feels embarrassing. But on the other hand I guess I'd rather be too polite than not polite enough.
Replying to say thank you is different matter because not everyone in your timeline will see the response.
I don't like when an author talks about another author's work, especially in a negative way, and you can feel they were looking forward to expressing THAT particular opinion. For example: I don't know why this author has a billion readers, the writing style is self-referential, the main character's voice is narcissistic, etc.Yes, sure.
Josh wrote: "5 - Don't make up an alternate ego to do any of the above on your behalf..." That alternate ego thing is scary and truly screwed up. I wonder if it's common? It sure sounds completely mad. :(
I don't like, when authors I have never heard of (and whom I have definitely never discussed about/with) want to be friends with me in Goodreads. I find it annoying. On the other hand, authors must experience the same thing all the time from readers, but I guess that's different, because we readers are your audience.
Sars wrote: "Replying to say thank you is different matter because not everyone in your timeline will see the response."Ah. That's the part I always find confusing. Who sees what. I operate from the fearful position that everyone sees everything, which is a good inhibitor.
:-)
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "I don't like when an author talks about another author's work, especially in a negative way, and you can feel they were looking forward to expressing THAT particular opinion. For example: I don't k..."It always sounds like sour grapes, doesn't it? No matter how sincere that rival author is.
And that's because of course we cannot help but be bugged by great success of people we don't think are that good. Especially if in our heart of hearts we think we're both better and underappreciated.
There are books and writers I CANNOT BEAR, cannot fathom why they would be loved and praised, let alone loved and praised by my own super smart readers.
:-D :-D
But they are and I do my best to keep my mouth shut not least because I respect my readers, so if they see something there, there probably IS something there that I'm blind to.
Josh wrote: "And that's because of course we cannot help but be bugged by great success of people we don't think are that good. Especially if in our heart of hearts we think we're both better and underappreciated...."
Of course sometimes it's a big name author slamming a little guy and that even looks worse. Even if it's simply motivated by the aggravation of seeing someone do badly the thing you take such pride and care with. It usually looks meanspirited.
Because it almost always is.
It's pretty difficult to separate between reviewing as a "rival author" and as a "normal reader". I always give the author (who writes reviews) the benefit of the doubts. Wouldn't it be even more "sour grapes" to think that criticism from other author are just petty jealousy?
I started a discussion on Amazon asking a simple question of readers like myself. The discussion was going great for several weeks - lots of interesting comments, suggestions, great feedback, we were having a blast bouncing ideas off of each other - then the authors stepped in and all but monopolized the conversation with shameless self-promotion. Like others I ignore them and don't check out their books/blogs under any circumstance because at this point they have ticked me off.
If you are an established author, I would think the best course of action would be to keep your own blog/GR groups current and let the readers leave their reviews everywhere! That's what I do as a reader - I discuss the book and leave reviews. As a new author I can see where things might be a little more difficult, but again having your own platform (blog, GR group, etc.) and maybe reaching out to like-minded authors for guest posts, would be a more reader-friendly source of self promotion that will attract loyal readers.
Thanks for this post Josh! As a reader, this truly has become the elephant in the room, and for some reason authors don't talk about it much. Kudos to you for doing so.
If you are an established author, I would think the best course of action would be to keep your own blog/GR groups current and let the readers leave their reviews everywhere! That's what I do as a reader - I discuss the book and leave reviews. As a new author I can see where things might be a little more difficult, but again having your own platform (blog, GR group, etc.) and maybe reaching out to like-minded authors for guest posts, would be a more reader-friendly source of self promotion that will attract loyal readers.
Thanks for this post Josh! As a reader, this truly has become the elephant in the room, and for some reason authors don't talk about it much. Kudos to you for doing so.
Johanna wrote: "I don't like, when authors I have never heard of (and whom I have definitely never discussed about/with) want to be friends with me in Goodreads. I find it annoying. On the other hand, authors must experience the same thing all the time from readers, but I guess that's different, because we readers are your audience. ..."
Yes. That's it. If a reader wants to be friend, I know it's because they have read my work or they know me as the public me. I am (in a VERY limited way) a public figure. I have put something out there for reader consumption, so in that sense I've made the first move and it's now up to the reader to engage or not.
But for me to solicit readers--now I'm hunting them down and trying to get them to engage whether they want to or not.
Josh wrote: "There are books and writers I CANNOT BEAR, cannot fathom why they would be loved and praised, let alone loved and praised by my own super smart readers. :-D :-D"
Probably their guilty pleasures :D
iYok wrote: "Wouldn't it be even more "sour grapes" to think that criticism from other author are just petty jealousy?"
You're a better person than me, lol
A famous Italian politician said that "when you think bad of something, you're probably committing a sin, but you're probably not wrong." How long does it take to become so jaded? And I'm one of those readers who try to find at least one positive thing to say about a book I didn't like :)
iYok wrote: "It's pretty difficult to separate between reviewing as a "rival author" and as a "normal reader". I always give the author (who writes reviews) the benefit of the doubts. Wouldn't it be even more..."
It usually has to do with the tone of the review.
And of course the fact that so many authors use reviewing as a promotional platform -- as a way of getting their name out there and building a following -- so it can create a perception that some critics are trying to build on the bodies of their colleagues.
Of course that's not always fair because a natural part of the learning-to-write process is critiquing and analyzing other books and other writers. So again it gets back to tone.
Some people can be critical and sound impersonal and academic. Some people can be critical and write a negative review that turns out to be mostly about themselves.
Johanna wrote: "Josh wrote: "5 - Don't make up an alternate ego to do any of the above on your behalf..." That alternate ego thing is scary and truly screwed up. I wonder if it's common? It sure sounds completel..."
A few months ago I reported - together with a bunch of people I think - an author who created a lot of false accounts here at GR, all people from the same state, with profile pic from the same batch, so to push her book to the listopia #1 position. Dozens of fake accounts. It's mostly sad...
Leah wrote: "I started a discussion on Amazon asking a simple question of readers like myself. The discussion was going great for several weeks - lots of interesting comments, suggestions, great feedback, we w..."Ducking into one of those Amazon discussions on Author Behavior or Reviews is one of the coldest splashes of reality an author can have.
Because new authors are typically self-absorbed, they don't realize that their experience is not unique and they are not operating in a vacuum.
And of course everyone has unrealistic expectations of how long it takes to "break out." So if they aren't bestsellers within 3 months, they get panicky.
They start thinking, I may as well spam everyone because I couldn't do any worse than I am. But building a writing career depends heavily on cumulative effect, so...yes, actually you could do worse and you could do damage to what you've managed to achieve so far.
(Heh, sorry to drag you off topic for a bit.)Yeah, I guess it depends on the tone. I don't normally hold anything back though, especially when I don't like that book. I'm super bitchy. And no, I'm not a better person, I don't even try to find things to compliment on. XD
Back to topic, I absolutely hate it when an author barged into my story page, said random thing that sounded vaguely complimenting, then proceeded to ask me and my readers to go and read his novel.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "A few months ago I reported - together with a bunch of people I think - an author who created a lot of false accounts here at GR, all people from the same state, with profile pic from the same batch, so to push her book to the listopia #1 position. Dozens of fake accounts. It's mostly sad... ..."
Judging by conversations on Amazon and here at GR, this is more and more common. It's always gone on to an extent, but as the technology develops and the options of social media expand, so do the tools for authorial deception.
As much as I want to say that this kind of bad behavior doesn't succeed, we've all seen it succeed. We all know that it is possible to take cuts in line if you've got a very commercial project and you just need a little boost.
But what I wonder is...does gaming the system work more than once? Is it a real foundation for a writing career? Does it create any kind of a solid platform or is the gamer stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying her own books and faking her own reviews?
This I don't know. In the end I would think it still comes down to how good a writer the author really is?
iYok wrote: "Yeah, I guess it depends on the tone. I don't normally hold anything back though, especially when I don't like that book. I'm super bitchy. And no, I'm not a better person, I don't even try to find things to compliment on. XDA lot of new writers feel like this. It's part of that new writer energy. An impatience with these idiots who can't see how the story should be written!!!
:-D
So here's some good advice that you surely will not take. Make friends not enemies. Much of your success will depend on that.
It is not enough to be the best writer in the room.
Back to topic, I absolutely hate it when an author barged into my story page, said random thing that sounded vaguely complimenting, then proceeded to ask me and my readers to go and read his novel.
(Heh, sorry to drag you off topic for a bit.)
This is painfully common, and the writers who do this honestly believe that this is a smooth move, that it's not nakedly, embarrassingly transparent.
It's a technique they've lifted from spambots and they mistakenly think that what works for a spambot hitting a zillion sites in a week will work for an author hitting 20 sites in a week.
Writers are not naturally smooth operators. let's put it that way.
Josh wrote: "There are books and writers I CANNOT BEAR, cannot fathom why they would be loved and praised, let alone loved and praised by my own super smart readers. :-D :-D
But they are and I do my best to keep my mouth shut not least because I respect my readers, so if they see something there, there probably IS something there that I'm blind to."
LOL. This made me smile widely. I think I recognize myself from this (maybe not the smart part *grin*) and I definitely recognize you, Josh. You are so polite, sweet and considerate towards your readers, you really are. :) It makes me ashamed of my own enthusiastic self. ;)
Emanuela wrote: "A few months ago I reported - together with a bunch of people I think - an author who created a lot of false accounts here at GR, all people from the same state, with profile pic from the same batch, so to push her book to the listopia #1 position. Dozens of fake accounts. It's mostly sad..."Well, that is sad and desperate. It's really hard to believe that somebody would do that. I'm amazed. And I'm glad you reported that!!
Josh wrote: "But what I wonder is...does gaming the system work more than once? Is it a real foundation for a writing career? Does it create any kind of a solid platform or is the gamer stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying her own books and faking her own reviews?This I don't know. In the end I would think it still comes down to how good a writer the author really is?"
I would like to think that this kind of behavior doesn't pay off in the long run. But I think that you are right about it succeeding maybe once or twice. But how could anyone build a real, permanent writing career on a foundation like that? I don't see how that could happen. And all that gaming must take a whole lot of time and energy too...
Interesting topic, especially so because I've seen this same behavior - as described in the original post - in established authors in the SciFi community. And I find it even less attractive than with a newbie writer because they should know better. One would think... I've stopped reading some authors due to what I consider extremely poor "public" behavior. I have the freedom to choose where my hard earned $$ will go afterall. But there is another interesting sub-thread here: reviews. In my very humble opinion, a review is something done by say an editor or copy editor, a major newspaper, magazine or literary body, or some paid professional to critique ones work. Money may or may not be involved.
Anything else (Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, blogs, Tweets, etc) are someones opinion and only their opinion and thusly to be taken with a grain of salt (or maybe a whole darn salt shaker).
Now I will crawl back under my rock... ;)
Johanna wrote: "And all that gaming must take a whole lot of time and energy too... ..."
Yes! That's my thought. The regular promotion is so time consuming -- and that's with the help of supportive readers. Having to triple your efforts by mimicking the work the supportive readers do? When would you have time to write?
Kristin wrote: "Anything else (Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, blogs, Tweets, etc) are someones opinion and only their opinion and thusly to be taken with a grain of salt (or maybe a whole darn salt shaker). ..."
Well, I think this is true, but at the same time this new interactive review process seems to be what a lot of readers really enjoy and want. In a sense they are becoming part of the publishing process. It's really interesting to watch it evolve.
I think both experienced and new writers should just focus on producing a well written book. There are so many readers out there with very diverse tastes. If a book is well written readers will respond and buy it. It is the height of my day to relax with a really good book that engages me and draws me into a story, but I want to read a well developed story. I dont want to be reading typos, or reading a story that is rushed, poorly written, or the same old story lines that I read last week. I just think a good book will sell and eventually generate its own publicity.
Kristin wrote: "But there is another interesting sub-thread here: reviews. In my very humble opinion, a review is something done by say an editor or copy editor, a major newspaper, magazine or literary body, or some paid professional to critique ones work. Money may or may not be involved.Anything else (Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, blogs, Tweets, etc) are someones opinion and only their opinion and thusly to be taken with a grain of salt (or maybe a whole darn salt shaker)."
I totally agree. I use the term reviews for what I write here on GR, but I know they're just loose thoughts and impressions on what I've just read. They're like a sort of diary of my life as a reader :)
My German teacher, who was the one who taught us to write something close to reviews, would be horrified of my "reviews". Where is the introduction with context? In which part of the story, which paragraph do I base my observation? Do I realize that in the big scheme of things I am an amateur and I can't afford to state an opinion not based on the actual text?
Josh wrote: "Well, I think this is true, but at the same time this new interactive review process seems to be what a lot of readers really enjoy and want. In a sense they are becoming part of the publishing process. It's really interesting to watch it evolve."
It's sort of cool if you think about it for a few seconds, then it becomes scary. The separation between the source of my entertainment and me is part of the fun. It gets too close to masturbation, otherwise, which can be fun too, but... do I have to make drawings? ;-)
Emanuela wrote: " It gets too close to masturbation, otherwise, which can be fun too, but... do I have to make drawings? ;-)"Yes, Emanuela, I would really like to see some drawings about that. Feel free to continue with few sketches... ;)
Johanna wrote: "Yes, Emanuela, I would really like to see some drawings about that. Feel free to continue with few sketches... ;)"I'm terrible at that. It's genetic. Instead of DNA, to see if someone belongs to my family, drawing a horse is THE test :D
Emanuela wrote: "I use the term reviews for what I write here on GR, but I know they're just loose thoughts and impressions on what I've just read. They're like a sort of diary of my life as a reader :)"I agree. And I like your train of thought about a GR review being a sort of diary about reader's thoughts on what she/he has just read. Kristin used the word opinion earlier. Wouldn't that make a fitting term for a GR review? Hey guys, I'm off to write my opinion on Fatal Shadows...
iYok wrote: "Have you read about an author that shot himself to advertise his book? ~__~;;"I read that one! That was shocking, wasn't it? And they actually arrested someone for shooting the author before he finally admitted he'd done it himself.
Josh wrote: "Because new authors are typically self-absorbed, they don't realize that their experience is not unique and they are not operating in a vacuum. And of course everyone has unrealistic expectations of how long it takes to "break out." So if they aren't bestsellers within 3 months, they get panicky. "
This is interesting to me, because as a new author who was also new to the online community I first followed my own instinct (which is to not interject myself every-freaking-where) and then looked at the behavior of other authors online. I got lucky because the guy I was looking at mostly was you, but what if I had looked at someone who thought BSP was okay? My point is that once one author does it, it spreads.
Although I just have to say in my own defense that I can't see myself ever indulging in much BSP. OTOH, I know feel that by commenting here and announcing I'm an author, I've done so... It's a conundrum.
Ijeoma wrote: "I think both experienced and new writers should just focus on producing a well written book. There are so many readers out there with very diverse tastes. If a book is well written readers will r..."I go back and forth on this. Meaning, I have always believed this to be true, but given the current reality of publishing -- the flood of new books and new authors, I do see the problem for someone just starting out.
Yes, if you write a brilliant book, chances are eventually people will find it and speak about it and share it. But these things can happen very slowly. It might happen in six months or six years or twenty years. You might be dead and gone before anyone notices your work.
That's the fear and it's not completely unfounded. With more books published than ever before, more people hoping to earn a living or -- at the very least -- serious pocket change -- it is very hard to find a foothold.
I feel fortunate to have found an audience before the flood.
Emanuela ~plastic duck~ wrote: "It's sort of cool if you think about it for a few seconds, then it becomes scary. The separation between the source of my entertainment and me is part of the fun. ..."I freely admit I found it troubling at first. With bloggers claiming credit for the success of some writers...? Yes, a troubling trend. An unsavory blurring of lines?
But now I've reached the point of thinking that this is simply the way it is. The process has changed and there is no point me bemoaning how it was in the good old days. Especially since the good old days had its own issues.
My perspective is the definition of reviewer is changing as is the relationship between authors and blogger/reviewers. I have no idea -- no one does -- of how this will all shake out. But shake out it will, regardless of my feelings or opinions, so I've decided to (TRY TO!) take an academic view. :-D
I can't deny that it is fun and affirming to interact so closely with readers and reviewers. I do worry about the influence on the work itself, but this is life. We are changing organisms, and there's really no point in harkening back to the way it used to be. This is the new publishing reality. And it is interactive.
It isn't just newbies who are guilty of getting in people's faces at every opportunity. I've seen plenty of veterans do it too, which I find infinitely more off-putting. Continually spamming Facebook "friends" (gah, I hate that term!), tweeting only about one's releases and blog hops and great reviews, hijacking discussion threads, muscling into every marginally relevant Goodreads group . . . Yeah, a lot of that is being done. It irks the hell out of me enough to call forth my imp of the perverse -- and make me determined not to buy those authors' books.
Oh, and I would add this to your list, Josh: Never award your titles five stars on Goodreads, and don't hit the "like" button every time one of them gets a favorable review. Readers already know we think highly of our own books, and we like it when people say nice things about them. ;-)
K.Z. wrote: "It isn't just newbies who are guilty of getting in people's faces at every opportunity. I've seen plenty of veterans do it too, which I find infinitely more off-putting. Continually spamming Face..."
True enough. It's not just newbies. But it can be excused in newbies. Veterans who do this kind of thing are just hardened assholes, and there's really nothing more to say about it.
Anne wrote: "OTOH, I know feel that by commenting here and announcing I'm an author, I've done so... It's a conundrum. "
To Anne's point, as a reader, I actually appreciate being introduced to new authors organically on GR. If Anne & KZ had never fessed up to being writers, I might not have two additional favorite authors.
Of course, commenting on the topic at hand, mentioning that you are also a writer and how that influences your opinion in such-and-so way is a little different than saying "I love Adrien and Jake, they are so like characters Spic and Span in my new book which is on sale NOW!" :D
Thank goodness I haven't seen that here.
To Anne's point, as a reader, I actually appreciate being introduced to new authors organically on GR. If Anne & KZ had never fessed up to being writers, I might not have two additional favorite authors.
Of course, commenting on the topic at hand, mentioning that you are also a writer and how that influences your opinion in such-and-so way is a little different than saying "I love Adrien and Jake, they are so like characters Spic and Span in my new book which is on sale NOW!" :D
Thank goodness I haven't seen that here.
K.Z. wrote: "Oh, and I would add this to your list, Josh: Never award your titles five stars on Goodreads, and don't hit the "like" button every time one of them gets a favorable review. Readers already know we..."I agree about the like button -- or butting into discussions or comments on reviews of one's own book. But rating your own work is pretty much de rigueur. A natural response to the plethora of anonymous one star and no comment reviews. ;-)
K.Z. wrote: "It isn't just newbies who are guilty of getting in people's faces at every opportunity. I've seen plenty of veterans do it too, which I find infinitely more off-putting. "I have to say I'm A LOT less forgiving of rude & intrusive BSP and ABB behavior from vet authors who should damn well know better. If I'm as new as I am and I know it's not cool? They should know it too, which leads me to believe they know & just don't care. Makes me less likely to buy their titles. If they're offensive enough about it, I seriously won't buy their books. Outright refuse. I don't care how good that book supposedly is. I won't line their pockets with my dollars.
I think the key is to always remember you're dealing with PEOPLE. The outrageous BSPers, IMO, don't see people. They see a collection of nameless, faceless potential customers and that's ALL they see. Nothing turns me off a writer faster. Well, no, that's a lie. ABB behavior does it faster, but rude & intrusive BSP runs a close second.
Cris wrote: "Anne wrote: "OTOH, I know feel that by commenting here and announcing I'm an author, I've done so... It's a conundrum. "To Anne's point, as a reader, I actually appreciate being introduced to new..."
Well this is kind of the thing. If an author joins in the discussion -- in a natural, organic way -- then it's reasonable to bring up their own work. In fact, usually someone else will do that for them. And that's exactly the way you want -- need -- it to happen. The group already has a positive idea of you from your participation and then they discover that you're an author too. And usually they will be interested in checking out your work.
What doesn't work is never participating but then barging into the conversation to mention how you've been so busy with X release that you haven't been able to catch up on the 400 emails in your inbox -- or the group that you LOVE -- but you hope to take active part again soon and in the meantime could everyone check out your new release?
Come on.
Those writers are -- in the words of my dear old mum -- only fooling themselves.
Josh wrote: "I agree about the like button -- or butting into discussions or comments on reviews of one's own book. But rating your own work is pretty much de rigueur. A natural response to the plethora of anonymous one star and no comment reviews. ;-)"LOL! While I can't be paid to rate my own book regardless of how many one-star bandits do a driveby, I do "like" good reviews of my books.
Funny niche, ain't it? :-D
Josh wrote: "But it can be excused in newbies."Yup. They deserve to be cut some slack.
"Veterans who do this kind of thing are just hardened assholes, and there's really nothing more to say about it."
Except that they seem insufferably vain and self-centered. :)
K.Z. wrote: "Josh wrote: "Except that they seem insufferably vain and self-centered. :) ..."
Except that, yes. :-D
Kari wrote: "I think the key is to always remember you're dealing with PEOPLE. The outrageous BSPers, IMO, don't see people. They see a collection of nameless, faceless potential customers and that's ALL they see. ..."Exactly. And that's why they can never think of anything that isn't advertising to say.
Josh wrote: "But rating your own work is pretty much de rigueur."Well . . . shit. Why didn't you say this months ago? I could've been five-starring all my books and had a ready-made excuse: "Hey, Josh Lanyon said it was okay to do this." :-D
There is a moderately successful urban fantasy writer who I will never read because of her behavior on usenet just before her book came out. She wasn't rude, she just suddenly leapt into every single conversation with many, many comments, each with her sig at the bottom telling us she had a book coming out the following month. It didn't violate the group's etiquette, it was just awfully obvious, and kind of tacky, and I took a dislike to her without ever reading a single word of her fiction. That's certainly not what she was trying to accomplish.Something that annoys me is when readers and reviewers are discussing something about fiction or writing, perhaps something they don't like, and the comment thread gets clogged with self-absorbed writers who have to leap in to say that they don't do that annoying thing, or explain that they did that annoying thing, but they had a good reason, so they're a special case and in their novel it works. Seriously, do they think that everything has to be about them and their book?
I also stopped reading one well-known and very popular SF writer's blog because he was constantly pimping his friends' work, or inviting other writers to come onto his blog to promote their work. I don't care that the blatant selling was for other writers' work, I don't want to be sold to.
I tend to follow the "ignore" route with people who are always "buy my book" 15 times a day. I will either delete you as a friend (we probably don't "talk" anyway), or on tweetdeck your tweets are relegated to the skipover pile (same on FB). I may miss the fact that you won the lottery and your dog is first at the Westminster Kennel Club show but I'll also miss the tweets every 90 min. telling me your new books is out ... at amazon ... at ARE, etc. etc. I've not received any tricky spam but maybe I just don't subscribe to a lot of people. FB is very personal for me, I don't talk about my work there much, Twitter, I only follow people I interact with as a rule. So while it may bug me in theory, I am able to just ignore most of it. If I want your book it's because I like the idea, not because you told me about it 100 times.
As for myself as an author, ugh. I hate promo. I'd rather not do any at all. So I figure if you like me and want to read my stuff, one post will be enough and you'll know where to find it. I'd rather you buy it because someone else said they liked than because I did. I'm always terrified as a reviewer that someone will buy a book I loved and then hate it and I'll feel guilty for leading them astray. So recommending my own book? No. Read the blurb, buy it or not, your call. Obviously I don't think it sucks, but after that point, who the hell knows.
I should add that something I saw interesting an author did was not rate their own book but added it and then did a little blurb here at GR about what inspired the story to be written. I liked that a lot. If there's an interesting backstory that doesn't fit in the blurb or maybe have been in a blog post months ago, share that. Just don't give yourself stars (no matter WHAT Josh says ;-) ) and don't comment on the book "This is my best writing ever" but telling me that an incident with your best friend in high school was the impetus to put two guys in a chicken plucking factory, is cool and interesting to me. Well, not chicken plucking, but you get the idea.
