Spoiler Protocol.

Hi! Last week was my birthday so I took an extended blogging vacation, but I'm back! And I can't wait to come blog-visiting everyone!!

I read a lot on my break, and I was thinking about spoilers, and how horrible it is when a reader accidentally stumbles on one. It's happened to me more than a few times, usually when discussing a book I'm in the middle of with someone who's already finished.

My mom has been reading the Outlander books, and recently followed the author on Twitter. A fan tweeted something about how it was the anniversary of a character's tragic death, and the author (or possibly her social media team?) retweeted it.

My mom was a few hundred pages from that occurence.

Naturally my mom (among others) was VERY upset and angry. The author's/social media team's defense being "the book came out over a year ago."

So what if it's been a year, five, or ten?? You have new readers picking up your books EVERY SINGLE MINUTE.

Personally I believe authors should avoid discussing their own spoilers. Obviously, there are exceptions. If there's an event or a chat I would expect the author to discuss the ending, but then again anyone attending an event or chat would have most likely finished the book or series.

I would just always assume that at any time, anyone could be picking up my books. Now, I know as a reader, spoilers are sometimes IMPOSSIBLE to avoid, but I think it's an author's responsibility to at least put out a Spoiler Alert warning as a courtesy.

Another thing I like to do is wait till I've finished a book or series to follow an author on social media. Then, if a new book is being released by them, and I know it'll be a while till I can get my hands on it, I'll mute the author on Twitter till I've finished the book.

What's your opinion on author's discussing spoilers???