A few simple truths about the Internet:
- When you post on a public forum, your thoughts are fair game
- When you act foolishly online, it is forever memorialized
- Attacking your readership is not such a good idea but not prohibited
- Readers spend the money on the books — do I need to say more?
Show me an author who can afford to attack the hand that feeds her? What? Did someone say Mary Janice Davidson? I have zero interest in reading her books (as she has zero interest in getting my money) and I’m sure that only makes her laugh even harder as she looks over her bank statements. Her fan base can continue to cheer her on but know that you do yourself no favors. (Hear cackling in the background)
I didn’t choose to write for a living but I respect the work. I like to snark as do many other bloggers and I’m sure that ticks off some authors and industry people. But is it really smart to attack the people who pay your bills? I mean are you giving away a product here or are you asking for my money? There’s your disadvantage right there. Your work is out there for public consumption and if you don’t want to sit back and take it, hey dish it out, let us hear it — at your own risk.
Why worry? The online community only represents such a small portion of your readership. It’s not like we have family or friends we can complain to about your behavior. I mean after all, you are perfectly safe in your online world. Or maybe not.
Just recently, I was seeing on television how prospective employers are now searching the Internet, looking for blogs from people who they are interviewing for a job. You just never know who is reading these days. Editor? Publisher? Pissing off your fans is not such a smart move despite your motivations. For the money we pay for these books, yeah, you need to deal with it. Work it out. Keep it off the Internet. Bitch to your family and friends — not strangers, potential fans, readers, current readers, whoever. We are not your family or friends. We are consumers.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Smart you. Very smart. I don’t see this affecting my job but you never know. Also, that’s why I don’t really do any personal stuff online either. I may scale back on discussing my job, too, but I was just shocked to learn that employers were googling online stuff and reading blogs, etc. Need to make some changes myself.
This is precisely why I don’t blog — or do anything online — with my real name. And why I periodically google myself. I want to make sure I know what’s out there with my name attached to it. I used to think I was paranoid but now I just think it’s good sense.
It’s the “can’t we all get along” song but it does boil down to respect and good manners. You can disagree and be civil about it. I think some people like a good flame war tho.
Have a good weekend ladies!
You go girl. Well said.
You know, that last point Keishon brings up is exactly why I sometimes think that some of the authors behaving so, um, weirdly might actually be newbies to the web. The major problem with that theory is that it made sense when we were talking about print published authors but since this has cropped up with epublished ones, one really has to wonder what the heck is going on.
I’m going to say something that I probably shouldn’t but there really is such a thing as simple good manners. Yes, I know that people should be able to express their opinions and snarkiness has it’s own code of conduct but reading some of the comments in this latest round of salvos I can really only shake my head in amazement. Amazement not at people being human but that some honestly and truly seem to believe they’re accomplishing anything at all acting that way.
Good stuff Keishon!
Hear, hear!
You can add my amen to the yaysayers too!
Amen to all of that!
Oh yeah, they search My Space.com and a couple of others, too. It’s quite interesting that before you can even open your mouth, they have a lot of info on you already, thanks to your online diary
and a couple of pics of you partying the night away…
Not MJD related: I caught a piece on the news the other day about potential employers scanning Facebook.com (another website I had not idea about — I’m so uncool) when checking out potential employees. They selected a young woman who didn’t have any truly embarrassing photos posted (no nudity, no sex, etc.), but there were a lot of photos involving partying, drinking, etc., and a lot of behavior that isn’t over the line but isn’t something I would want potential employers to have access to.
Amen, sister girl.
I could not have said it better myself. S’all I’m saying