At the moment I and everyone else is surrounded by heart stopping stories of bizarrely ranting authors, such as the cases of ‘The Author Who Trolled Himself For Four Goddamn Months‘ Stephen J Harper and ‘I Am Not Your Bitch You Are Mine‘ Chelsea Cain. I say heart stopping rather than funny (although in Stephen J Harper’s case I guess you kind of have to see the funny side) because one of the things that literally terrifies me is making people angry, online or in real life. And it’s happened too! Just an ill-timed joke or comment somewhere and…
Well, OK, maybe not all of us would be so relentless or unpleasant as those writers online recently, but everyone has a bad day and loses focus at some point. I suppose the thing to ‘bear’ (oh dear) in mind is: if in doubt, apologise and move on without going into massive explanations or excuses. Oh, and IGNORE BAD REVIEWS.
I’m always sticking my foot in it but I think it pays just to try to be as polite as possible ALL the time, which incidentally makes you feel quite pleasant and squishy too. If you’re experiencing a day when that’s impossible, STOP! Step back from the keyboard/touchpad/quill made from virgin’s hair. If someone says something mean, write it in your personal diary. Your paper personal diary.
Anyway, here are one or two links on the subject that may be helpful:
How To Create Your Very Own Personal PR Nightmare
10 Social Media Guidelines For Authors
Madeleine Swann 