Tag: authors behaving badly

Mob Rule and Other Rules for Authors

anger-18658_640This post is going to have a bit of a split personality. Two entirely different subjects with the flimsiest connection. Consider yourself forewarned.

The inspiration for this is a blog post from Nora Roberts who many of you will recognize as one of the most successful and prolific romance authors in the world. Those who don’t know that name might still be familiar with her pen name of J.D. Robb, also extremely successful. For those who don’t want to read her full post, I’ll give a quick summary. (If you’d prefer you can go read the whole thing. Just remember to come back here afterwards.)

Another author, unnamed in Ms Robert’s post, noticed that Ms. Roberts had a book with the same title. So, she did what anyone with a hair trigger temper and a persecution complex would do. She posted on social media, accusing Ms. Roberts of stealing from her. By the time Nora heard about this, pointed out to the other author that her theory had some major holes, one of the biggest being that Nora’s book had been published first, and the other author posted her retraction, the damage was done. Continue reading “Mob Rule and Other Rules for Authors”

Missing? Don’t Market Your Book This Way

missing-person-1756985_960_720So here I am, sitting at my desk and scanning Facebook when I should be doing … well, just about anything else. My to-do list is long and only going to get longer if I don’t knock a few items off of it. Then I see the post. In big white letters on a red background is the message “Have you seen me?” Under that is a picture of a teenage girl. Below that is a line with a single word, “MISSING” screaming at me in red. A few more details (“blah, blah, blah”) are outlined after that. I start thinking: Continue reading “Missing? Don’t Market Your Book This Way”

Writing Groups and the Toxic Critic

angry author courtesy of pixabay man-70442_960_720We’ve had posts about critique groups before. These groups can be very helpful to writers if they are balanced and the members show mutual support and respect.  Until recently that’s how it’s been for me. Members respected each other and genuinely tried to provide constructive feedback, trusting that it came with good intentions. This keeps groups working together without rancor.

But what happens when one member becomes volatile, angry, and refuses to hear what the others say? Continue reading “Writing Groups and the Toxic Critic”

What Do Authors Want from a Review/Reviewer?

why do authors behave badlyI’ve had to ask myself a question recently:  why on earth do I bother reviewing books?  Actually, I know why I started to … it coincided with the purchase of my Kindle. I fancied an anthology of my opinions and what I thought of all the books I read on it because I thought the advent of digital books was quite a Big Thing. So, wait … let me rephrase that: the behaviour of authors has made me ask myself the question. Continue reading “What Do Authors Want from a Review/Reviewer?”