Friday Writing Tips (on a Saturday): How to Deal with Internet Playa Hate

Don’t take it personally, hey it may make you famous!

There are more ways to get your work out there than ever before but it also means there is more ways for people to broadcast their opinions for you to fret about. Interactive social media allows everyone and anyone to access your work and tell you what they think and sometimes it isn’t always what you want to hear. Never take it personally though because no matter what they are saying, your work is still the center of attention.  Who knows, it could even make you famous!

“Over and over, we’ve seen people ‘say’ vile, pernicious, hateful ugly stuff on the Internet, stuff that very few humans would ever say in real life. There is a term for this: Flame mail. So know this and know it well: If you spend any time at all putting yourself out on the Internet, there is a possibility that people are going to say rude, crude and/or violent things to you. (Sree Sreenivasan says comments on social media platforms are ten times more likely to be negative than positive.)

The strange thing about getting a smackdown online is that, under the right circumstances, it can actually help make you and/or your book successful. Kemble Scott, one of the first writers to use YouTube trailers to promote his book, had just this happen to him. An online journalist said something snarky about one of his videos on Gawker, a heavily trafficked site. This sent lots of people to his videos, which in turn promoted his book.

Good or bad, we’ve come to embrace the Godfather model of interacting online: It’s always business, never personal.”

For more information turn to page 59 of your copy of “The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published” by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. Don’t have a copy of your own? Pick up a copy right here http://thebookdoctors.com/our-book or pick one up at your local bookstore and get a FREE 20 minute consultation with The Book Doctors (with proof of purchase).

Happy writing! See you at the bookstore.  The Book Doctors