Skunks.
Lately, on FaceBook, I have seen some authors acting like stinkers.
I realize we all have and are entitled to our opinions. I am very opinionated myself. Ask anyone who knows me. :-) But people, we need to think before we speak (post).
I had a conversation last week with a client about her FB posts being a little too controversial. She defended herself and my only recourse was to say, "Well if you want to insult the editors you are hoping to sell your book to- go ahead. Just realize that an editor will google you and the audience you are trying to sell your book to might not share your political stand". If you write for the general market, doesn't it make sense not to insult your reader?
A FB friend recently posted this: "I realize I will most likely lose many friends by posting this but I really don't care." BAM! Can I say, "This is NOT the way to build a platform"? Or as Dale Carnegie would say, "not the way to win friends and influence people". Another friend posted a note something like this: "I am leaving Facebook because of some things that happened at my church and the things that have been said to me about it." Yikes. Really people? That made me sad. I apologized for us all, although I hadn't seen what was said and I do not know what happened at his church.
Unless my job is in the political arena, maybe I need to refrain from posting 'in your face' political remarks? Especially since I use Facebook largely to talk about publishing and connect with writers and editors of publishing houses, general and Christian.
A sister-in-law of mine disappeared from FB a few years back. When I
asked her where she went when I saw her at a family gathering, she said,
"I just was not enjoying it". I was OK with that. She just rode off
quietly into the sunset. I think we need to be careful. Let's ask ourselves why we are on Facebook and other social media sites. If it is for the purpose of building your platform and connecting with readers, lets show everyone a little love and consideration.
5 comments:
We are so accustomed to our hastily spoken words evaporating into our personal space that we forget a hastily spouted word online is there forever. Thanks, Diana.
So true Davalyn :-)
Lately I've been pausing more before hitting the "Enter" button on my posts, asking myself if my words are "kind" and "encouraging," or not. On FB it is so easy to quickly become passionate about something and spout off, only to regret it later. (Hmmm, seems like there is a Proverb or two that covers this.) :-)
I like what Ramona Richards posted on hers once upon a time, and I do it periodically now. I post that my fb page is a personal page for my immediate friends and family and that I often post controversial topics. So that if anyone might be offended, they should not friend or follow me. I post it every couple months. I figure it's fair warning and lets them know I and my friends might on occasion post things they might not want to read. I still try not to engage in anything that will offend, but I figure I've let them know it is not a prof page.
Facebook is the new "job reference". When we are applying for a job we want everything our references say about us to be positive. Nowadays, agents, editors potential readers can find out everything they want to know with one click. We should be aware of that and not post or share anything we will be ashamed of. Simple, in my view.
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