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When Social Networking is no so social... 6/27/2011 9:08:23 PM
Learning about the dark side of social media the hard way. I started on Twitter about 2 years ago, and it’s been a great way to connect with readers, book bloggers and fellow writers. Now, with over 2,250 followers, I’m beginning to witness the darker side of social networking.
Social networking implies just that, to be social and chat with your fellow tweeps, rather than using Twitter as a way to flog your books. (In my opinion, blatant and constant advertising becomes nothing more than spam.)
Over time, I’ve noticed that some of my Twitters pals that have met with success, both indie and those published with the big traditional publishing houses, have slowly decreased their presence as their books gained in popularity. At first, I thought it was because the demands of writing and meeting deadlines pulled them away from Twitter, and then I noticed something disturbing that some of them had warned me about: The dark side of social media.
Two of my friends had the unpleasant experience of dealing with online stalkers. For one friend, it became so bad, she had to change her account name and asked that I pull all interviews I’ve done with her from my blog sites. Another friend dropped Twitter because he had offered to swap books with another author. In exchange, they’d write reviews of each other’s work. Sounds easy and harmless enough, yes?
Sadly, when my friend tried to read the book, a potentially good story was riddled with poor grammar, typos, etc. He felt it wouldn’t be honest to write a glowing review, recommending that others spend their hard earned money on this fellow’s book. When he mentioned to the author he’ll either do an honest review or just share his concerns privately via email so the author could polish up his ms, he was met with anger, defiance and a: “I wrote you are great review! I expect you to do the same for me! If you don’t, then I’ll retract that great review I wrote for you!”
Unfortunately, I’ve met several authors now that have voiced their concerns to me regarding other writers holding a review for ransom in exchange for a stellar review of their own, even if it’s undeserved!
This is just not right, people! Every person is entitled to their opinion about a book. But to falsely extol the virtues of something that is poorly written? That doesn’t sit well with me.
I have readers who turn to my weekly author features hoping to discover new writers, but if I’m asked to lie about the quality of a book just to help boost the author’s sales or their hopes of catching the attention of a publishing company, I just can’t do that! And neither should any book reviewer or author asked to write a review.
For me, my latest bad experience came from a new follower. He became very upset with me because he bought one of my books, and throughout the reading process would tweet that he was so far along and loving it. As he came toward the end of reading my novel, I received a tweet saying “I’m 97% done. I’ll write a great review for you. A direct message followed with: “When you read my book, hopefully you’ll have the same to say about mine.”
As the tweets went back & forth, it became apparent this writer expected me to drop all my work, ignore my deadlines, etc. and read his book NOW! Because he bought my novel and used his valuable writing time to read my book, he expected this. He went on to basically accuse me of lying, saying that I never should have promised to read his book.
Well, yes… I did promise to read his book. I just never specified when I’d be able to do that. When he first approached me, it was to ask if I’d be able to pitch his screenplay to my film producer/entertainment attorney. I politely declined.
He then asked for some advice; and stupid me, I offered my email instead of using the DM on Twitter. During our correspondence, he mentioned he was going to buy my book. I thanked him, and this was followed by one of those “do you mind critiquing my work… it’s only one chapter”.
Now, unless the writer is in my critique group, I hesitate doing this. Anyway, I made the mistake of saying ‘yes’ (I know! I shouldn’t have felt obligated just because he spent 99 cents on one of my novels). Thankfully, his chapter was really quite good and I found the whole concept behind his story very interesting and worth a read. The situation went bad when I told him I didn’t have the time to read the entire ms right now, and this is what he had expected!
I’ve made this clear to most that I do not read when I’m in writing mode. Currently, I am racing to finish edits for the October release of my 11th novel and I’m rushing to get my 12th and last novel completed before the 1st novel in the Imago fantasy series heads toward movie production. Any free time I have left is devoted to my family.
Sadly, for this writer, he could not accept “I will read your book once I finish with my ever-growing to-read stack”. (Heck, I’ve had books sitting here for over 2 years. I’m not about to bump up his because he demands that I read his right now.)
Ironically, if this author had some patience, and once I found the time to read his story in its entirety, if it was as good as I hoped, I would have had no problem pitching it to the film producer. As it stands now, he parted ways with a bitter, passive aggressive retort after I apologized for not meeting his expectations!
I’ve always made it a point to offer some advice and support to my fellow writers, but now, I can honestly say, my desire to ‘pay it forward’ has been severely tested. When I have followers I’ve only tweeted to once or twice turn around, announcing to a friend of mine who happens to be a professional book reviewer that he is ‘my friend’ and she bumps other titles to accommodate him only to find out I don’t really know this person, that is going too far.
When I have friends whose reviews are being held hostage by another writers because a deceitful review is better than an honest one, and the author fails to realize this is an opportunity to make the story better, this is wrong.
I’ve had writers I barely know put me in the awkward position of asking if I’d introduce them to my former literary agent. I’ve had writers ask if I could pitch their screenplay to my film producer or entertainment attorney who is also a film producer. (I’m sorry, but my work had to stand on its own merits to win them over. How do I pitch your work when I’ve never read it, therefore, unable to give an honest assessment to my agent or the film producer?)
This is supposed to happen to a writer who is famous or has some clout with the publishing or film industry, not to me! But here’s the scary thing; those close to me warn that it will only get worse as news about the impending movie spreads.
Sadly, my experience of late, as well as the dwindling appearance of some of my favorite twitter pals for these very reasons, has given me pause for thought. From henceforth, I will scale back on my Twitter activities and use it to RT interesting stories/links related to the writing/publishing industry, provide the occasional update as the book to movie project progresses and to allow my followers to know when the latest author feature is posted on my website.
In the meantime, thank you to all those who have befriended me on Twitter and continue to be my friends, rallying around me as excitement about the Imago movies continue to build. You know who you are and you know where I can be reached, as I look forward to maintaining our friendship. I will continue offering advice and support to aspiring authors, but the events of late and the experiences endured by others will now force me to better assess those I will reach out to.
Sorry if I sound like I’m venting. Twitter carefully, and remember, once it’s online, it’s out there forever!
