Aspiring Writers Info: Social Media and Reviewing--It's a Jungle Out There.

[alfreda89]

Thanks to some very inconsiderate people who think leaping to the defense of their favorite writers should be a contact sport? Social Media, especially reviewing books, has become a nightmare for writers. Most of us are introverts, who just want to share our opinions on some books. That's not so easy anymore--and might accidentally ignite a firestorm.

Author Anne Rallen offers some well thought-out suggestions about how to sail your ship safely to harbor.

"Unfortunately marketers sometimes tell us to go into those neighborhoods and do the very things that will set off attacks. I've seen 'marketing handbooks' that are the equivalent of sending children into gangland wearing a rival gang's colors.

"Part of the problem is that the rules of the online book world bear little resemblance to the conventions of the staid, gentlemanly publishing industry of the past.

"That's because the laws of online activity come from the people who were here first: hackers and gamers.

"When you enter the online culture, it can feel like stepping into a game of Grand Theft Auto. It's an aggressive, testosterone-fueled, competitive universe. On some sites, sociopathic behavior is the norm and innocence is a crime.

"Everybody is trying to eliminate the enemy, and the enemy is probably you."