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”

You’re Going Viral

Hundreds gather to protest global warming.

How times change. What would have been a pointed insult  in the not so distant past, is now a reason to cheer. Did your photograph, quote, video or blog post go viral? The social media world will not quarantine or blackball you. Rather, your success will brand you a marketing genius and the world will follow your every step. Pimm Fox will interview you on Taking Stock.

Why do you want to go viral? Because. If you wish to create your masterpiece in obscurity and never feel the rush of adrenaline as you walk into a room and realize that the people are there to see you, then stop reading this post. It is perfectly fine not to care about interacting with others, be they your niche readers, local book clubs, or other literary/social venues. But if you do care, and want to use the power of the Internet to create a viral phenomenon, then read on. Continue reading “You’re Going Viral”