You guys, we need to talk....
What about I'm about to talk about it isn't necessarily news.
Snobs.
More specifically snobs in the book community. Listen, I get it. I really do. I understand that you have spent the majority of your life getting degree after degree after degree and you've been featured in at least four literary magazines before you were potty-trained and blah blah blah blah....
STOP.
I do not care how many books you have published. I do not care how many magazines, journals, radio interviews, or TV spots you have done. I don't. Don't get me wrong, those are all great accomplishments and you should be proud of yourself. However, you should not treat people, more specifically people who might read your work, as if you are better than them. If you are an author and you're walking around with your nose up so high in the air that if rained you would drown then you should probably check yo self before you wrickey-wrickety-wreck yo self.
(I'm sorry, I saw an opening and I had to use it.)
Since writing and publishing my book I've been perusing a lot of book blogger blogs and author blogs to find people to approach for reviews and for ideas of how to market my blog. I've noticed some authors, usually bigger name authors or authors who at least have a few books under their belt, are not very polite to their readers. In a world where social media makes everyone reachable, this is really a shame. You don't have to become best friends and swap Snapchats with every one of your fans. A simple and POLITE "thank you for reading my book" or "thank you for supporting me" would suffice. Don't be a jerk or just completely ignore people who are reaching out to you. If you didn't have fans reading your books, you would not be selling books. You would just be writing for yourself.
This goes for book bloggers, too. Don't think I forgot about you! It's great that blog has taken off and has thousands of readers checking your pages every day. That's AWESOME! I hope to have that kind of success with my blog one day. I know it took a lot of hard work to get there but that doesn't mean you should be butt-holes to your readers and/or other bloggers. Be respectful of people who took the time to not only read your blog but to also take the time to comment. Just like authors, if you didn't have readers reading your blog, you'd just be writing posts for yourself to read.
I get so tired of seeing authors and bloggers treating other people in the industry like they are better than them because they've sold more books, have 58 doctorates in writing, or have a larger fan base. Don't be a douche canoe.
There are already so many other problems in this world. Instead of treating the very people who support you like they don't matter, show a little appreciation. Even if you're a high-class fancy pants and think that only other high-class fancy pants people should be reading your stories you should still be nice and polite when Delta Dawn from the trailer park in Woodstock, Alabama decides to praise your work. I promise you, as a reader, if I try to approach you about something on your blog or about your book and you are rude to me, I will no longer support your work. I will not bad mouth you or your work but I definitely will not spend any more of my hard earned money supporting your writing. And I'll probably throw your books in the burn pile next to 50 Shades of Grey and Twilight....
I feel like this all boils down to manners. If you are guilty of treating people like this then obviously you have misplaced your manners. It's really simple. When someone compliments you, you say "thank you". When someone insults you, you turn the other cheek and move on about your business. Be the bigger person and do not embarrass yourself by lashing out at someone else. If they simply say they didn't like your work, just thank them for taking their time to at least read your work and for their opinion. Use whatever criticism they gave you and make yourself better instead of taking everything so personally.
If you can't be nice to people, well then....
