Indie Book Club discussion

I've hit against something lately, and I'm wondering if it's just me.

Do you find that an author's ego and attitude colors your willingness to read their book, or your enjoyment of it? I think it does to everyone, but to what degree?

Say, if you interact/follow an author on Twitter, or read an interview, or interact/see them in some way and find that they rub you the wrong way -- not in any dramatic way, like negative review meltdowns, but more subtly -- are you less likely to get their book, even if lots of people think it's great? Or does it not matter to you?

Totally... but more in a positive way... if a writer is nice to me then I'll be more inclined to read their book :)

I guess it works the other way round as well...

Well, you know, that's true too. It can go the positive way. I know I've done that. :)

I've done it both ways. There's an author I've seen at World Fantasy Convention who I think acts like an arrogant windbag. I haven't read any of his books and I probably never will. But I've gone out of my way to read stuff by fellow indies who have been nice to me. :)

I have been totally turned off of an author's work several times by reading their interactions with others. I once read a rant by an author who said that if you are going to have a blog with affiliate links as a reviewer you need to have a professional writing background as it is self serving to make money through your reviews. As I do use affiliate links and have no background in writing I'll just ignore their work.

It does go the other way for me as well though. Authors who are kind and respectful I'm pleased to take a look at their work and even if it's not for me I'll host them for a guest spot or interview or something.

I've refused to read Spawn for years simply because Todd McFarlane seems like such a jerk. I'd like to think I could get past my emotional reaction to the writer/creator and focus on their work. But nope. There are a few people I refuse to read (or watch).

For me, the first time I hit this was an indie author whose book description was so unbelievably self-aggrandizing. Whether they wrote it themselves or approved what someone else wrote, I just can't bring myself to try the book. I had Followed this person on Twitter (I always follow back other authors) before reading their book description and saw them advertise their stuff every five minutes, so that didn't help.

This book seems to get tons of good reviews, but between Twitter flood and arrogant descriptions, I just can't get myself to do it!

The twitter thing annoys me too. I don't mind some self promo, but when twice an hour you spam 10 tweets in a row with excerpts or review quotes its just too much.

Precisely. And it's to the point where people are so annoyed with self-promoting authors that I'm afraid to promote anything of mine half of the time. *lol*

How to use Twitter is a challenge. I'm still trying to figure that out. Most authors that I follow either tweet about where they're currently eating the worlds greatest hot dog or launching a stream of self-promotional-consciousness.

Anybody have some tips on how to make a twitter feed attractive without over-promoting?

I try to "not tweet" about my book unless something special is going on. Instead I'll tweet about other things. Something funny, something random, something personal -- anything that shows I'm an actual person, not a marketing robot, but would still be interesting for a stranger to read. Info about my book is on my profile, so people who are interested can click there. But flooding someone's Twitter feed with "Please, for the love of God, buy my book" every 10 minutes feels way too much like spam. And not even the good kind of spam. Desperate Spam. And that's no fun to read.

By the way; buy my book or I'll cut you. Just kidding. But no, seriously, buy my book or I'll cut you.

Mia wrote: "For me, the first time I hit this was an indie author whose book description was so unbelievably self-aggrandizing. Whether they wrote it themselves or approved what someone else wrote, I just can'..."

Sorry about that. I've tried to write a modest description, but I really like my book a LOT :)

I'm with you on this. Some book descriptions lay it on so thick, you can't possibly feel good about giving the book a chance.

Jeff

I'm with Charles on the Twitter thing. I only post about my book if there is a new review I'm really proud of, or there is actual news worth sharing.

Mostly I tweet about my blog which deals with social issues, or parenting, since I'm a stay at home dad and I'm connected with a lot of other SAHP on Twitter. The blog has info on my novel, so people will see it if they go to read the blog.

I also think it is important to interact with people. I try to comment on others' tweets, or retweet something interesting.

I can't say that I have gotten a huge amount of sales through Twitter, but I get a pretty steady stream of new followers every day.

Jeff

I don't use Facebook or Twitter, and can proudly say I've never tweeted a day in my life. :)

An arrogant author usually catches up to me after I read the first book in the series. Since I don't really follow anyone, I won't look anyone up until I've read the book. Then, if they rub me the wrong way (and I've encountered some), then I'll avoid the rest in the series unless it's a damn good series. Thus far, though, I've only avoided two or three authors because of that.

If I read the story, and then it turns out I really enjoyed it, then I'll look for the author's website and see if there are any sequels. While perusing for additional books from the same author I will typically glance at the bio and see what their background is, etc. If they come across as too arrogant, or too "fake", then I'll avoid 'em like the plague. Thankfully it doesn't happen often.

Big J