Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Does author behavior influence your buying habits?

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There's been new chatter in the Twitter-verse about authors behaving badly (although really, does it ever stop?).  By now, you know the basics: someone responded badly to a review/blog post/Tweet written about their book, and given the public nature of the internet, their meltdown quickly went viral.  It's not pretty, but like a train wreck, we (in the collective sense) can't look away.

My question to you is this, dear readers.  When you see or hear about these author meltdowns, does it influence your buying behavior?  I ask because one school of thought tells us that no publicity is bad--even if people are talking about you for the wrong reasons, it still gets your name out there.  Perhaps this is another example of infamy being better than obscurity.

Personally, I think meltdowns by new authors can be the kiss of death. You (in the general sense) have not yet developed a forgiving fan base, and why would you want your name associated with any kind of negativity?  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think those authors who have written a gajillion NYT bestsellers have a sufficiently large fan base that even when said author is being obnoxious, enough of their fans won't see it that way, and will continue to buy their books.  Of course, you don't write a gajillion NYT bestsellers unless you're a professional, and professionals tend to conduct themselves as such.

What are your thoughts?

24 comments:

  1. If it were a new author, someone I didn't know, it might influence me. But then again, unless I know them, or it's free, I'm not that inclined to spend my book budget on new authors.

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    1. I suspect you are not alone in this--so many people have only a fixed amount to spend on books, and they don't want to risk making a bad investment on a new author.

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  2. Author meltdowns are a turn off for me. Bad reviews are just someone's opinion after all, but nobody likes their babies being called ugly. The first rule of publishing or writing to be published...grow a thick skin.

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    1. Sometimes a bad review makes me more likely to buy the book, especially if I disagree with everything that's been said! :)

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  3. Authors, musicians, performers of all kinds in the public eye live such stressful lives, it is no wonder they sometimes "lose it." However, professional behavior and non-combative interaction with their audience seems to be essential to building and keeping a solid fan-base.

    Personally, the behavior of musicians, authors and actors doesn't really affect me unless I am ambivalent about their work in the first place. I don't give any attention to twitter, but I am a follower of several authors on Facebook. I have quit "following" some from time to time when they do something that is going in a direction I am not interested in, but sometimes I feel like just dumping the whole social media thing anyway, so I am not sure my opinion on that should count for much.

    Somehow in my mind I have compartmentalized authors by the genre and style in which they write. If they veer too far from that style by making some statement about a controversial issue that seems opposed to my image of them, it upsets the balance and I pull back a little. Would I quit reading them altogether? Probably not if I was a big fan, but I would likely quit following them and interacting with them on Facebook. Eventually if their writing style began to reflect the changes I may quit buying their new material. It is hard to say for sure, but today that is my stance. :)
    tm

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    1. Your comment really gets to the heart of why it's so important to build a strong and consistent author brand. Thanks for adding to the discussion! :)

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  4. I have an ironclad rule never, never, never to respond to a review. Well… If it is truly nice and done by a blogger - I got a lovely one from the Historical Novel Review Blog - I will send a private message thanking them. Just a thank-you. Not a 'Thank you for recognizing the sublime excellence of my endeavors, you perceptive thing, you!' but a simple Thank You. But good or bad, I decided, no one wants to think an author is peering over their shoulder and criticizing their taste which, if you think of it, is what getting up in arms about a review is.

    Why do people do that? It really is foolish. You can't win, because you are criticizing the reviewer's taste. I don't like a smash hit top bestseller that had a successful movie made from it. Smash hit - it was poorly researched, I didn't like the attitude that underlay the book, and the science (how a dead body behaves as it breaks down) was way off base. But that is just my opinion. Others loved it. They may have the right of it.

    One blogger I follow talked (obliquely) of your concern in a post advocating that creative types (like writers) cultivate the 'bulletproof' mentality. He said we give too much power to other people and don't appreciate our awesomeness. Well…since I'm reviewing the final draft of my WIP, which comes out in two days, and have found a bunch of + signs scattered around (I had the number lock on and had been trying to space right), I'm not sure how awesome I am…

    But you sure made me think and nod!

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    1. You make a good point--it's best to remain silent, regardless of the type of review. I think reviews are more likely to be honest when the author isn't perceived as 'hovering' or influencing the process.

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  5. I completely agree with you. Huge turn-off! I mean, I'm sure it really sucks to hear negative things about your novel-baby... but, that's the name of the game! Some people will love what you write, some will hate it, and some will not really give a thought to it at all. Granted, you write so someone can read it-- but you should be writing for YOURSELF. Who cares at the end of the day what anyone thinks? You got the story out of you and on the page is exactly where it belongs. Everything else outside of that is irrelevant! (in my humble opinion, of course.)

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    1. It can be hard to hear criticism about your work, but look at it this way: even if the reviews are scathingly negative, you've still moved someone enough to respond to your book. Maybe not the way you had hoped, but still...

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  6. It does affect the way I see the author and whether or not I buy their work. There are books I've taken off my TBR pile when I've seen public melt downs by the author. And I think in a debut author this is very bad. These tantrums are public and the publishing world isn't that big. What publishing company is going to want to sign an author who behaves like that?

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    1. Ah, very true. It is a small world.

      Reminds me of the Neil Gaiman speech, in which he pointed out (paraphrasing here) that you need to always demonstrate 2 of 3 qualities to stay employed: be nice, be good, be on time. :)

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  7. I believe we're all conditioned to avoid extreme, or "out-of-control" behavior--survival instinct thing. However, I don't judge a person by the book, and I would not avoid a book because the person reacted poorly to criticism, justified or no. I prefer to assess each on their individual merits. People make mistakes. Some publicly. It should not define them forever--unless they make a habit of engaging in the same socially-unacceptable fashion, or their behavior causes intentional harm to others. I'd be more interested in the motivation of the critic and their qualifications/whether criticism valid and intended to offer legitimate if unsolicited advice, or simply a public dressing down based on personal preference and taste.

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    1. Good for you for reserving judgment! I wish I could be so mature about it :)

      Most of the time, when I hear about these things it is my first impression of an author/musician/whathaveyou. While I might not refuse to read/listen/watch their stuff, it doesn't make me want to run right out and buy it.

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  8. Meltdowns don't necessarily turn me off, but rude, nasty, obnoxious behavior? You bet!

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    1. As Deb pointed out above, everyone is entitled to an 'off' day. It's how they express their displeasure that matters to me--are they being hurtful or picking on someone who happened to not like their stuff? Major turn-off.

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  9. I most certainly vote with my dollars, but also with my voice online. If they write in the genre I love to read (romance) then I will not purchase, read, review it, nor will I promote their books with my many online friends.

    I have been pretty lucky and have never been attacked by an author based on one of my reviews, but like you I can't help but watch the train wrecks when they happen.

    The truly bad authors who continually fight and argue with readers with comments like "You're an idiot and you don't understand my characters!" or "you're just jealous because I write better then you!" whine, might even get shelved at Goodreads.com as an 'author to avoid'.

    I am also beyond tired of the excuses for bad behavior: "I can't afford an editor, so how dare you hold bad spelling and grammar against me!" or "All my friends/family/paid reviewers thought it was great! You don't know what you are talking about because you are not an author! You're just a troll!" Or my personal favorite: "You must not have read it, or you would have loved it!"

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    1. Another great point--people don't just stop buying your book, they stop promoting you to their friends, or they engage in 'anti-promotion.'

      Thanks for the comment!

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  10. Most of the meltdowns I've heard of recently are from relatively new, self-published authors, and these are less likely to be on my TBR pile in any case.
    I'm trying to think of how I'd feel if an established author, whom I adored, had a meltdown... I suppose in that case I'd have witnessed it from the start and might know more of the facts...
    Er, I guess my answer in a nutshell is "it depends" :-)

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    1. Now the scientific part of my brain is churning...

      Why don't we see more meltdowns from the established set? Is it because they are established and less prone to meltdowns by virtue of their success?

      Or is it that those who are less prone to meltdowns in the first place are more likely to find success in this business?

      Chicken and egg indeed... :)

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  11. If they are behaving in a nasty manner it would definitely turn me off. I think this would be true whether they are new self-published authors or old timers who are traditionally published. There is no excuse for nasty behaviors, period. (Umm.. the only exception would be if I was reading a series and the last book was just released... I would need to know the end :-/ lol)

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    1. Ha! I can relate. There are some series I _have_ to finish, even if the author completely trashed my house or did something equally offensive :)

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  12. Unfortunately, new authors can be like any body else. There are ignorant and hypersensitive people in every group. It's too bad that people's immature, or youthful, behavior is put out there so much, making them seem like worse than they may be. Even the most well trained and guided people make verbal mistakes, and it may take a new writer quite a while to build up the confidence in himself and/or accept the knowledge that no book is loved or even liked by everyone. I don't watch those kinds of videos/shows that highlight people at their worst. We all have worst moments that just haven't made it to the web. Writer’s Mark

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    1. Things do spread quickly on the internet--it's unfortunate that some learn this the hard way.

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