Adventures in Self-Promotion.

[seanan_mcguire]

This morning, I politely removed myself from six new groups that had been created on Facebook while I was sleeping. All six of them were "buy my book" groups, created by people I don't know personally, telling me about the exciting opportunity I have to purchase their brand new book. Four of them were for ebook-only editions (which is relevant

Comments

[jamileigh17]

Things like that are why I'm always careful what I say online, especially to people like authors/agents/publishers. For everything I actually say, there are 10 things I start to say and stop, because I examine if it adds to what they're saying or not, and what I would think about it if they said it to me.
It's like the people who, as soon as you follow them, direct message you with crap. I immediately unfollow, because it's clear they're only after self-promotion.

[seanan_mcguire]

Word.

I mean, I kind of get it with OMG CELEBRITIES having a "welcome" DM, because that way, if you're someone who really loves interacting with celebrities, you can at least pretend that you had one genuine moment of contact. It may take some of the pressure off. But almost all other situations? Nuh-uh.

[mariadkins]

a lot of those "welcome" dms are set by bots.

[seanan_mcguire]

I know, hence the "kind of get it," and the "OMG CELEBRITIES." If you're, say, Felicia Day, half your followers are people who just want to say they've met you in a virtual sense. For them, the DM may be enough.

[the_gneech]

By a strange coincidence, I've written a book all about this phenomenon! Let me tell you all-- OW OUCH STOP OW OOF! *thud*

[seanan_mcguire]

And STAY out!

[the_gneech]

:D

-TG

[mneme]

Yeah -- this

[seanan_mcguire]

All so very true.

[jessicameigs]

Thank you thank you for saying what really needs to be said. I have tried to hammer it into my fellow authors' heads that that is NOT how you market your books. I, sadly, have been down the same road--added to mailing lists I never requested to be on, added to FB groups that spam my inbox (because I have it set up to email me new posts on FB, since otherwise I'd forget about the groups I want to actively participate in), constant barrage of @ replies and tweets and FB wall posts telling me BUY MY BOOK BUY MY BOOK! It's starting to drive me insane, and I've taken to blocking and deleting people who do it, and I've set it to moderate wall postings on my Timeline on FB because I don't want my feed junked up with other peoples' advertisements. And they're almost invariably NEVER books I would actually ever read.

I've shared your post with a Facebook group called Indie Writers Unite. Hopefully some of them will take your words to heart.

[seanan_mcguire]

If you spam me, you annoy me. Now my first reaction to you, and to your book, is annoyance. That is...not the reaction that you want, really.

Hope springs eternal!

[kengr]

Frankly, the laws about emailing (such as they are) need to be revised to *require* that all email lists be "opt-in".

Of course, given how well the requirement that they at least have an easy "opt out" is being enforced...

ps. I run a couple of (very specialized) email lists, and I run them as "opt-in"

[ladymurmur]

*stands up and applauds*

[seanan_mcguire]

*curtseys*