Let’s talk about anything bookish!
It has been over four years since I started interacting with my favorite authors on social media. Some more often than others. Lately, though, I have been more active that normal.
Let me tell you a secret. I have a love/hate relationship with author interaction on social media. Let’s not even start with the issue with authors behaving badly. I think I am pretty lucky to have avoided that part personally.
Despite all the horror stories that pop up about author-reader interactions, I have a few reasons why I love interacting with my favorite authors.
ONE. The Author Street Team
I am a member of about 5 author street teams. Some are more active than others but I have enjoyed my time interacting with these authors. Author Street Teams have now gone “out of style” and all of the street teams I belong to aren’t functioning as real street teams. It is still a perfect way to interact with my favorite authors at a personal level.
TWO. Tagging Authors on Social Media
The best thing about interacting with my favorite authors is when I tag them in my reviews! Mind you, I only tag them when I am reviewing their book positively. This does not mean that I ALWAYS give positive reviews. Only that I don’t tag them when my reviews are negative. I think that is common courtesy.
THREE. Sneak Peaks and Insider Info
I follow quite a few authors on multiple social media platforms. The best thing about that is when I get to see sneak peaks, upcoming info, and even a few insider info (usually via street teams or newsletters)! This is especially exciting when I am impatiently waiting for their next book!
But what about my hate relationship with author interaction? Yeah, I know HATE is such a strong work, but let’s just say I have feelings of dislike with some authors.
ONE. Drama.
Some authors love to stir up drama. These include incidences of authors behaving badly. This is really quite upsetting, especially if it is done by a favorite author. Thankfully, I haven’t seen one of my favorites act really crazy, so there is that.
TWO. Do Not Engage!
This is related to number one. Basically, this is when an author actually engages in a Twitter war with critics or even fans. By this, I mean engaging in a negative way. I understand that authors need to respond at certain times, but what I mean is when they engage and go waaaay beyond what is deemed an acceptable response. When this happens, I usually unfollow the author. Thankfully, I haven’t seen a lot of these, well, not the authors that I follow, thank goodness!
THREE. To Review or NOT to Review.
As much as I love tagging authors in my reviews, there is also that dilemma about reviews. Sure, I personally DO NOT tag authors if it is a negative review. BUT when I have interacted with an author on social media and said author “knows” me, I find it a little hard to write a negative review. There was a time where I had to forgo writing a review (only gave star reviews on Goodreads) because I wasn’t comfortable with it. I have become comfortable writing negative reviews, though. But I used to really hate writing them.
All in all, I have had a very positive experience with author interaction on social media. I’m pretty sure I won’t stop interacting with my favorite authors, but I am one of those people that also do not tweet or post about anything controversial. I try to keep myself as drama free as possible.
Do you have any problems with author interaction on social media? Do you have any horror stories?
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