Midlist Writer: How to be an annoying writer

Monday 11 January 2010

How to be an annoying writer

I just unfriended someone on Facebook for the first time.

I always accept friend requests from fellow writers, published or unpublished, because I've learned a lot from people I've met online. Plus I enjoy the feeling of community with fellow travelers on this crazy path. Right after I accepted his friend request he sent me an invitation to join a FB group for self-published authors. Previously on this blog I've discussed the reasons why I think self-publishing is a bad idea most of the time, and I didn't join the group.

The next day he invited me again. Strike one.

I ignored the invite again, and a few days later he invited me again. Strike two.

Then this guy starts sending me personal emails asking me to join. Strike one million.

What part of "no" didn't he understand? Now all he's getting from me is "go away".

While self-publishing is often harmful to a writer's career, the culture it creates can be pretty damn annoying to us professionals. A large portion (not all, but many) self-publishers are so desperate to sell their books, and thus reduce their loss to the "publishers" they paid to print their work, that they lose all sense of decorum. Did this guy really think that he could badger me into joining a group in which I didn't even belong?

Such actions have "unprofessional" written all over them. I hope this guy wises up. If he does, he might just stand a chance at getting published for real.

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