I do love baby ducks.
Here’s the deal. I’m a very curious person. When a new visitor stops by, I’ll usually return the favor, if for no other reason than to see what this visitor is about. If a new visitor comments, I make sure to acknowledge this person. He or she made the effort to come over here, read my post, and leave a comment. I want visitors to my blog to feel welcome because they are welcome. I’ve found many, many interesting new-to-me authors and bloggers by following links back to their source.
As you can see by the list of sites on my sidebar, the number of links is increasing. The number is fluid. From time to time I delete links and add others. Here’s why.
I follow friends. We may not visit each other every day, but I view this as an author support system, a quid pro quo. We hope to share visitors and keep each other in the information loop.
I follow authors and bloggers, who while they may not follow me back, are my teachers. These are people I admire. I almost always learn something from their words or their links…about the craft of writing, the brave new world of publishing, the technical aspects of editing, site-building, self-pubbing, new books, trends and authors. If I leave a comment or ask a question, these authors and bloggers almost always respond, very graciously I might add.
Book reviewers - I do follow some reviewers because they write thoughtful, thought-provoking reviews. And I follow a few who write hilarious tongue in cheek reviews. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of such a review, but I know damn well I’d laugh my ass off despite my disappointment.
If I don’t follow, here’s why…
*The first reason is simple and it’s not personal - it’s because you don’t update your site. If you haven’t updated your site in say, six months, I’ll remove the link from my public list, but keep it private so I can check in from time to time to see if you’re back.
*Because you’ve asked me to link to your site, but you haven’t linked back to mine. I’ll give you a month or so to put up the link, but if it’s not up by then, yours is coming down.
*Because you don’t respond to my comments. Once upon a time, I visited all the big-time sites because that’s what new authors do. (Remember the movie, Parenthood? Keanu Reeves -”Because that’s what little dudes do…”) I left the occasional comment. If you, the blog owner, only responded to a few comments, I understood. Time is a limiting factor. But, if you responded to every comment except mine, and you did this repeatedly, I took the hint. By ignoring me, you made it clear I was beneath your notice. I stopped following you posthaste.
I understand any blogger who does what L.M. May does, turns off the comments function. I follow her because she always posts something of value. I’m in awe of her no-comments rule. But a blogger who only responds to the comments left by his or her cheering section is another animal altogether. And I’m outie.
*I won’t follow you if you use your posse as surrogates to rag on authors you don’t like, and on visitors who leave an opinion different from yours. Many bloggers won’t deign to argue or defend a position, their followers do it for them. To say a posse can be rude and insulting is an understatement. Meanwhile, the blog-owner stays all squeaky-clean, far above the fray. Think of the Amazon discussion boards. Yeah, it’s like that, but worse.
My very first review was a good example. The review was excellent. I think the book received a B+, and no, I won’t mention the particulars, but I will say it has since been re-released with a new publisher and a new cover. I hated the original cover. It was a real stinker, but I had zero control. I didn’t design the cover, I didn’t want the cover, everything having to do with the cover was the publisher’s decision, not mine.
I left the first comment, thanking the reviewer for her review. The next comment was all about the horrendous cover. The poster didn’t say… “Too bad it’s a good book with a bad cover.”… The commenter trashed the book because of the cover in the most cruel way possible and she opened the flood gates. Every subsequent comment made fun of the cover and book, not a single person mentioned the nice review. Worse, the reviewer could have stepped in at any point in time to say something as simple as - “I don’t think authors have much control over their covers,” or “If you can get past the cover, it’s a great story.” She kept silent. She allowed the flood of harsh, biting criticism to continue all day long. Why? I don’t know. Maybe because the worse the comments became, the more comments she received. That was a painful lesson. But it stuck. I don’t play with the big girls anymore.
What about you? Why do you follow the people you follow?
Related posts:
- Hubby says I need to engender controversy… So here goes. Because as you all know, like a...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I follow author friends and places I like. Of course, Julia’s blog is a must!
This brings up an interesting point….the blogger as a “moderator”…..I agree that the blogger should have controlled the comments better following your review. Any person who judges a book based on the cover is an idiot. Everyone knows that the author has no control about that. It drives me nuts that folks at Amazon actually leave 1 star reviews for books because THEY HATE THE COVER. Oh Lordy, Have Mercy! I once wrote a fairly incendiary blog post where the comments section got ambushed by another reviewer. I attempted to regain control of the review section. It’s not easy.
I also agree about the rule of reciprocity. That’s how social media works.
Sometimes reviewers don’t understand they are wielding power without any responsibility for the results. Any author who works hard enough to publish a book - and it is hard work - deserves to have their efforts taken seriously. That is not to say reviewers have to limit themselves to favourable comments, but they should limit themselves to responsible ones.
I follow a few who have disabled comments. I can understand their reasoning. The whole book cover situation is horrible. We can’t control the cover and frankly the reviewer should have stepped in and said something.
I follow friends and people who offer something worthwhile and entertaining, like you.
Good points all, Julia. Thank you for the reminder, too. I read so many blogs and articles, I forget the Internet is not the daily newspaper. I’ve been guilty of taking other people’s hard work for granted. If I want good content, I need to “pay” for it with acknowledgment. I’ll be more vigilant in the future about hitting the Like button or a Share button when I don’t have the time or inclination to comment.
re out-of-control Comments. I’ve been helping Writing Buddy set up a blogsite and create a web presence (she is the only writer I know who has NEVER Googled herself. Unbelievable, eh?). She was worried about comments. I assured her she has full control of commentary. If something strikes her as weird or inappropriate, she can Unapprove. If she receives something too personal, she can reply in email rather than in public. If somebody acts like a jerk, delete his ass. It’s her blog. Even though it’s a public venue, as administrator she has some powerful bouncers at the door. Use them wisely.
I don’t remember how I found your blog, Julia, but I enjoy it, and your comments.
I think a blog is the responsibility of the blog owner. I’m the only one who can ban a commenter, and regrettably, I’ve banned two people in the last three years. They just didn’t get the “gentle” hints.
However, I don’t understand having a blog without enabling comments. It strikes me the same way some people on Twitter have oodles of followers, but refuse to follow anyone. Perhaps the word I’m searching for is elitism. Or maybe that’s too harsh. But having a blog, without encouraging interaction, is like having a newspaper. Who among us is so important that his thoughts need to be posted for all to read? You might as well just have a private journal.
Regarding covers: please. I’ve had some gawdawful ones, as well as titles. Nothing I could do.
Hi Julia….I am jumping back in here to comment on Karen’s comment! The difference between a blog and a website is interaction with followers. A website is a static, low-maintenance resource. A blog is a dynamic, high-maintenance, interactive resource. If an author enables the “no-comments” option, it is essentially turning a blog into a website. The great thing about blogs is interacting with other people, sharing thoughts, ideas, and opinions. I think some authors like the freedom of creating their own “websites” using a blogger site. It’s cheap, free, and easy.
Here I am kvetching about not responding and I’m not responding! LOL! Been out of town for a meeting all morning.
Thanks, Stacey! I love to visit you too!
Penelope, I do think a blogger has some responsibility for keeping the comments from degenerating into insults. It’s pretty weird to insult someone you don’t even know at all, but that’s the internet for you. And yes, there is a difference between using your blog to interact and using your blog as a website.
JW - yes, we do have control over our comment function. I’ve only deleted a couple comments because they were very inappropriate. In one case I simply deleted because it was nasty. In the other, I emailed the person privately to let them know why I didn’t publish the comment. As far as leaving comments, yes, when I read a post and I have something to say or add I’ll leave a comment. I don’t actually like to simply say - Great post! Unless it is indeed a great post!
Hi Karen. Thanks! I do feel bad when I delete a comment, but as I said, like you, it’s only been two people in three or four years. Regarding L.M. May, her philosophy is not mine, but I do appreciate what she has to say. She’s quite interesting. Oh, and covers??? Not our fault unless we’re self-pubbing!
Hmmm, I don’t follow blogs. I do however visit blogs with interesting topics when they’re posted on facebook or my yahoo loops. Which is all very silly since I really enjoy when people stop by my blog and “chat”. There is something to be said for visiting people who visit me. I tried that in the beginning, but it turned out we were all just looking for blog readers in the hopes that it would become a book sale. And since the blogs I visited were mostly authors, it seemed no one (including me) was buying much. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading, I just don’t buy a lot of books.
With all the social media out there, I’m not sure blogs aren’t becoming less popular with readers and authors alike. Yours is one of the few I swing by and visit a couple times a week Julia.
I check yours out all the time, Nina. You always have something interesting to say. I like to know what’s going on out there in the world of writer-hood - and food and fun!
Good blog, Lady Julia. You stop by mine frequently and I very much appreciate it.
Yeah, likewise, Sandra!