IWSG 2024 Post #1: Positively Positive
Did you hear about the author who got her book contract yanked after she was accused of trolling fellow authors with horrible reviews from multiple fake accounts? If you haven't, you can read about the story
here.
If the allegations are true, I have just one question to add to the debate...who in the hell has the time to be so mean? One of the reasons I've never adopted a pen name is because I rarely have enough time to be me, much less be me and a fake me. That would just be two personas. To review-bomb, you'd need multiple accounts. Imagine how much effort it took to make all those phony accounts? You'd need multiple usernames, passwords...and you'd have to write all of those fake, horrible reviews.
That took some time and energy, if it's true!
Now, imagine if she'd have spent that same amount of time and energy on her next story, her marketing, or some positive networking...what could she have accomplished?!
Instead she sucked on the sour grapes of insecurity and envy and lost her agent and her publisher.
But here's the thing...
Writers are dreamers of big dreams. And sometimes those dreams feel impossible and so far out of reach that other people's success can feel like our own failure. Insecurity raises its nasty little head and starts to whisper that we aren't good enough, talented enough to do it on our own...that for us to succeed, others must fail.
But those are lies. Ignore them and think on these:
1. More than one writer can succeed at a time. They're called best seller LISTS, plural, for a reason.
2. Helping a fellow writer creates good karma, not competitors.
3. Building YOUR writing career is a more productive than wasting time trying to destroy (or complaining about) someone else's.
4. Newton's law of the conservation of energy says the total energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. It's been a LONG time since I took physics, but I think that means your energy is finite. If you waste it all on negative thinking, you'll have less energy to be productive.
5. Even if I read Newton all wrong, I still contend that being negative sucks, so stop it.
I know you all agree with me. You're part of the IWSG—a group that has helping each other at the very core of its beliefs. But if that monster of insecurity begins to nibble at your brain, feel free to say...
This post was brought to you by the letters, I, W, S, and G! A monthly blog hop where writers share their worries, concerns, and insecurities.
If you're tired of going it alone, feel free to join us! Sign up
HERE.
Thanks to this month's awesome co-hosts:
Joylene Nowell Butler, Olga Godim, Diedre Knight, and Natalie Aguirre!Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?
I've only followed authors. I didn't even know following readers was a thing...
Speaking of authors I follow....
C. Lee McKenzie! Lee is a wonderful writer and her books are always full of heart and angst. She has a new book out. I've already bought it and moved it to the top of my to-read list.
What the book called Rattlesnake is about:
The desert town of Rattlesnake isn’t a destination. It’s a last resort. Seventeen-year-old Jonah Guthrie’s aunt sold their home in New England and fled to this place to escape the humiliation of his dad’s indictment for embezzlement and subsequent disappearance.
While their late uncle left them a house and a silver mine, the house is a shambles and the mine is defunct. They’re almost out of money, so they have no choice but to stay in Rattlesnake. And then Jonah discovers they’ve inherited something else. Her name is Catherine, and she’s been dead for over a hundred year. Now, she needs his help.
Excerpt:
For a moment, the sun balanced on the tip of the tallest peak, then slipped behind the mountains, turning them black against the sky. They were out of options all except for going back to Old Cemetery Road and dealing with the property. From somewhere far out in the desert came the loneliest sound Jonah had ever heard. That high-pitched yowl caught him at the center of his stomach. Suddenly, he felt eyes on him from every direction, and the shadows grew teeth.
Trailer for Rattlesnake
You can mark as Want To Read on Goodreads today.
Rattlesnake is now available to buy.
Amazon . Smashwords . Kobo . Barnes & NobelConnect with
Connect with
C. Lee McKenzie @ Substack . Goodreads . Facebook . Instagram . YouTube . LinkedIn
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Number five says it best. It does take energy to be negative, more than being positive, so why waste that time?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Life is too short to dwell on negative things.
DeleteSome people take perverse pleasure in belittling others - a not very subtle form of bullying, easy to do anonymously but wasting so much effort.
ReplyDeleteHaha See, that's me. I didn't know it was a thing either.
ReplyDeleteAs for this, I completely agree: I still contend that being negative sucks, so stop it.
Who has time to write and add a bunch of fake reviews??
DeleteSome days I barely have enough energy to get my stuff done, let alone use that energy to bash others.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking about physics class makes me shudder. Although, I did better in physics than chemistry. But not by much. :)
I did better at chemistry. Physics was a nightmare for me. So much math and so many equations to remember. I suppose chemistry had that too, but blowing things up was a lot of fun, so it held my attention.
DeleteWith a few exceptions - like that author - most authors are very supportive and understand there is room for all.
ReplyDeleteMost of the ones I know are very supportive, but then I tend to weed out the negative people from my life as a habit.
DeleteI heard about that author. I agree with you that it's better to support each other and that being negative is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard, I was more than a bit shocked.
DeleteHappy New Year Elizabeth! I didn't hear about this author, but she or he sounds like a mean spirited, negative type of person. I Love that quote!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too! Mean spirited is right. I wonder if she's rough on waiters and such as well?
DeleteThanks so much for putting the word out about Rattlesnake. I really appreciate it. As to that author who seems to have a real kink in her moral code...she deserves to have her contract yanked. I loved your comment btw: "who in the hell has the time to be so mean?
ReplyDeleteMy new address: https://substack.com/@cleemckenzie
Happy to share. I look forward to reading it!!
DeleteI'm all about#5. I don't have time to do anything with garbage other than take it out to the curb and hope the garbage man takes it away pronto.
ReplyDeleteThat's a quotable quote- the only thing to do with garbage is to take it to the curb!
DeleteI heard about that author! That just sounds like way too much time and energy that could have been spent on more positive ways of promoting her book.
ReplyDeleteExactly! How much energy does it take to be that negative??
DeleteI heard about that author drama and it was crazy.
ReplyDeleteToo bad she didn't have enough faith in herself. Obviously, she had talent and had accomplished something many don't...yet still felt the need to level the competition.
DeleteBut but what if I'm positive it's negative. Would I then be neutral-ive? Lol True, don't feed the trolls. Been down that road. Focus on you and forget the nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIt is positively negative, but that still doesn't make it neutral. LOL. I agree 100% ...never feed the trolls.
DeleteI can't imagine doing something like that. We all know how hard writing is. Why would one of us cut down another? And what a coward to do it behind those aliases. Only proves she know how wrong it was.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. If you have to hide behind an alias, then you di know it's wrong.
DeleteI hadn't heard about the review bombing and the loss of the contract. I don't know what she thought she was going to accomplish. I used to have a persona write my blog. It was fun. She was hilarious and wild, but she wasn't me and, ultimately, I had to give her up. She wore me out. I couldn't possibly create multiple accounts and write all those reviews and try to coordinate so many lies. Besides, I have no desire to do so. I wouldn't get any pleasure or satisfaction out of being nasty like that.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
There were times when I wished I had made a persona. But I know I am too scattered and too busy to be more than one person.
DeleteDefinitely a self-esteem problem. She had everything most writers dream of having and lost it.
ReplyDeleteLee's book is great isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI love how you zeroed in on the positive. It takes a village to grow a writer. I can't imagine purposefully going around and leaving bad reviews. Anyhoo, let's hope that is few and far between.
Sandra sandracox.blogspot.com
It does take a village. The job is brutal trying to go it alone! Glad I have friends. :)
DeleteI hadn't heard of the review things -- wow! I'll check out the article. That's just weird.
ReplyDeleteIt's so bizarre, it reads more like a book plot.
DeleteI love your list. More than one author can hit the best seller lists:) And I'm very thankful that writer buds are so supportive.
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
I am blessed with good writer friends, like yourself!
DeleteBookBub? Never heard of it, so the answer is "no."
ReplyDelete"Not today Satan" <--that's my favorite, in addition to your words of wisdom. Thank you.
You've never heard of BookBub? I think you're joshing me.
DeleteGreat post. I think taking the high road applies to most situations.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit of a climb, the the view is better from there.
DeleteHope you're having a great one. Did you get any of the rain?
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com