Every once in a while, because this is the internet and the people who participate in it can sometimes seem to be nothing more than faceless masses*, drama breaks out.

It usually happens because someone makes a controversial statement. This person may or may not have -intended- the statement to stir up controversy, but that’s hardly the point. Someone speaks out against a publisher or publishing practices. Someone takes a stand for or against authors writing reviews. Or whether or not authors should post on reader message boards.

Shake, stir, and you’re bound to have drama. Which is likely to make people reconsider having a web presence at all.

But wait. Recent studies show that readers, at least, like to be able to visit author websites and follow their blogs. They don’t want just promotional posting, though. They want personal insight. They want to get to know the author, without knowing too much. That being the case, is it safe not to be online? Will not having a website and/or blog cost an author book sales?

It’s a matter of balance. How do we, as authors, figure out where the lines are? What’s safe to say and what’s too controversial to put out there if we want readers to keep coming back? How do we know what’s boring? How do we know when we’ve gone too far? And if we have a strong opinion about something, should we keep our mouths shut to avoid conflict?

2 Responses to “A Question of Balance, or, Why Behave?”

1. Shelli Stevens Says:
   December 13th, 2006 at 10:10 pm

   I have authors I read. And nothing would turn me off more than going to their site and seeing them bitching about a publisher. That just crosses a line for me, shows how unprofessional they are.

2. Loribelle Hunt Says:
   December 18th, 2006 at 12:04 am

   This is an impossible line to find I think. I need to know if publisher a or b is treating their authors badly, but I don’t know if readers do. And if the authors don’t blog, discuss on loops etc that there is a problem I stand the chance of getting caught up in the drama personally. Kwim? Otoh, you don’t want to earn yourself a rep as a trouble maker and you can bet publisher read this stuff just as much as we do! If you can win, I don’t see how.