by
Becca C Smith
It’s funny because I didn’t even know about
sock puppeting until I started reading some of the Amazon Forums and literally
in the title of the board it said “NO SELF-PROMOTION.” I had no intention of
self-promoting; in fact, I find it awkward to self-promote. I know I’m supposed
to, but I’ve never been the kind of person to say, “hey, read my book! It’s
awesome.”
When I went through the boards, I realized how many writers have
absolutely no problem telling the world how amazing they are. Even if they are
using fake names, it’s so obvious that it’s the author or at least one of their
friends. It’s usually when they go into loglines and details that give it away.
The really great puppeteers recommend a bunch of other books first, then later after they’ve developed a rapport with the board members pitch their book. At that point, at least they had the courtesy to connect with the other contributors to the board.
The really great puppeteers recommend a bunch of other books first, then later after they’ve developed a rapport with the board members pitch their book. At that point, at least they had the courtesy to connect with the other contributors to the board.
But when an author or one of their
advocates blatantly spams the boards with their book advertisements, that’s
when I understand why someone would add “NO SELF-PROMOTION,” to the title. It
completely took away from the discussion that people were trying to have. It’s
disruptive and forced and actually makes me not want to read their book. Do
people really think that just randomly going on to message boards and
recommending their own book will actually bring in sales? Does it? I can’t
imagine that it does. If anything, it would turn people off.
The other kind of sock puppeting that I
find hard to stomach is when authors respond to bad reviews. Either they respond as themselves or as “an
angry fan.” It always sounds sad and pathetic. If I had any advice to authors
it’s simply: Never respond to a bad review. Yes, bad reviews are hard to read,
but they are actually a good thing.
I had a bad review that ended up being great for sales. The reviewer said how much they hated my book Riser because it felt like reading a cross between Twilight and Percy Jackson. To that particular person that was a bad thing, to me, it was exactly what I was going for when I wrote the book so it was a great compliment to me. And it was very helpful to potential buyers. They would know that if they hated both those books they’d probably dislike mine, but to the people who loved those books chances are they’d really enjoy my book.
I had a bad review that ended up being great for sales. The reviewer said how much they hated my book Riser because it felt like reading a cross between Twilight and Percy Jackson. To that particular person that was a bad thing, to me, it was exactly what I was going for when I wrote the book so it was a great compliment to me. And it was very helpful to potential buyers. They would know that if they hated both those books they’d probably dislike mine, but to the people who loved those books chances are they’d really enjoy my book.
Becca
C Smith received her Film degree from Full Sail University and has worked in
the Film and Television industry for most of her adult life.
Becca is the author of the teen horror/sci-fi novel, Riser. She is also the
co-author of the teen graphic novel Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted and also
wrote and illustrated Little Family Secrets, a graphic novel based on the true
story of her great aunt who was famous for murdering her husband.
She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and two cats Jack and
Duke.
