Thursday, June 13, 2013

Do You Support Other Writers?

    A rant, a vent, a "enough is enough" commentary.


   Posts pop up all over the place asking authors to support other authors. Authors beg for reviews and for people to purchase their books. Pages on Facebook and different Yahoo! groups lists are clogged with authors promoting themselves, and occasionally others, to the point that important posts are lost in the babble.
Order I Like Pink on 4RV Bookstore

     I believe in supporting other authors. In fact I'll review and purchase and promote other authors' book before I will my own. However, I am tired of asking for reviews for my book or books and being told by other authors (including one whom I've supported over the years), "Oh, I don't review other people's books." Yet, those same people expects us, including me, to review their books. 

     I have supported other authors by buying their books, until I discovered that even those I thought were friends never bought even one of my books. Now, I'm much more stingy with my limited income when I choose books to buy. 

     Have you noticed among all the self-promotions on social media that some people promote others, while others promote only themselves? Yes, it becomes quite noticeable after a time. I will share and retweet and give notice for other authors if they in turn do the same for other authors and, possibly, for me.

     I love reading, but now I read books I want to read or ones sent me to review. However, I have stopped reading some authors whose work I enjoyed in the past (and whom I know personally) because of their "buy my books but don't expect me to buy yours" behavior.

     Supporting other authors, or illustrators, is good, but that support should never be a one-way street.

Website: Vivian Zabel   

5 comments:

Melanie said...

I'd be happy to review I Like Pink for you, Vivian. When I get down my TBR pile to Stolen, I'll happily review it, too.

Vivian Zabel said...

Thank you, Melanie.

Wonder what happened to the other comments? There were at least three earlier this afternoon. Strange.

Rena Jones said...

I've experienced this myself. I've also been on the other side of not being able to afford to buy books from as many writer friends as I would like. That's never any fun. Now that we're back from vacation and off school, I hope to get working on my writing stuff more.

Vivian Zabel said...

I think most of us have gone through the funds-aren't-enough times, but we can review or support as we are able. I'm talking about the ones that won't.

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