In th Perfect World...

Hello!

 I ran across a blog in which the individual writer was posting (in this case) blatant lies about a publishing company. First of all I was shocked because this person didn’t give an accurate account of the facts, but then I shook my head. They not only blogged about it, but that they also took their "opinion" out to a live media feed. Not only did I think their behavior was very unprofessional, but it could also be self-damaging to their own career as a writer.

As some may or may not know, we writers are being watched as to how we conduct ourselves in the social media arena. No one—be it a publisher, graphic artist, free-lance editor, etc.—wants to work with, or get tied to, a writer who can potentially harm their reputation or business down the road, or to put it plain English, “be a pain in their ass”. It is no different than an employer who is considering hiring a job applicant to work for them. The days of just being hired on your application alone are long gone. The term “background check” doesn’t just mean looking to see if you have a criminal past or checking your credit report. Now with 90% of people using social networking, you can bet the employer looks there as well. It is easier than ever for them to find out exactly who you are and the type of person you are. Employers don't want to hire the person who posts that "Hey, I called in sick today" followed by a string of pictures of them at a party having a good old time! I'd be willing to bet, it's the same in our field as well, meaning those we will work closely with poke around to see who we "really" are.

But, back to us writers…

Seriously, if you are out there on the media networks, constantly complaining about this or that, whining all the time about your life, being impatient, grumbling about whatever, ask yourself, “would I want to work closely with me?” And be honest with yourself when you answer that! I know most of us will admit we have read a person’s post on Facebook or Twitter, rolled our eyes and thought “good lord, he/she is at it again” Trust me, if we’re doing it, so are the big guys. Now take this a step further...have you openly grumbled about publishing delays, criticised an editor, voiced how terrible you thought someones cover art was? You getting the picture? Think about all that when you're ready to submit your next manuscript.

So with all that being said, I have decided to cover some of the areas that come with being an author. I will be posting a series of blogs on topics ranging from professional conduct, your cover, editing, publication delays and reviews. Please remember these posts will simply be this writer’s opinion; a specific example given to situations isn’t going to be the same with every case or for an individual writer, and therefore is not the law of the publishing world, LOL. Being that I am a writer who also happens to work for a publishing company, I feel I can give some insight as to what goes on, on both sides of the fence. My goal is to help you as a writer to consider with an open mind, what the reasons may be for certain things you might experience. This goes not only for those who are contracted writers, but those who self-publish could run into these things as well.

I hope you will stop back in the days ahead, as I give my thoughts to these areas. I’ll be interested to see what you have to say on these subjects as well!

Next blog post for  In the PERFECT World…

Editing-from delays to whoops