I think every one of us has been on the receiving end of a bully. But what is a bully? I see it as someone that feels the need to put down others, or is cruel in word or in a psychical manner, as a bully. With the invention of Social Media a lot more people are Cyber-bullying.
I got some of this a few weeks back from another author. I was out-of-town in the mountains, when the attack came. This indie author took it upon herself to bash me all over Twitter and even posted on my Facebook wall. The lies worked all weekend and showed up on blogs and Goodreads. What was it all about?
Turns out that this person, no this bully, is in a position where they have a bunch of followers. Instead of using this power for good, they used it to sell their own books and con other unsuspecting authors into chain tagging and other schemes to advance their own work.
Long and short if it, I was in the way. I did not do what they thought I should do, i.e. I did not do it their way. So after one email and waiting an hour, they went to work making me look like some sort of monster that was out to get all Indie authors. What a joy to see that as I was out-of-town on a mini vacation, that back home, I was being hunted down.
Most of you did not even hear about this as I did not post much on the subject. But I fear it is a trend with the Indie author crowd. Is it fear? Is it that each author thinks the way they market is the way all of us should do it? Or is it greed?
Most of it is because we do not educate ourselves. We do not learn the business of writing so we think something another author does is wrong, when it is just that we have no clue what we are doing. Selling well does not mean you are an expert, but I fear many authors think that sales=brains.
The best way to stop bullying is education. This is why I wanted to be a part of this blog hop, it is a group that is speaking out and learning how to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
I am so glad that I have a community of writers and friends that support each other. It makes the bully in all our lives seem a little less evil. I bet all they need is a huge hug...or a stick to the backside! lol
Here are some rules to help stop a bully:
Do not jump to conclusions. If you see something bad about someone, check it out, talk to that person and don't just jump on the KILL bandwagon.
BE NICE!
Remember, we are all people, be kind and give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Don't be stupid.
Remember that the bully is hurting, scared or is just unloved. They are acting out, it has nothing to do with you.
Protect your friends.
BE NICE!
That is all...
Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.
