Tip of the Day: If you want to see what people are saying about you online, you can set up your own google alerts here.
Ok, everyone respond please-- do you have google alerts turned on for your name? Your book? I'm coming to that point in a writer's life where one must decide, do I turn this thing off or what?
Let me explain why. At first it was exciting and fun-- Oh look! :-) People are talking about me! They like me, they like me! Cue confetti! Now, I sorta cringe when the thing pops up in my inbox. Oh. People are talking about me. What new hell is this? Ok, it's not THAT bad. But the cringing does happen. Because while there has been lots of nice stuff said about my book there has been some not as nice stuff too. And aren't we programmed to automatically think the worst is the right stuff? So if 50 people say OMG, I love this we're still thinking oh yeah? Well so and so anonymous poster says I suck rocks and they must be right! SIGH. And then I think what if that screws with my writing because I'm thinking about what someone said? I'm sure it's just this type of thing that drove Heidi Montag to getting all that plastic surgery. Too many google alerts. I'm wondering if it's not worth bothering with at all. I mean, if something fantastic were to shoot up online from an official reviewer I'm sure someone would let me know. I don't really need to know every single thing said, do I? Although, I will admit that the google alert on My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours gives me a laugh most days. Not once has it sent me to a page that had anything to with my book. Instead I get links to all kinds of crazy problems people have with their boyfriends from he's cheating on me, I'm cheating on him, I'm going to trick him into marrying me, I fake you know whats, his mother is trying to kill me etc. So maybe I should keep that one.
What do you guys think? Weigh in!
Kristina, Miss See Me on the Shelves
10 comments:
Interesting. I have it on for my name and book, but book isn't out yet, so I'm still at a stage when I'm thrilled someone is talking about it.
That is a good point. Perhaps I will turn it off when it comes out. Can't see how reading negative comments would be of any benefit.
Like Terry, I'm at a point where no one can say anything bad about my book because they haven't read it yet. A year from now, I might have to stop looking at those Google Alerts.
If you're cringing, that's a sign. Listen to your body.
I kinda agree with Cynthia- if it's something you're doubting now, maybe you shouldn't have it anymore. It's all up to you.
Even though I'm not a published (or soon-to-be published) author, I have Google Alerts set for Book Chic, in case I miss something around the blogosphere where people are talking about me. Not that anyone actually does, but it's still nice to know, lol. I usually delete it in one second because I usually get bogus links or links to my own blog when I post something new. But who knows how I'll feel about it if I ever become published.
I turned mine off. I just get so tired of worrying about what other people think. The book is out there. It's not mine anymore. People will either love it or hate it, and there's nothing I can do about it now.
It is fun to hear nice things, I know. But as you have more books out, you'll get more notes from readers through your web site or whatever, and those will carry you through. I get some every week, so I find I just don't need to see reviews on-line anymore. I know some people are reading my books and enjoying them, and the rest, I don't really need to know.
You can always turn it back on, search Google when you feel like it, etc. I say give it up for a month and see if you feel better about life or not.
What Kate said. Occasionally, if I feel like I want to know what's being said, I do an internet search when I'm in the right frame of mind to accept whatever I find. But I haven't even done that in a while: I just can't have too many other voices in my head when I'm trying to write a new book.
And I've never used the alerts.
I used to have them but I got so much redundancy it was a pain to read them for that reason I turned them off. If you have an assistant or close friend/relative, you can ask them to check the alerts for you (set up an alert for your name/book on their own computer). That way you can get some "padding" in between you and the really bad ones that totally shoot you down.
Really interesting question Tina. I have alerts on my name, but none of them ever have anything to do with me so I rarely look at them.
I think if I was in your shoes, I'd really want to turn them off. Then the second I would I'd probably get that "oh no, I can't look away" feeling and sneak a peak again. But who knows.
Thanks guys! I think you're all right and I should turn it off!
Post a Comment