The Literary Industry's Worst Trends List

THE INDUSTRY'S WORST TRENDS LIST

The Internet is the next best thing to sliced bread!  With the explosion of the Internet, businesses and industries have had to adapt and evolve with the progression of technology.  For example, social networking sites have become hugely popular within the literary industry and used in the promotion of authors, publishing houses, editing services, and book clubs. Maximum exposure is received due to the masses that frequent these sites leading to better sales.  Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad. Along with that growing number of sales and exposure, it seems professionalism, common sense, courtesy, and manners have gone down hill.  Readers have again weighed in with...THE INDUSTRY'S WORST TRENDS LIST.   

Facebook

Posting to groups and not interacting with the members or adding to a discussion.

Friending others and immediately posting links to "like" a page.

Authors posting every review for their book in Facebook groups.

Adding others to groups without permission.

Soliciting books sales through inbox messages that include several others.  When one person replies, everyone receives that reply.

Authors posting on the pages of other’s while others can’t post on theirs.

Responding to any and every post, note, or status with information about their book or a sales pitch.

General Behavior

Authors going rogue, assuming they are “hated on” when a reader shares their opinion.

Aspiring authors not doing their homework before signing with a publisher or paying for publishing industry advice. Not

everyone is reputable.

Authors providing blurbs or reviews for books they have not read.

Responding to anyone that didn’t like/love a book with, “But so-and-so liked it.”

Authors believing they are royalty or rock stars.

Reviews/Review Requests

Authors who haven't taken the time to get reviews for their very first book in a series but want reviews for the subsequent parts.

Books accepted for review but the author/publisher/publicist never sends it with zero follow-up.

Authors posting their own reviews for their books, posing as a random reader.

Asking for and providing a book for review, but ignoring the review (& reviewer) if it is not what the author wanted (5

stars).

Authors with unrealistic review timeframe expectations. 

Unprofessional review requests.

Negative behavior in response to reviews.

Submitting books for review and not acknowledging the review or saying thank you.

Removing reviews or asking readers/reviewers to remove reviews AFTER a book has been re-edited.

Sending ARCs/galleys for review that are in terrible condition or that do not reflect the story that went to print. (ARC ends one way, published book ends another way.)

Stating that a book is an ARC or galley so that errors will be taken into consideration when the book is the same book anyone can purchase.

An author expecting everyone to feel their book is a 5-star read.

Confusing constructive criticism with hate.

Book Quality

There still are authors who don't respect the craft enough to have their book properly edited.

Authors seem to think if there are any plus size characters in a book, their size always has to be the main part of the book.

Authors using plus size female characters as the ones with self-esteem issues, domestic/mental abuse victim, and/or the one that can't find a man.

Sequels, trilogies and series.  Most are not necessary and it takes a very skilled author to pull this off. But now we have

brand new authors just looking for a way to garner extra money off of one story, instead of coming up with a new storyline.

A book title or synopsis that does not reflect the story.

Constant references to brand names or songs.

A plot twist with absolutely no lead up.

In conclusion, if the value of your reputation is important to you and the acceptance of your work is to be respected, then professionalism, including social media etiquette, should be applied in all you do.