Be Mindful of Your Social Media

You may have seen the story last week about the bestselling author who threw a public fit on Twitter after she didn't make it onto an end-of-year "Best Of" list. (I recommend skipping the comments section on that article, by the way!)

After reading reactions to this author's behavior, both from authors and non-authors, I have some mixed feelings. First of all, I think those end-of-year lists can have much more impact on a book's popularity and sales than the article linked above says they do. But I also don't think this justifies the author's behavior. While she later backed down and said "For better or worse (and certainly worse today), I made the foolish mistake of venting in public about my disappointment," her rant is preserved on the internet for anyone to see.

Only time will tell if the outburst loses this author readers, but either way it's a good reminder of the fact teachers and parents attempt to drill into the heads of young people: what you put on social media can stick around for a long, long time. Your Facebook status updates, tweets, and blog posts will likely be floating around in one form or another ten years from now. Personally, I'm taking this as a reminder to be mindful of the impression I want to project to my future readers.

Has an author's social media persona ever turned you off (or conversely, made you want to pick up their books)?