“There is no such thing as bad publicity.” How many times have we all heard this? I used to think it was… well not true. Recent events have made me rethink my stance.
When I think of that phrase many stars (and former stars) come to mind. Like Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen. It seems to be that authors are now taking this outlook.
Several authors (I will not give names as I do not want to promote their conduct) are behaving badly. They are arguing with readers, posting to their blogs attacking individuals who review their books, some are even making false claims about being attacked on the very forums that embraced them.
You would think that behaving this way would cause people to not buy their books. Unfortunately, it appears to show the first sentence true. I am sure that it turns some readers off and they refuse to read or buy that book. However the numbers don’t lie. Many see their numbers lower on Amazon as their number of sales rise.
All I can hope for is that their marketing ploys, bad attitudes, and false publicity end up being their down fall. That those who maintain our composure and heed our mothers warning, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…” when out in the end.
