Book Marketing Tip – Say Something Positive or Don’t Say It

BY IN Blog, book marketing, book marketing professionals, marketing 2 COMMENTS , ,

 

The best book marketing tip that I can give to all people is to say something positive or don’t say it. I got an e-mail the other day from a person that wanted to “correct” one of my blog posts. When I saw what she had an issue with I said, “really”. She missed the main focus on the entire blog because of one sentence that I wrote. I did not bother to “correct” it, because I really meant it just as it was written. Her words were condescending. That caused me to think about a lot of things.

Positivity brings encouragement, energy, development and contributes to people being able to accomplish amazing things. On the other side negativity brings the complete opposite results and worst of all stunts accomplishments. Think about that before you post a review, make a comment on someone’s website, or attempt to make suggestions, or “point out errors” in someone’s work.

Before you put pen to paper, ask yourself, have I ever contributed to their cause or said a kind word, am I on their email list, do I follow them socially, etc. People would be more prone to listen to what you have to say if they know you have contributed or have been engaged in their lives.

I am not saying that people do not need correction, but it is the spirit in which the correction is given. I have known people that have been so hurt by words spoken or written that they can’t move forward. Your mouth or written text can cause an author to withdraw. What if they were destined to bless the entire world with their book, but it never came to pass because they could not rise above your words? This happens. I hear sad stories all the time.

If you truly feel you have some corrective criticism to provide, wrap it up with cotton and bubble wrap, stuff it in a pillow spray it down with perfume and then give the message. Soft and serious can promote growth. Strong, harsh or negatively opinionated can destroy growth. Make a contribution to another person’s life. Really evaluate why you feel people need to know what you have to say. Especially if you are not positively contributing to their lives by being a part of their activities or supporting their books. At www.bookmarketingprofessionals.com we are all about encouraging and inspiring authors. Join us.

 

2 Comments

  1. Donna |

    This is an interesting topic for discussion. I will say that I disagree with you about most of what you are saying though. I guess it would depend on the the context of what is being written. I think as book reviewers, pointing out errors in the work kind of goes with the territory. Most book bloggers are consumers, we buy the books and our reviews are our opinions of those books which we have every right to express any way that we see fit. I feel that a negative opinion, however it is worded, is just as valuable as a positive opinion. It all lies in the quality of the review itself. It’s always been my opinion that reviews are for the readers, not for the authors, so it is not up to a reviewer to pat the author on the back or to denigrate them but to give an honest opinion about the book they have read without considering the author much at all. If an author decides to stop writing because they have been so emotionally damaged by a negative review, then that is a weakness in the character of the author and the reviewer is in no way accountable for that.

    Reply
    • Linda Leon |

      Thanks for responding because I agree this is an interesting point of discussion. It’s okay if we mutually disagree with each others perspective, and I really appreciate you sharing. In America we have freedom of speech and we basically feel we can say whatever we want to say. In most regards that is true. My point for this blog post was not as much for what is said, but how it is said. Words are powerful and can be destructive and my point is that we should all consider the impact of words before we use them even though we can say whatever we like, anyway that we would like to say it. In my opinion it does not take much effort to write a negative review or comment, but it takes a great deal of skill to write a negative review or comment in a way that doesn’t trash the persons efforts. Better still, that leaves them with something they can improve upon. You stated that ” if an author decides to stop writing because they have been emotionally damaged by a negative review, then that is a weakness in the character of the author and the reviewer is in no way accountable for that.” I don’t consider that a weakness. I think that the blow of the words has been unique and they have to find a way to rise above it. For some people that never happens. I agree you are certainly not accountable, but we should all be responsible for what we say. If we take that responsibility lightly, it can be destructive upon other people’s life. For some people that may not matter at all. But for me it does. I deal with authors every day, and some of the work that is sent to me is in really bad shape, but I take the time to think through how to explain that to an author in the most productive way. My comments impact the author and the reader. I do not believe you can separate the two during an evaluation. It is because of my concern for the reader that I have to be honest. Trust me, I am not the type that sugar coats anything, but I do wrap my words with cotton. I know that book is their dream. I know they have put a lot of effort into it. I take time to say things constructively because I am very responsible with my words. They have thanked me for it. Again, I appreciate it that you took the time to write a response.

      Reply

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