One of the website I like to visit is discussing a touchy yet important subject, author online protocol. Not everyone is bad online, but there are a few that are. However all it takes is a few to give the rest of us a bad reputation.

I am always shocked when an author bashes another published author either on her blog, in a review on Amazon or BN. Don’t they realize it makes them look bad? I can’t help but think badly of the author.

Another pet peeve of mine is an old one, one that I had when I joined reader groups before I sold my book to LBF Books. I hate it when readers are discussing books and an author suggests their own work. I don’t mind when authors joined in discussions about the books they’d read and had a signature with the name of the books. However when they turn a reader discussion into a PR moment or an ad for themselves, that bothers me. I left groups the only catered to author’s promo and not to reader discussion. I try as hard as I can not to discuss or bring up my book on any reader loop. I will thank readers who have brought up my book on loops privately.

If you want to join the discussion on author online protocol go to Dear Author.