The Hand that Feeds: Authors vs Pages

The Hand that Feeds: Authors vs Pages

I feel a need to express an opinion and since this is MY site, I will.

I started my career as a reader. I loved reading so much that I progressed to writing reviews, which led to Wicked Reads- a review blog and Facebook Page. I then became a published author. This progression taught me many valuable lessons. I have been on both sides of the Reader/Author line and I hold a lot of wisdom for it.

As a reader, we troll the review pages and get a flutter in our tummies when one of the authors interacts with us. It is a heady feeling. Readers place their favorite  Authors on a pedestal.  We don’t see them as human. They are the creators of our entertainment. Readers see the site and page admins as heroes who interact with both the reader and the Authors. I remember feeling so happy when I was acknowledged by either- giddy. In actuality, we are all just different levels of book addicts. Readers, Authors get giddy to interact with their favorite Authors as well. I was just fangirling the other day =)

As a reviewer/blogger/page owner, we interact with the fans and the authors. We work our ass off and our fingers to the bone to provide our fans the most information as possible and the best experience, and we want to elevate our favorite authors by pushing the hell out of their books. We will do this at the expense of our family time, free time, reading time, reviewing time, writing time, work, and our dwindling wallet. We do this with no payment because we LOVE everything books- we are the ultimate addict.

As an author, we are a fickle bunch. We are ultra-sensitive and take everything personally. We spend a lot of time inside our own heads and sometimes with it in the sand, and on occasion- up our asses. We make mistakes. We are human. If the reader is an addict, the reviewer the ultimate addict, we are INSANE for books. In order to write a story we have to live, breathe, eat, and  sleep our story. But we also must read- constantly- our own work and those that entertain us, in order to grow in our craft. We see the reader as someone we must seduce. We see the reviewer/page owner as our minion. <--& that is the reason for this blog posting.

I walk a fine line between all three categories. The reader loves to hear from the Author. The reviewer is annoyed when an author tries to defend or rationalize the review. The author is usually insecure and doesn’t know how to interact with the reader or tries to tell the reviewer to change this or that.

This has made me a better reader/reviewer/author. I understand when the author is leery of me. I write more sensitive, non-attacking reviews. I never interact with the reviewer and I try to tell the readers I appreciate their support. It’s a delicate balance.

As a page owner, I’ve learned about spamming by authors. I will delete those who are no a fan of my page because why should I blast your work to thousands of fans on my pages, blogs, and twitter when you don’t respect me enough for a like.  Even though, I too, am an author, I love pushing books. When someone drops a link on my wall I make sure to share on my page so all the fans have access. I will do this once and awhile for the same author. More than once a week and I delete it.  More often than that, a reader’s eye roves over the post because they’ve seen it before- a lot. I don’t want to inundate my fans with repeats. I find spamming to be the biggest offense of an author. I don’t spam my books on any pages, including my own, including my Author Fan page. Why? Because I was a reader/reviewer/page owner first. I want to help you, but not lose fans over spam, most definitely my own.  So unless it’s a new release or a giveaway, you won’t hear from Erica Chilson linking her titles.

Today my fellow Admin, Amber, was kind enough to post a link for a new author. Who proceeded to spam our postings on the page. I deleted them and posted this notice to our fans:

***Notice*** 
Please be respectful in regards to spamming. You may post links to your fan pages/groups/books/blog/pics on our wall and we love it. We will share them accordingly. Please do not spam our posts with your links. If it is related to the post, such as a review or picture, go ahead. If it is for monetary gain- don’t. That is what our wall if for. I will remove these posts as soon as they come to my attention, so it does no good. This is in light of spamming on our high traffic posts to get more viewers for the link. 
Wicked Reads loves to share and promote anything posted on our wall, however, spamming is frowned upon. 
*Admins*

I was done- angry, but I felt better after the  posting. We received a passive-aggressivecomment on our wall from the spammer. As an Author, I was ashamed of her behavior. As a page owner, I was furious. I preceded to write another post and I meant every heart-felt word of it.

**A Moment of your time**
I would love to express the amount of work that goes into running a page. I started Wicked Reads because of my love of reading and interacting with fellow book addicts. 
We dedicate hours of our time and our own money to give our fans a wonderful experience through posts, giveaways, freebies, and interactions. & We do this and expect nothing in return except to have a place to share our addiction with fellow addicts.

Pages are a wonderful way for unknown authors to promote their work for free. It is a wonderful way for authors to reach out and interact with potential fans. Page owners and Administrators work their fingertips to the bone helping to provide this service. Do NOT take this for granted. We get nothing in return. 
I am not saying this to get “Thanks and Good Jobs,” from our fans. I just wanted you all to take a moment of your time to understand the dynamic of a page and their Admins. Please thank the pages you love for their effort and time, bringing you valuable information, free swag, free books, giveaways, and free Promoting of your works. 
*Wicked Reads Admins* 

This is why I am writing this blog posting- Authors feed from the hand of the Pages- you do not bite those that feed you. You are not entitle to our free promoting if you are not respectful. I am NOT your damned MINION. I am an Author, who has many books under her belt- an owner of 3 pages- A FB group- 2 blogs- and a Goodread’s Librarian. I am no one’s minion, but my own!!  And I deserve a little f-ing respect for my hard work!!! You want to sell more books? Work for it! Be respectful! & Write! Learn! Grow! & Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!I was ashamed to call her a fellow author. The problem is, this happens every second, on every page, by so many Indie-Authors, giving Indie-Authors a bad name in the industry. I tried to give my advice to some Indie Authors and was laughed at and Frozen out! Why? Because they thought spamming, paying for reviews, and schemes was the way to get ahead. I am above that shit. I have some ethics. Spamming drives fans and friends away… Just because you offer a book for review doesn’t guarantee a positive review. As a reviewer, I hated having to choose between ethics and keeping the peace, to the point that I didn’t want to review for authors any more. Do I tell the truth or give 5 stars? Ya know what? I will choose ethics every time. Schemes to get ahead: NO! I’ll write, learn, and grow my craft- thank you very much…. We are not all bad apples. & yes, do send pages your links in moderation and with the utmost respect to the page.



If the Page is the hand that feeds…. the authors are the mouths, and the readers, the food. It is a continuous cycle that works in harmony if it is handled with respect. If an Author behaves badly, you’d be amazed at how fast they will starve and get severe food poisoning.