Politics and Writing
Should you write about your favorite politician, or post fueled attacks at the politician you don't believe in on Twitter?
I see a lot of authors doing this these days and feel it's almost like shooting yourself in the foot. Allow me to explain.
A well established author might be able to weather the negative hit posting his or her political rantings may cause, but someone starting out might find getting involved in this manner is almost like committing professional suicide. All those potential fans down the drain because they were offended. This is why I try to stay away from anything extremely political on my author page and sites--except for this post I don't really discuss anything. I'm not saying not to express your political beliefs, but from my observations feel it's wise to at least keep things to a minimum on your professional pages.
It's okay to have your views, but I've seen some pretty wild postings on Twitter and Facebook and wonder how some of those posters get away with half the things they say--meaning what do they do when lots of followers start dropping off, or how they deal with the negative comments offended fans might have toward them on other sites etc.
We are in the business of hopefully one day building up a readership and selling our stories to make a living. Unless you have millions of dollars already, it might not be the best idea to alienate fans in this way.
Politics and religion and other subjects in writing and art can express what you have to say, depending on the venue and audience. And in most of those occasions you may try to be detached from the characters expressing these views, otherwise you run the risk of coming across preachy and biased.
What do you think? Should Politics be left for private pages, or on public pages where you might offend a fan? I'd love to hear some comments.
WCM
I see a lot of authors doing this these days and feel it's almost like shooting yourself in the foot. Allow me to explain.
A well established author might be able to weather the negative hit posting his or her political rantings may cause, but someone starting out might find getting involved in this manner is almost like committing professional suicide. All those potential fans down the drain because they were offended. This is why I try to stay away from anything extremely political on my author page and sites--except for this post I don't really discuss anything. I'm not saying not to express your political beliefs, but from my observations feel it's wise to at least keep things to a minimum on your professional pages.
It's okay to have your views, but I've seen some pretty wild postings on Twitter and Facebook and wonder how some of those posters get away with half the things they say--meaning what do they do when lots of followers start dropping off, or how they deal with the negative comments offended fans might have toward them on other sites etc.
We are in the business of hopefully one day building up a readership and selling our stories to make a living. Unless you have millions of dollars already, it might not be the best idea to alienate fans in this way.
Politics and religion and other subjects in writing and art can express what you have to say, depending on the venue and audience. And in most of those occasions you may try to be detached from the characters expressing these views, otherwise you run the risk of coming across preachy and biased.
What do you think? Should Politics be left for private pages, or on public pages where you might offend a fan? I'd love to hear some comments.
WCM
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