Dear Troll - I'm Still Here...where are you?
May 20, 2014
Dear Troll,
Yes, you... the troll who attacked me several years ago. The troll who called me a liar and a scam artist. The troll who said print on demand, self-publishing, and working with people who wanted to control their books, was a trick.
I'm still here.
Where are you?
Here's the thing - back when you attacked me for having a business that helped authors write, edit, design, and produce their business books, when you called me a scam artist...I was so appalled and scared, I quickly engaged all my friends to stand up for me...and many did. Oh yes, many of my blogger friends and my authors told you how wrong you were.
And so, you attacked them too.
You said my work was unethical. You said no one should ever pay to have a book published. You said the writers weren't worth being published, if they had to 'self-publish.' You said a lot of things that, even then, were patently untrue.
Then, you began attacking the designer I worked with, who produced the book covers. Because, if attacking me online was so much fun, surely, attacking others who associated with me would be fun, also.
You even enlisted your friends to join in.
We ran scared. I admit it. All of us were so shaken up by your anger, your lies (everything you said about me was a lie), and your insistence that your way - traditional publishing - was the only way, that we kept sharing content about previous self-published authors who were and are big names, today. We showed you what news sites like the NY Times had to say - that self-publishing, especially print on demand, was up and coming. We showed you articles from the traditional world that said it was looking seriously at self-published books and often taking the successful ones on, as a traditional title.
None of that dissuaded you. Of course not. Trolls live for the attention and the more we defended ourselves, the happier you and your friends were. While we languished in despair, you likely held parties and shared champagne.
I got to thinking about all of this recently. I think it was a note from Amazon, asking me about publishing... mentioning their self-publishing model. I looked at that email and said to myself, "I guess I was right and the troll was wrong." And, I smiled.
I'm still smiling.
What are you doing, by the way? Would you like to take on Amazon... and accuse them of what you accused ME of? I'd like to see that. Or, are you ready to admit you were wrong and the self-publishing, via print on demand, is a successful, honest, and well respected way to get your book out there?
Regardless, here's the upswing... I'm still here. I'm still writing and I still support self-publishing, via print on demand.
Where, exactly, are you? Oh never mind. I don't really care. If you pop up again, my response will be ..................................................................(silence). I have far better things to do than engage in useless banter with trolls like you.
Brava! =)
Posted by: Tiffany & The Cattle Aussies | June 03, 2014 at 07:41 PM
Trolls are like any late adopter in business (the back side of the innovation curve), or in politics (conservatives). Innovative businesses (such as self publishing) and progressive ideas (democrats) are always on the front side of the idea curve. Those with no ideas can only criticize and hold back advancement. Only the brave and the game changers will lead. Thank you for being a leader on so many fronts.
Posted by: Mary | May 21, 2014 at 11:22 AM
First rule of the interwebs: Don't feed the trolls.
Posted by: Susan and the gang from Life with Dogs and Cats | May 20, 2014 at 10:16 PM