Top 10 Writing Faux Pas

TOP 10 WRITING FAUX PAS

A WRITER SHOULD NEVER DO

by Devyn Dawson

I'm not an expert, but I'm a writer who has made mistakes.  I've certainly seen many seasoned and new authors make faux pas that should never have been done.  Here is my list of things not to do.

10.  Don't put up a random status on social media and then disappear.  Keep it open for thirty minutes, and reply to comments.  By commenting and ENGAGING with the public, you'll become real and soon you'll see they comment on more of your posts!

9.  Never compare your book to another book in your synopsis....unless you wrote the other book.  Example - If you love Steven King's IT - you're going to love this book even more.  I mean really, my book is the bees knees, his sucks.  disclaimer (IT is by far my favorite SK book)

8.  Before hitting up a blogger for a review, read their website and their rules.  You can't ask a romance blog to review your horror book.  The blogs are bogged down with requests these days, and many aren't open for new books.  My own TBR list is over five hundred.  If the blog replies with a no thank you, don't beg.  Begging is for dogs.  Bloggers are our friends, be nice.  

7.  If you want to have a blog hop, offer something as an incentive.  A $100 or even $50 Amazon card will make the bloggers want to participate ($25 is good too, but the more you offer, the more participation you'll have).  Just asking them to promote your book and not have a great prize, will probably leave you without any bloggers.  If you really want to get some participation, offer another prize for the bloggers.... not just an e-book.  Even though e-books are great, that isn't usually enough to get them in the door.

6.  This is Facebook advice.  Don't just pimp out and beg people to buy your book.  Imagine standing in a hallway in school and this is what you do, every single day of school.  Oh hey, lookie at me, me, me, me.  I have awesome hair, I'm better than everyone.  Me, me, me.  One of the things I do on my fan page is pimp other authors.  If I find a great deal on a book, I post about it.  I love to read, and fans actually like to know what you're reading. 

5. Don't go on rampages on social media about politics or religion, unless that's what you write about.  Election time is soon and everyone has an opinion, but keep yours to yourself.  There are a few people who get away with those posts, but it isn't something a young adult writer should get involved with.  The most political thing I will say is, "Go vote, I don't care who you vote for, just do it."

4. Don't get involved in social media arguments.  This is usually a Facebook issue, but Twitter has them too.  If something is heated between another author and someone, stay out of it.  I will see these posts and I cringe when I see someone I admire dropping in their two cents.  Yes, those posts are like a train wreck, you can't help but stop and lurk.  Don't get involved.

TOP THREE

3.  F bombs in status messages.  If you're a young adult author and you're cussing about the world, you're setting a bad example.  

2.  Don't friend request someone and when they accept your request, you post a link to your book on their page.  I loathed that, and it is def going to get you unfriended by me.  Don't do one of those posts - Hey, thank you for the friendship, here's a link to my book.  ME ME ME....   bye, Felicia

1.  Do NOT ever ever ever ever respond to a negative review.  Ever.  Yes, some reviews are ridiculous and are aimed at the author instead of the book.  Respect their opinion, even if you don't like it.  Bad reviews are your friend.  If they have valid points, learn from them.  If you see several ill reviews about your book and they are all the same problem, it is more than likely a problem you need to address.  A lot of people read a bad review and read the book to see if it's true.  There are trolls, and there are haters who will say very mean things, just leave it alone.  Someone once put my book on their bookshelf "if you ever see me read anything from this author shoot me in the head" - I checked out their bookshelf to see who else made the list.  John Grisham, JK Rowling, and a couple of other amazing writers.  I found it to be a badge of honor.  If someone else looked at the shelf, they too would probably think they couldn't take that opinion seriously.  Let haters be haters.  It sucks, but you have to do it.  Remember, never respond.

I'm Devyn Dawson, and I write both young adult paranormal and new adult books.  If you would like to learn more about my books, please stop by www.devyndawson.com

My series, The Light Tamer Trilogy is now on sale.  The first book is free and the second book is marked down to $0.99, the final book is two books in one for $2.99.  The entire series for $3.98  Click on the covers to read more.  Available at all ebook retailers.

***"One of the sweetest books I've ever read! A must read for YA lovers." 

- Shelly Crane, NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling Author of Significance and Wide Awake***

***"The Light Tamer trilogy is a paranormal trilogy with a difference! It has plenty of romance, humour, mythology and twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. Don't miss Jessie and Caleb's story!"  Kendall ~ Book Crazy***

"I love a book that's holds my attention, makes me care for the characters and doesn't have a bunch of filler to add length. This is one of those books. Definitely time well spent when reading any book in this series." Quinn Loftis, USA TODAY Bestselling Author of The Grey Wolf Series