The always-entertaining <a href="http://sarahpinborough.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Pinborough</a> had a fragrant rant on Facebook yesterday. Here it is in full.

<a href="http://davidhewson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Screen-shot-2011-03-17-at-08.39.26.png"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-7810" title="Sarah" src="http://davidhewson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Screen-shot-2011-03-17-at-08.39.26-640x102.png" alt="" width="635" height="101" /></a>

I loved this. So did a lot of people. Writers are constantly being bombarded with self-appointed pundits and gurus advising us to 'build our brand' or, worse, 'build our author platform'. There's some truth in all this. Modern writers do need to be more visible than their predecessors (though God I'd pay good money for a desert island without a net connection sometimes).

But you know what no one mentions about this brave new world? It can damage your dignity. Greatly. People feel the need to go on Twitter and Facebook, not just to witter pointless nonsense (which is why these things primarily exist). But also to ambush an unsuspecting world with pleas to buy their work. Really naked pleas sometimes. I cringed once when I saw a fellow writer approaching individuals on a forum and begging them to look at his work. Is this the brave new world of publishing? A place where authors are nothing more than digital panhandlers, craving attention and a couple of quid for an ebook? Shouldn't we be <em>writing </em>instead?

Happily the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150161319022244&amp;id=635087243&amp;ref=notif&amp;notif_t=feed_comment_reply" target="_blank">comments on Sarah's thread</a> prove I'm not the only one who feels this way. And then from <a href="http://www.garymcmahon.com/" target="_blank">Gary McMahon</a> comes an interesting suggestion. Instead of begging people to buy your book why not do something more interesting? Threaten them?

Two examples so far. From Gary...
<blockquote>How about: 'buy this book and I won't personally stalk and kill you'.</blockquote>
And from Winona Kent...
<blockquote>Buy my putrid, driveling, pus-soaked piece of god-awful fiction or I'll burn down the neighbour's shed.</blockquote>
I think there's a lot of promise here. Does it beat...?
<blockquote>Hi complete stranger. If you like Jorge Luis Borges, Dan Brown and Danielle Steel, I'm sure you'll <strong>love</strong> my new fantasy romance thriller THE SNOT PIT available now (ebook only) on Amazon for 99 cents. Come friend me on Facebook and Twitter too and I can tell you all about my day too.</blockquote>
I think so. But then I'm probably biased. Thank you Sarah for raising this issue.
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