The Dark Side of Online Sharing–for Authors

Everyone extols the glories of online sharing. You can create virtual communities online, connect with like-minded people, share what you’re excited about.

All that is wonderful.

There’s a downside, however. It has to do with human nature.

Would that all human beings were honest, generous, kind.

However, that’s just not the way all people are. So authors need to beware of the dark side of all this sharing.

I just came across two specific things I want to mention.

1. Illegal sharing of intellectual property. One person who followed me on Twitter stated that he refuses to pay for anything online. Presumably he finds ways to download copyrighted, legally protected material (songs, books, other products you’re supposed to pay for) for free.

I just came across some material on a site, connected somehow to Facebook (another reason I don’t do much with FB), that had part of a client’s product available for free. Fortunately, on this site they recognize that people do share such content illegally and there’s a way to get copyrighted material off the site.

As an author, you are trying to make at least part of your living from selling your ideas. In a world that somehow thinks all intellectual property should be free, we’re fighting a real battle. Beware of this danger.

I’m sure I don’t need to mention never to share other people’s intellectual property in this way to you, do I?

One good way to protect your content is to put it behind a membership site, such as Wishlist Member. I highly recommend this if you have content that, if accessed too freely, would compromise your business. Check it out.

2. Untrue reviews on amazon.com. The reviews on amazon can do a real service, but unfortunately, there will always be people who never even read a book, yet slam it.  Especially if the book becomes successful.

It never fails to amaze me that people write untrue reviews for books they obviously haven’t read. Especially if the book has become successful. You wouldn’t believe some of the reviews for The Healing Code, for instance.

Valid, negative reviews are one thing. If you don’t like a book, you’re free to say so, and that’s part of the exchange of ideas. We authors know that we don’t have the whole story always.

But reviews that are untrue, that say there is information in the book that isn’t even there, and then slam the book–it’s too bad that happens.

And it will happen.

It’s really too bad, because a lot of people go there to buy books based on reviews. (A note when you read reviews: if they are overly negative, be a bit skeptical about the reviewer. The only reviews I pay attention to are those that are well reasoned, from people who obviously read the book.)

If falsely negative criticism happens to you, you can do as Dr. Alex Loyd does: answer each of the negative reviews. Most authors ignore the bad reviews, but take a look at how Dr. Loyd answered. I’m impressed that the author takes the time to respond so kindly to just about all these kinds of reviewers. So were some of the people themselves.

(And if you have read The Healing Code, please post an honest review yourself.  I know he would appreciate it.)

Being an author, especially a successful one,  is not always the glamorous thing it’s made out to be. But that’s life, isn’t it? Always a series of tradeoffs. I just want you to be aware of what some of them are.