The Stupidity of Lashing Out

You feel an editor treated you roughly. A review of your novel angered you. A "competitor" gets some notice by a market that seems indifferent to your work. What do you do? If you're like novelist Alice Hoffman, you lash out publicly, in this case on Twitter. And if you do, unless you have a sizeable and unreasonably loyal following, you're burying yourself.

In Hoffman's case, she took particular offense at a Boston Globe reviewer's view of her latest book:

In a series of Twitter posts, Ms. Hoffman fired back with her own opinion. “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron,” she wrote. “How do some people get to review books? And give the plot away.” Ms. Hoffman also lambasted The Globe and went so far as to post Ms. Silman’s phone number and email, inviting fans to “Tell her what u think of snarky critics.”

There was only a story in the New York Times because the subject was high enough profile. But it doesn't take such a strong media lens to inadvertently damage yourself. I've seen writers go on at length about idiot editors, unappreciative clients, uncooperative sources, and all manners of other things on various forums.

Guess what? Also on those forums are editors and people in a position to recommend you, or not, for work. This is about the worst type of PR you can create for yourself, so why do it? If something is bugging you, complain to a close colleague or two. But even then, remember that conversations can be repeated, often inaccurately, and emails can be passed on. Better to forge ahead on a new project, close a sail, send an invoice, or do something else productive.