Author Do's and Don't's

1. Do comment politely. When your name is mentioned on a blog, whether the topic is positive or negative, comment politely and with encouragement.  On Wednesday, I posted about the potential benefits of online personal libraries to authors.  I mentioned my disappointment in a recent read by Christopher Fowler as well as my enjoyment of a book by Timothy Hallinan.  Both authors took the time to comment politely on my blog.  Timothy's just furthered my opinion of him as an author and fellow blogger.  Christopher's made me realize I have to read another one of his books.  How could I not after he so politely commented and encouraged me to do so?  (You can read my post and their comments here.)  Negative comments can have the opposite affect.

2.  Do include a succinct, flattering bio. I like to know who wrote the book I'm reading.  Maybe it stems from my training as a journalist, but I think it informs the reader and enriches the experience of the read.  However, a bio that is too long or includes too many accolades turns me off.  I don't want to read an author who praises his or herself too much, includes their pet goldfish's name (unless that is their only "child"), and lists every city in which they've lived over the past three decades.  Too much information is a turnoff.  Keep it tight.  Keep it interesting.  Keep it informative.

3.  Don't respond to negative reviews in kind. Putting your art out there means putting a piece of yourself out there.  One must be prepared for both positive and negative response.  I have not done this yet in full-length novel form, so I can't say how it truly feels, but I can imagine it really hurts to read a bad review.  In a reader's opinion, the worst thing an author can do is respond to a negative review with a negative comment.  You immediately paint yourself with the controversial brush and lose readership.  If I hear of an author doing this, I will put them on my avoid list.  Suck it up, and see #1.

4.  Don't treat your audience like kindergarteners.  If you are writing children's books, obviously this one is not for you!  Otherwise, defining every word and phrase in a book and spelling out every scenario is not necessary.  Leave some things for your reader to guess or even imagine for themself.  This follows the long-encouraged "show don't tell" logic of writing, but takes it even further.  If you refer to a city by a nickname, let the reader either figure it out or look it up.  So they have to do a little work...it's good for a them!  (Caviat: don't take this too far.  I used a literary dictionary to read Umberto Eco--that's probably a bit too much, but I was an English major, so I enjoyed it.)

Anyone else have Do's or Don't's to add?  I'm sure I'll think of more after I hit post!