I’m opinionated. I have thoughts and opinions on many things- from books to more hot topic subjects- such as politics and lifestyles.  Mama always told me 2 things “It was ok to have an opinion” and “To be careful of what you write- sometimes words can be used against you”. This advice, given years before my mama even knew that one day social media would be around, has probably been a rule that most people should consider, if not follow.

Famous people are known for putting their opinions out in the world of social media. Some of us like the opinions, some of us do not. Is there anything wrong with putting your opinion out there in the Twitter-verse? On the surface, no. I think everyone is entitled to their opinion- no matter how popular (or not it is)- but the Twitter-verse is not always the best place. Maybe because it’s 140 characters, maybe because it’s so easy to retweet, maybe because in a written word- you can’t tell tone, inflection or meaning always.

What if you aren’t “famous”? Perhaps you are, say, a new-ish  author with a desire to be famous one day- and you’ve recently published a new book. A book that has a theme, or a character, or plot that might potentially rub some people the wrong way- what do you do then? Do you stand up for your book? Do you tweet your opinion on subject matter to your followers? Do you “be true to yourself”- no matter the outcome?

Recently I was sent a book for review- a book that I enjoyed. And wrote a positive review. I was pleased to see that the author tweeted about the positive review- and I tweeted “Thanks- enjoyed the book!” When the author tweeted me back, even though I simply had said “thanks- enjoyed the book” the author added some commentary, commentary that after reading the Twitter time-line, I realized this said author had been having some problems with people commenting about choices his characters made. What would you have done if you were the author- simply accepted the “thanks” or taken the opportunity to say thanks & voice opinion on social commentary?

When your job is to sell something- do you have to let the opinions of others slide off your back like water on a duck? Or, because you created something- something that you put your blood, sweat and tears into- does that obligate you to defend it to everyone?

 

What do you think?