Your words are not your own and other lessons from going viral (again)

I can make a dozen posts about my writing and not get any views. But I make one post about Taylor Swift…

Getting over 125,000 views on Threads is as close to going viral as a small fry like me can get. While I’d rather get that kind of attention for my books, there are lessons from this experience that apply to all types of writing.

It doesn’t matter whether you write 28 words in a post or 80,000 words in a novel. Once those words go out into the world, they are no longer under your control. Look at the comments section of my post, and you’ll see what I mean. People will draw their own opinions based on their feelings about Taylor Swift, Juan Soto, and the New York Mets. People will applaud, curse you out, question your assumptions, challenge your facts, or miss the point. They will use your writing as a starting point for their own expression. And they will educate others on Bobby Bonilla Day.

This is why I agree with the statement, “Authors shouldn’t enter readers’ spaces.” Let readers have their opinions about your books, even if you don’t agree with them. And remember, if you don’t have any one-star reviews, you don’t have enough reviews.

Although you no longer control your words after you publish them, you’re still responsible for them.