If You Experience A Shitstorm, Ignore It

There are experiences that you would like to do without as a writer. You will get the first bad review on Amazon, a book that turns out to be a flop or even a Shitstorm happens on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform.

Unfortunately, sooner or later, you'll make each of these experiences on your way.

There are always people who hate what you do

Most of the time, these people leave it at that, writing you a bad review or sending you an insulting message via a messenger. You can deal with that. Just don't answer the troll and take the energy out of him.

But sometimes the problem gets bigger, mainly if you publish a controversial opinion or write about how you promote your work. My first (and so far only) Shitsorm was about the latter.

Someone thought that an advertising campaign I've been using for years was unethical and against Amazon rules. In fact, before I used it for the first time, I had contacted Amazon and asked if it was allowed. Amazon let me know that my method was not against the rules.

I had written an article about it, and a friend of mine had shared this article with a group of authors. She thought she was doing something good for me. She had no idea that the other writers would jump on it like hyenas.

I realized something was going on when I checked my medium statistics that day and found that I had an unusually high number of reads. I couldn't figure out which article I owed this to, and I was just happy.

On the evening of that day, the friend who shared the article contacted me and told me that a fierce Shitsorm was raging against me in the group of authors.

She wrote to me that my method was being called a fraud and that I was accused of greed, immorality, and slander. She recommended that I delete the article and take a stand in the group. She knew that Amazon had no problem with my method, so she suggested that I correct it.

No one wants to hear your justification

I rejected that suggestion. This group of authors has several thousand members, and the tone there is basically rough. If beginners ask questions there, they are usually treated unfriendly, and if professionals show the slightest nakedness, they are publicly executed.

Not all members of this group are affected, but the trolls and know-it-alls are the loudest groups there. I have seen in previous discussions that everyone forms an opinion at the beginning of the debate and does not deviate from it later, no matter what arguments are put forward.

For this reason, I decided to ignore the whole process. I would not be able to change anything in the opinion of the discussion participants, no matter what I would write. My energy was too precious for that.

I have not looked at the thread until today, although the friend who shared the article sent me the link to the discussion. I will also not click on this link in the future.

Social Media quickly forgets

If you learn of a shitstorm that is directed against you, ignore it. You cannot win, but you can let it go.

What is hotly debated on social media today will be forgotten in a week at the latest. The trolls look for other targets, the outraged are outraged at someone else, and your five minutes of negative fame is quickly forgotten.

Of course, I had a racing heart that day and was angry and hurt. I imagined what these people said about me, even though they were utterly wrong. But I forced myself to think of something else.

After a few hours, I didn't think about this shitstorm at all anymore, although the reads for the article were still increasing. I wouldn't do them the favor of throwing myself under their feet.

Today it all happened a few months ago. No one ever spoke to me about it again. I move freely on Facebook, and the caravan has moved on.

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that social media forgets faster than you can imagine.

There is no reason to go straight into the storm. It will end no matter what you do or don't do.