Is BSP Alone Allowed?

[Jed Power]

I notice a very small number of people use the site for self-promotion exclusively and seem to offer nothing else to the group.  Is this allowed?

Of course it may backfire on them anyway.  I totally boycott these authors in more than one way.  Maybe others do too.

[I. J. Parker]

Chuckle!  Yes. Theoretically they are supposed to use BLOG for this, and not the FORUM. I don't go to BLOG any more.

But then I've pretty much given up on promoting myself. It doesn't work. Everybody is screaming at the top of their voice and nobody can be heard. I come here to chat about books and writing.

[Dana King]

Ingrid is right; BSP should go on blogs, not the forum. I tend to cherry pick through blogs, and occasionally find something other than a promo. It's shame. There used to be good discussions there.

I'm also with you. Jed. Those who are too in m face with their BSP--I have one author in mind in particular--get ignored altogether.

I'm a believer in the idea that the best way to promote your books on  site such as this is, yes, to make people aware of them, but, more important, let them see something of you as a writer. Are you interesting, entertaining, know what you're talking about. In essence, does what the author says here make potential readers take an interest in what he or she might have to say in their fiction? I've found a lot of authors I've come to read on Crimespace, but never from "I HAVE A BOOK OUT! I HAVE A BOOK OUT! I HAVE A BOOK OUT! READ IT! READ IT! READ IT!"

[Jack Getze]

Why doesn't management throw her off the site? How many offenses is she allowed, Dan? I haven't been by in days because of her and her ilk. Maybe I'm just an old grump, but I find it aggravating.

[Eric Christopherson]

And I am a slightly younger grump of the same ilk. (This I assume because my beard doesn't have nearly that much gray, Jack.)

[Dan L. Coleman]

I peruse both the Forum and Blog posts, in case I see something interesting, but I do find the blogs somewhat dull, like being thumped in the forehead repeatedly with the bottom of a large spoon. I understand self-promotion being important, etc., but there are some who apparently see it as a competition in which they have to stay on top of others at all times, like it was Google or something. And I'm surprised at the many mystery readers I've met over the last few years who've never heard of this site and, after visiting it, don't seem to be all that impressed. Though they say only, "Yeah, I saw it," when I ask later, I suspect it's because of the blatant self-promotion evident, like being screamed at by carnival barkers.

I'm all for bootstrapping, but I wish there could be the resources to screen some of this stuff, since 98% or more of it is poorly written and wouldn't pass a junior high English composition assignment. Not trying to discourage anyone from writing or seeking attention for their work, they should keep doing it, anyway, no matter how poorly written it is, but it would be nice if things could be evaluated or scored in some way before it appeared for sale here, if only to save precious time for members.

Then I'd like to have that $3-million-dollar beach house I've been eyeballing.

[Stephen Seitz]

Especially since those people drag the rest of us down. Before I publish, I make sure my work meets my wife's standards, as she is a professor of English literature and won't let me get away with sloppiness.

But what else are we supposed to do? I don't have a promotional budget. There has to be a better way to get the word out than praying for lightning to strike. You only get one or two J.K.Rowling experiences a century.

[Stephen Seitz]

The rules are plain. I keep it to my page, which everyone should visit at the first opportunity.

[Daniel Hatadi]

The others are right, member pages and blogs can be used for promotion, but not the main forum. I routinely delete posts in the forum that violate this, but every so often I let one slip through because it's from a contributing member who has achieved something and others are congratulating them.

[Jackson Burnett]

I read one of Dana King's novels because I met him here and discovered he is a man of brilliance.  Of course, I think that because he and I usually agree on most things.  I enjoyed his book and posted a review at Amazon.  He didn't knock me over the head to get me to read his novel.  If he had, I probably would not have read it or would have dreaded reading it.