Mean People

Not long after starting my journey as a children’s book author, I learned about YouTube videos. In the beginning, I tried a variety of options for social media. Making a read-aloud video about your book seemed the thing to do. After learning the software and MANY do-it-yourself takes, I managed to publish my first and only (so far) YouTube video. While not perfect, it worked, and I could share it as a free read-aloud for signing up to my email list. Soon I had a few thumbs up and nice comments. Life was good.

But within a few days, I noticed a thumbs down on my video. I was shattered. Who would do such a thing? There were no negative comments - just that one thumbs down. Would someone out there really want to sabotage this new author? Does someone just hate me? What a mean person! That single negative action got all my attention and I worried about it for days.

Then, still brooding, I decided to take another look. Somehow I figured out that I had clicked on the thumbs down myself. That mean person was me! After a laugh, I simply unclicked that down thumb and life was all good again.

But I had learned a lesson. The thought of someone not liking my work really hurt. This is something we, as writers, have to get over. Not everyone will like our work, give us a 4 or 5 star review, or even a thumbs up. We may get a thumbs down or a not so kind review. People will unsubscribe from our email lists. We are going to fail sometimes. 

We must take it in stride. Not everyone is our fan. That’s simply the way it works.

It’s so ironic that the mean person was me all along. In actuality, it’s true that we are often our own worse enemies. All to easily negative thoughts and comparing ourselves to others makes us feel like we just aren’t good enough. As for me, when I toss out the negative, I find that like the kind of author I am becoming. That is what matters. 

If you are an author or just thinking about starting that adventure, I hope you’ll take my lesson in stride as you move along, or begin, your author journey. Stay positive!

Carol June Franks