Quit the Drama Club

Social media’s rise to dominance as the indispensable marketing channel has has spawned the omnipresent phenomenon of eDrama. Nor are authors immune to the lure of chasing clout online at others’ expense. That’s true regardless of whether you signed with fakepub or self-publish.

That’s why every how-to guide aimed at writers now features advice on running a Facebook author page. It comes with the territory.

Then again, authors can’t hold a candle to streamers YouTuber beefs make book industry drama look like a campfire sing-along.

It’s not hard to see why. People have been slinging mud for attention since the second caveman walked into the sunlight. Human nature doesn’t change, so stirring up trouble remains a popular way to draw eyeballs.

This tactic’s popularity makes a lot of sense. Ginning up eDrama is probably the fastest way to break out on the web. If you’re good at raising controversy online, you can rapidly build a following–provided you’ve got the creative chops to back up the talk.

For the curious and impatient, here’s the basic strategy: Find a scene in or adjacent to your industry, and get involved. Wait for conflict to crop up. Don’t worry, it will – inside your circle or with a rival group. Start throwing rocks at the other guy’s windshield. Whoever throws hardest, and with the pithiest notes tied to his brick, wins. Repeat when the next outrage comes along.

Mind you, that’s an explanation; not an endorsement. Because like all shortcuts, stoking eDrama comes at a price.

I’m old enough to remember the era of Internet Bloodsports. Way back in the Trump years, you had a clique of YouTubers who’d go on each other’s streams and spend hours trash talking one another. Think nightly Friars Club roasts on bath salts.

What made the IBS scene more remarkable than run-of-the-mill flame wars was that a handful of key players amassed major followings – and minor fortunes.

But that was long ago and in another country. Look around now, and almost all of the old IBS stars have plummeted from grace.

The lesson is you can only stir the pot for so long. Everybody wants to be the fastest gun in the West, but winning the title means walking around with a target on your back.

There’s a lesson here for content creators of all kinds, including authors. Back in the Sad Puppies days, I wasn’t above rolling in the mud with Pop Cult cretins. But in time I noticed a pattern: A good portion of the followers I gained from eDrama left when I moved on to more important topics.

They weren’t reliable book buyers, either.

That’s the eDrama trap. The followers you attract with it aren’t there for your art. They’re addicted to drama. And like all addicts, they need ever higher doses to get the same buzz. Trying to supply their fix becomes a Sisyphean task. Only the boulder keeps getting bigger.

In the end, the rock either crushes you or becomes too heavy to roll.

Either way, when you can’t give them their fix, the drama junkies abandon you for those who will. It’s as old as 80s bands falsely accused of Satanism being eclipsed by 90s bands affecting fake Satanism being replaced by real Satanic acts.

Your grandpa was right all along. Slow and steady wins the race.

Build your following by offering people valuable content consistently. Conduct yourself with integrity and professionalism.

You may not get a hundred thousand subscribers or a million monthly page views. But if you can draw and maintain an audience of two thousand solid readers who’ll show up for every launch, and you release $25 worth of merchandise a year, they’ll give you a decent living.

Which reminds me, the final volume in my thrilling mech saga launches soon! If you haven’t read book one yet, get caught up now.