Accused of Being a Shill
I couldn't believe it when someone sent me an email and said he hoped I wasn't just a shill for Sunny Frazier. I was horrified by the accusation.
Then I thought about it a bit, maybe I am--and she is for me.
Sunny and I do a lot of events together and we promote one another on the Internet, if that's being a shill--well, I guess I am.
Right now I'm really pushing the PSWA conference http://www.publicsafetywriter.com and she's promoting a mystery cruise.
I'm in charge of the program which I think is dynamite--can't believe all the wonderful speakers who've agreed to come--and so of course I'm promoting it like crazy. Anyone writing a mystery with any kind of public safety person in it should come to this conference.
Sunny is the one lining up the panels for the mystery cruise and encouraging people to come.
Guess what, we're both going to be taking part in the PSWA conference and the mystery cruise. And we're promoting both. If that makes me a shill--well, so be it. I've been called worse in my time.
And that's the latest surprising event in my life--and I'm living with it.
Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com
Then I thought about it a bit, maybe I am--and she is for me.
Sunny and I do a lot of events together and we promote one another on the Internet, if that's being a shill--well, I guess I am.
Right now I'm really pushing the PSWA conference http://www.publicsafetywriter.com and she's promoting a mystery cruise.
I'm in charge of the program which I think is dynamite--can't believe all the wonderful speakers who've agreed to come--and so of course I'm promoting it like crazy. Anyone writing a mystery with any kind of public safety person in it should come to this conference.
Sunny is the one lining up the panels for the mystery cruise and encouraging people to come.
Guess what, we're both going to be taking part in the PSWA conference and the mystery cruise. And we're promoting both. If that makes me a shill--well, so be it. I've been called worse in my time.
And that's the latest surprising event in my life--and I'm living with it.
Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com
Comments
Marilyn
Bonnie Hearn Hill
Networking and promoting are the name of the game in my opinion. And both of you are very good at it.
I welcome your friendship and assistance by any name.
Denny
Maybe shill also means "support" :)
Kit
They should wake up. It's all about networking, and if we can help our friends, that's what we do. That's what the writers groups are about, and I think it is ridiculous to say that someone is "shilling" for an event another is promoting.
I wouldn't even have a fraction of my visibility without my friends in the writers' world. I wouldn't have been able to help found the Southern Nevada chapter of Sisters in Crime, and as a matter of fact, I wouldn't have my paperback or audio publishers. It was all to to networking and cross promotion.
This person should concentrate on something other than attacking fellow authors for doing what is standard in the industry.
By the way, I was co-owner of a marketing and promotion firm for five years, and we always did cross-promotion campaigns and also bounce back.
What is bounce back? One of ours was if you ate at Tony Roma's you got a discount certificate for Hollywood Park racetrack and a $2 betting certificate.
When you used it, in return the racetrack gave a discount certificate for Tony Romas. Sort of like keeping the ball in play.
Are cross promoting and bounce back shilling? Maybe in the very broadest sense of the word, but a perfectly acceptable tactic in the world of marketing.
MORGAN ST. JAMES
www.silversistersmysteries.com
www.morganstjames-author.com
If that is true, he is not only a creep but a coward.
This gets my "mamma bear" dander up. Maybe iUniverse rejected him and he is having a bad day.
I do know who this man is because he emailed me privately. I think he's bitter and jealous because he has never published as many stories as Sunny or a novel for that matter. He's childish and actually this has been kind of fun. I appreciate all your comments.
Marilyn
You gotta let comments like that go. Had it been me, I might have been tempted to send back an e-mail saying 'What's the matter? Mad I didn't review one of YOUR books?'
But I'm kind of the snarky type to beging with, I get it from my mother. ;-)
A shill promotes anything they are paid to promote. So none of you are shills!!!!
Maybe the guy was burned in the past? People usually have at least one good reason for acting boorishly ;)
Actually this has been rather interesting--doesn't mean I want any other emails with accusations in them though.
Back to writing...and promoting.
Marilyn