Sunday, 3 March 2013

Do You Google Your Name?

I just read a comment by an author who said that she never googled her name.

This is not the case with me. I google my own name, and my pen name, oh I don't know, whenever I'm bored and remember to.  Every few weeks.

It's fun. Sure you might encounter a reader who didn't love your work, but on the other hand you might encounter a reader who did.

Today, for instance, I found out that GoodReads reviews short stories published free on the internet. And that someone had been engaged enough by my Nature story to post a rating. And that I have a GoodReads fan. Now that's fun.

I've googled my name and found meh reviews of my works.

But a good way of thinking about it is that once the work is published it belongs to the reader, explained here by Jay Lake.

What about you, reader? Do you admit to googling your name? There's no shame! Do you seek out response to your stories, or would you rather not know?
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27 comments:

  1. Paula RC3 March 2013 at 12:35

    Having put the idea into my head I decided to take a look. Wow, I've been getting about and I didn't even know it. Amazing!

    I would love to have more reviews on my books and short stories, but I know there are many other writers all wishing the same too.

    Lots of luck with your writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:21

      You could always work backward, Paula. See what magazines/venues get reviewed regularly and start subbing to them. Mind you knowing the popular venues and getting published by them are two different things!

      Delete
    2. Paula RC4 March 2013 at 12:27

      Hi Deborah, Holly off Suite 101 interview me and she posted online today. The link is on my blog, if you are interested.

      Delete
    3. Deborah Walker5 March 2013 at 06:27

      Great interview, Paula. Here's the direct link for my readers

      Delete
  2. Bluestocking3 March 2013 at 12:39

    I've googled myself in the past, mostly just to ensure I know what's out there. New reviews are always a pleasant surprise. I usually check for reviews in the weeks immediately after a release, but rarely follow up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:08

      That's a good idea, Blue. I ought to set up google alerts for my name and the venue when I get a story published.

      Delete
  3. rahkan3 March 2013 at 13:49

    I google myself every day. That's the best way to do it. Just get google to check for hits that've cropped up in the last 24 hours. It's almost always good stuff (since who writes negative reviews of short stories?) though I imagine for a novelist, it'd be a bit different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:07

      "(since who writes negative reviews of short stories?)"

      You'd be surprised! But believe the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff is one of my many mottoes.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous3 March 2013 at 14:40

    After reading this I got curious and googled my handle. I show up amongst a number of medical and anatomy websites. It's kind of entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:04

      *laughs* Don't stretch yourself too thin, Capillary.

      Delete
  5. Patsy3 March 2013 at 15:01

    I may have Googled myself but you can't prove a thing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Trisha3 March 2013 at 18:10

    I basically only Google it to make sure there's nothing embarrassing out there about me. haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:04

      And is there anything embarrassing, Trisha? Let's find out shall we?

      Delete
  7. Sylvia4 March 2013 at 00:44

    I don't google my name, but I have set up a google alert for it :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. L4 March 2013 at 04:24

    Guilty as charged!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Simon Kewin4 March 2013 at 05:44

    Oh yeah, all the time. And I have a Google Alert for it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 05:45

      My name's too common for Google Alerts to be much good. I really must refine the search criteria one of these days.

      Delete
  10. Rusty Carl4 March 2013 at 05:55

    I used to. I had google alerts set up and everything. But I've lost interest. I started writing under a pen name and have never bothered to check. I might share a name with a serial killer for all I know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deborah Walker4 March 2013 at 06:08

      ooh, you should check. People might be talking about you, Rusty.

      Delete
  11. EC4 March 2013 at 09:04

    I don't do it as much as I should, for one Erin Cole is a bridal company, so most of the hits under my name are pretty boring. However, you got me looking into Goodreads this morning, and I found some very pleasant recent reviews on my books that I didn't know about, so Yay! I admit, I googled your name for fun...Kelda Crich rocks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deborah Walker5 March 2013 at 02:10

    GoodReads looks terribly interesting, Erin. I'm going to investigate that, in terms of what kind of platform it offers the short story writer.

    I love the name Kelda Crich, any googling of that only brings up me!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Charmaine Clancy5 March 2013 at 22:52

    I taught media classes (high school) and I always included lesson on the importance of a good Google result. Not everyone needs a platform, so it's okay to have no result, but it's never okay to have a bad result (not counting review, but more stupid photos you've put up that you wish you could get down). The kids always love the class because they Google themselves, then their friends and then me - I always win :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. nutschell6 March 2013 at 10:29

    I think I did that before, when I was in college.Hmm. Now I'm curious. Off to google myself!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10 March 2013 at 11:15

    I do every now and then just to make sure my "webbed footprint" is deep enough, and sometimes I'm surprised too by what I find.

    ReplyDelete

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