Why being "brutally honest" doesn't work.

​Just had an interesting exchange with a graphic designer who confused "just being honest" with being rude. On the one hand, she made a good point, about aspiring writers needing to either do the research and learn how to do a good cover, or, better yet, hire a pro. On the other, she presented it in such a way that she came off as rude.

Because of that, she spent half of the time in the thread having to defend how "brutally honest" she was being to other people. When she learned she had just lost a potential customer, this was her response:
"Oh and, just so you know, Designers often reserve the right to choose who they want to work with. So don't flatter yourself thinking that I was dying for your "business" haha."

The truth is, she probably lost even more potential customers with that remark.

How we present ourselves is as important as our message. Even writers, perhaps especially writers, need to remember that the things we say on social media are things heard by potential readers of our work. If we ever want to be published or make a career of writing, we need to remember that how we present our message, and thus ourselves, is as important as the message itself. If you present the most important message of your life badly, no one is going to hear what you're saying because they're going to concentrate more on how you said it. If you're trying to present yourself as a pro, you're not going to do that by being rude and condescending.

2 Comments
Sarah Urban ( No email )
10/18/2014 06:54:56 am
Wel said. I worry about what I put into the world sometimes.

Greg Price ( [email protected] )
10/21/2014 04:35:11 am
Who knew graphic designers were also French waiters?