Who You Should Vote For

Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 16 novels, including The Unfinished Gift, The Reunion and When Night Comes. He has won 3 Carol Awards and 3 Selah Awards. Three of his books were finalists for Inspirational Book of the Year (RT Book Reviews). Dan is a member of ACFW and Word Weavers. He lives with his wife, Cindi, in the Daytona Beach area where they love to take walks and spend time with their grandkids. Click here to connect with Dan or check out his books. 

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Did my blog post headline catch your attention? That was its objective. Of course, I’m not actually going to tell you who to vote for. Not in a forum like this. That would be stupid. Right off the bat, I’d lose half of you. First, I’d lose the ones who plan to vote for the other person. Then I’d lose a bunch more who might even agree with the person I’m suggesting, but don’t think this is the place for someone to talk politics.

After all, this is a Writers Blog.

To be honest, I’m putting this blog post under the heading of “Marketing Tips” not politics. Let me explain what I mean. I’m 59 years old. Not quite a senior citizen, but almost. I’ve been paying attention to politics pretty closely since the Watergate scandal broke in the 70s (when Nixon was forced out of office). That’s a good long while.

I think I can say, I have never seen a presidential election quite like the one we’re facing right now, between Trump and Hillary. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the country as polarized as it is now. Or have seen political conservatives (of which I am one) get so upset and worked up about so many of the issues we’re facing now (and about the candidates they think are the best people to solve them).

Let’s just say, it’s been pretty interesting scrolling through my Facebook feed.

For the first time in a long time, I’ve had to click the “Un-Follow” button several times, to stop receiving an overdose of nasty, angry posts clogging up my feed. Some of these folks were people I had considered “writing friends.” It’s because of this, I thought I should speak up here with some friendly advice.

If you are an author writing books you hope will be bought by members of the public, you should be aware that if you make people feel angry or stupid by things you say on Facebook or Twitter, they probably won’t buy any more of your books.

I’m not saying you should shut up completely, or never say anything about a candidate or issue you support, or against one that you oppose. You have that right. It’s a free country. I believe in free speech. But I also believe it’s wise, if you do so, to always do so with respect for others. Even others whose positions or candidates you disagree with.

If you make them angry, or make them feel stupid…to me, that’s just plain stupid. How do I know this? There are several Hollywood movies that have come out in recent years, movies I probably would have wanted to see (and paid to see), but refused to support because the liberal stars of these movies had come out publicly saying horrible things about some of my conservative views. Had they kept their mouths shut, or even shared their concerns with respect, I would have happily paid the money and bought a ticket.

I suspect this very thing goes on all the time when people are buying books, especially in an election season like this. So my advice? If you must speak out on political matters, be very careful. Don’t knee-jerk react. And always be respectful, especially to those with whom you disagree.

Who knows, they might still buy your book if you treat them right. But they most certainly will not if you make them feel angry or stupid.