Know Jack #475 Five Things Boomer Authors Hate

Authors who dare to share their books in a post on Facebook are familiar with the barrage of congratulatory responses and glows praise comments—all from people trying to sell them something. Honestly, I don’t mind folks trying to do a little business by selling their services. My inability to say “no” is well known in certain circles. That fault does not extend to sales pitches where “no” reigns.

I do object to the new way of doing business encountered in social media. I’m a Boomer, proud of it, and there will be no changing my life to suit alphabet generations. I read today in one of those articles about the number of things Gen Z hates about Boomers. This particular one told me how the etiquette Boomers learned is dead.

After reading it, I understand why “Hi, how are you doing?” is considered the appropriate opening line of choice for X,Y, and Zs when doing business. Knowing one’s audience is immaterial to these folks, but I’m going to post Five Things That Boomer Authors Hate anyway.

The aforementioned “Hi, how ya doing?” tops my lists. I studied French in school and found that words (especially verbs) take different forms in formal and informal usage. A lesson that I learned at home, rather than at school, is that the same is true of American English. “Hi” is informal. It is used for friends, family, and people close to us. “Hello” is formal. It is used with those whom the speaker does not know and in business dealings. “Greetings” has largely been commandeered by the government and so should be avoided.

Employing “my truth” in spelling and grammar turns Boomers off. This is never truer than when dealing with authors, editors, and publishers. Knowing “their”, from “they’re” and “there” is essential. Woman is singular—one woman. Women is plural, more than one woman. Knowing when to use “than” and when to use “then” is very helpful too.

Boomers have been around a long time and have been to multiple rodeos. If they served in the military, they have had smoke blown up their…er…backsides by government experts. Do not attempt flattery. They will know you haven’t read their book and that you have no clue as to what it’s about no matter how many times you read the blurb. As a side note, AI doesn’t seem to be able to tell a book from a blog post. So, you might want to double-check the grasp your computer genius has on language before praising this post as if it were a book.

Promises of the latest, most modern, technologically advanced means of cover design and marketing don’t impress us. We still ask, “Where’s the beef?” (Google it.). This is a type of Catch-22 (Google that too.). We want results before we trust you, and the only way to deliver results is for us to trust you enough to give you a chance in the first place. How is that possible? Demonstrate you have put in some work on me, and you might get to work for me.

This fifth thing may be a more personal dislike. This Boomer, who has seen books turned into movies, cannot imagine why a reader would want a video trailer of a book they intend to read. That is an attempt to rob the reader of their imagination. Now, alphabet generations may consider us dinosaurs, and a bit ignorant. I can live with that. Can you live without my business? If you can, then get off my lawn.