Authors promoting books: engage or ignore?

T

Traden4Alpha

Back on Aug. 8th in the Trading forum, I replied to a posting that I knew was self-promotion. An person whose user name was identical to that of the coauthor of a trading book, was using their first posting to promote said book. And, although I deplore spam, I had hoped that said coauthor would join and contribute to ET in a meaningful manner. Now, 10 days later, the original poster has not replied to my questions (for all I know, the poster was really some PR flack from publisher masquerading as the "coauthor").

So, was I a fool to try to engage the coauthor in a discussion of the book and related issues or not?

Enjoying ET immensely,
-Traden4Alpha
 
I looked at some of your past posts around that time but I couldn't find exactly what you were referring to.
 
Originally posted by Baron
I looked at some of your past posts around that time but I couldn't find exactly what you were referring to.
More...
Sorry, Baron. I debated whether to include a link to the posting (not sure whether I wanted to continue to aid and abet a self-promotor). The posting in question was:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7697

I had hoped that the coauthor would become a regular contributor to ET when I asked him questions about his book and trading experiences. The lack of response by the coauthor suggests that he is unlikely to contribute to ET, much to my disappointment.

Wondering about etiquette,
-Traden4Alpha
 
There's nothing wrong with asking him questions and expecting a response. After all, Tony Oz, Alan Farley, and other authors participate on these boards regularly. But the fact he has not responded tells me he was more interested in spamming the board on his first post than interacting with other members. That's not a very smart thing to do from a marketing standpoint, but whatever. Of course, all this is assuming he actually made the post himself, and not someone else, like you mentioned earlier.
 
You were right to ask an author a question, they have things they can share with some of us who may not be aware all that investing entails. Tony Oz is great and has insights that he isnt scared to share.
 
Thanx for the confirmation of proper ETiquette. I, too, hope that authors and representatives of trading-related product/service firms will participate meaningfully at ET. I do not mind a bit'o infomercial, as long as it is heavy on the "info" and light on the "-mercial" (I'll even secretly admit to liking Don Bright)

Thanx for the quick reply,
-Traden4Alpha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top