Читать книгу You're Going to Survive - Alexandra Franzen - Страница 7

It’s fall of 2010 and, between sips of lukewarm coffee, I discover that I’ve inadvertently achieved the Holy Grail Of Blogging: something I’ve written has gone viral.

And what’s more, something I’ve written has gone viral via Reddit, that usually-cantankerous-quick-to-criticize online forum.

I watch with wonder as new comments and readers pour into my site. I refresh Reddit and see my article—“31 Things I’ve Learned in 31 Years”—work its way up the page.

And then the first snarky comment lands in my inbox.

“This isn’t wise. Anybody with half a brain has learned these things before they leave high school.”

My inbox pings again. As the day progresses, I’m told that I write like a teenager and that I look ten years older than I am. Commenters tell me I should keep my day job (I wasn’t planning on leaving it) and that I used the wrong form of ‘compliment’ (I didn’t).

A day that started with rose-colored glasses and visions of a book deal ends in tears. I eat my feelings and consider deleting my entire blog.

Instead I called Alexandra.

Alex Franzen, the author of the book you’re holding right this second, is my IRL friend and perhaps the world’s best pep-talk giver. You see, she doesn’t just give pep talks via books. She also gives them to her friends, in real life, after trolls say that said friend is “collectively lowering the IQ of the Internet.”

Good friend that she is, Alex was able to raise my spirits and give me a loving reality check. She assured me that, regardless of the trolls and the traffic spike of meanies, I’d survive. I’d live to blog another day! She reminded me that I could choose to gather myself up, brush myself off, and keep writing, blogging, and publishing.

She was right, of course. In the years since that post went viral, I’ve encountered other setbacks, trolls, and snark—online and off. And you know what? I’ve survived all of those as well.

Maybe you’ve never been trolled online, but I’m sure you’ve encountered your own version of this. You’ve been passed over for a promotion, dumped, or fired. Maybe your application wasn’t accepted. Perhaps you showed up for picture day with a stain on your shirt, a giant zit, and greasy hair.

Whatever the setback, this book (and Alex) will help.