So now there’s another brouhaha ablaze, and it bubbles and toils like nobody’s business. Still does. In the memory of book bloggers, especially. Apparently author Kathleen Hale stalked a reviewer, to the point of obsessively trying to find out about her on the Internet, followed her posts and Net hangouts, and finally got her actual address. Did it stop there? Oh, no! Of course not: She drove to this person’s house, rang the doorbell, and when no one answered, left a book on the doorstep and returned to her rental car (yes, she went the extra mile to get a rental car). And the way she described getting the reviewer’s address, under the guise of participating in a book club giveaway, smacked of sick sneakiness, in my humble opinion.
Alas, they say confession has it’s own soul’s relief. She took it to the last world’s end and wrote about it in her article, “Am I being Catfished?” If you’ll notice, I’m not posting links here on my blog. Don’t need to. You’re smart readers. Go Google it. You’ll find it with no problem whatsoever, along with any other information you want to know about this incident. (And if you want to know my first experience with an author behaving badly, so much so that she or Amazon eventually pulled her book, check out “The Greek Seaman by Jacqueline Howett–also read the series of comments on BigAl’s Book and Pals).
From an author’s standpoint, I’ve heard for a while about authors being bullied and trolled to the point that authors have sometimes had to remove themselves from social media for a while. I’ve heard LOTS about that. Even Anne Rice has spoken about this on her Facebook page. Stop The Goodreads Bullies is a site where trolls and reviewers behaving badly were placed in a position of what used to be known as the pillory. Having virtual tomatoes thrown at them via copies of their reviews, shaming comments, and having their personal information posted for the whole world to see: their social security numbers, their home address. (Oh, I forgot to mention, Kathleen Hale also CONTACTED the reviewer by phone and spoke to her, under the pretense of “fact-finding”).
As a result of this lovely shenanigan by Hale, bloggers banded together to host a book blog black out from 10/23-27, or some date like that. This incident frightened them so badly, they decided it was time to take a stand, and stand together they did. They hosted a blackout, and did not do book reviews or carry through with blog tours during this time as a means of making a statement: We’re not gonna take it!
What’s my opinion? I think authors need to stop worrying about book reviews and concentrate on making sales. That’s the name of the game: make sales! That will get Amazon and other sites noticing you and ranking you higher. I’ve seen books with only a single one-star review, and their rankings are fantastic! The author is selling books. Granted, there are sites where you need a certain number of reviews to participate, Pixel Of Ink being one of them. They do this to ensure a certain quality, but in light of shill reviews, I question this thinking. But what else is one to do?
Punchline: Just because someone gives your book a low review doesn’t mean you’re being catfished. The reviewer is giving an opinion. I don’t defend in any way whatsoever showing up uninvited on someone’s doorstep. It’s dangerous, could get you arrested, or at the very worst, killed. DON’T DO IT. EVER! Instead of working on her next book or promoting the one she had, Hale wasted precious time traipsing after a reviewer for not liking her book. And though Indie Authors have been the worst offenders for getting royally pissed when things don’t go their way, it looks like traditionally published authors do the same at times.
I’ll say it again. To those who have purchased my books, I thank you wholeheartedly. I hope to goodness I haven’t wasted your time. If you want to know more about what’s going on with me, I have this blog where you can sign up for my newsletter to get special treats others don’t get. You can also like my author page. I will NEVER harass you for book buys or reviews (though I appreciate both). I want writing and book blogging to be productive, fun, and most of all, SAFE.
End of rant! And happy reading and blogging, whether you be a reader, blogger, or author, or all three! #Haleno
Thank you so much for adding this to the Linky! What a great article.
Thanks, Kriss! Appreciate you stopping by. Yes, bloggers shouldn’t be kicked in the pants for doing what they do. You do authors a big favor when you take the time to read our books. You won’t like all of them, and that’s the way it goes. You don’t need some author tracking you down because he/she is unhappy. The only thing I can tell that author: keeping writing and improve your work.
No book appeals to everyone. A bad review means someone didn’t like it . . .period. You may not agree, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to their opinion. In the grand scheme of things it matters not at all. If reading reviews makes you crazy then DON’T.
P.S. I can’t believe you made me do MATH to post . . .math. As if Wednesday isn’t tough enough 😉
I agree, Sessha! We love it when everyone gushes over our work, but the truth is, not everyone will. And as you mentioned about authors reading reviews, many have said they won’t read reviews. Probably a good idea. If you want opinions or help with your work, join a critique group or get some beta readers. And authors are always advised to get an editor. Sorry about the math! Maybe I need to change that a little!! But thanks for adding or subtracting–whatever it was you had to do!
Great Blog. I think when consumers read reviews we can tell the difference between a troll and an honest review. I have read 1 star reviews that have actually made me want to read the book. We all have triggers. One mans trigger is another mans trope I suppose. Generally trolls don’t do a very good job explaining their gripes with a book and instead tell you not to waste your money or to not bother reading the book. Many times my inner brat who still hates to be told what to do, causes me to one click the book any way.
I do have an issue with an author who is very well connected such as a Katherine Hale using those connections to write a self serving article with a number of half truths and misleading information in order to justify bad behavior. That in my opinion is really bullying. The reviewer has little hope of reaching the same audience as Ms. Hale unless by some odd coincidence she to is engaged or related in some way to a major publisher.
Thanks, Kelly. Great reminder that customers can usually tell the difference between review types. Honestly, though, I think Hale shot herself in the foot with the article. Anyone with some discretion would have a sense that NOTHING she did was good, once it got past the “Rats, I got a poopy review.” I think taking advantage of requesting a reviewer to participate in a book club giveaway (when she admitted there were other reviewers to choose from) just to get an address was a sneaky thing to do. Though it might be tempting, if your really mad, I would not ethically ever recommend doing that. I would have chosen some other reviewers in the hopes of getting better reviews (though that wouldn’t have been guaranteed, either). As the publishing company, not sure how they’ve dealt with their author, or if they things it’s good publicity.
I am subject to reviews in my job, I am also required to review my employees. The process is far more intimate but in both my and my employees cases there is no second, third or hundredth reviewer to take away the sting of the one bad review. I don’t have a choice but to focus solely on that one bad review. Authors like Anne Rice and Katherine Hale receive far more accolades than most will see in their life. Why focus on the one negative. That being said there are far more authors that get it right. Who spend a lot of their time reaching out and really connecting with fans. They give their time and energy and maybe the negative reviews get to them but you never see them sweat it. Thank goodness for that!