A couple of years ago I blogged about The Author’s Big Mistake which is, for those of you who don’t know, replying to a review with anything more than “thank you for your time”.
If you want to see why it’s such a bad idea for a writer to comment on a review, read this book review and the comments which follow. It quickly turned into a pile-on, and was very unpleasant: but the author’s reaction had a lot to do with that.
[We're having problems with our power supply at the moment--we don't have one!--so I might not get back online for a day or so. Please keep comments here respectful while I'm away; I don't want to see a similar pile-on when I get back, but won't blame you if a certain amount of gobsmackedness creeps into your remarks.]
MacAllister Stone liked this post
My first thought, like some of the commenters, was ‘this has to be a hoax.’
But, it seems not. Wow! Just wow. I’ve watched a few writer blow-ups, but imo this was one of the more unusual ones.
I feel mean, though, because i laughed far more than i should’ve.
It’s spread to Amazon, where people say they have downloaded the free sample of the book and are awarding one-star reviews based on that.
I believe them about the technical errors, though, because there are plenty of those on the author’s blog as well.
[...] your writing. (It’s not even that negative a review, to be honest, but hey.) (Link via How Publishing Really Works – if you don’t already read, [...]
This is certainly a good example of how quickly things like this can blow up and assume a life of their own. A good lesson for the rest of us, but as you say, reading this writer’s reaction to the review and the other comments being made is nothing short of painful.
Isn’t there a saying that all publicity is good publicity? I think you might have found the exception to prove the rule.
Hysterical. (And Ms. Howett certainly is.)
Yikes! As I work on my first novel I’ve been trying to prepare myself for critiques. I’ve been consciously trying to thicken my skin and lower (if not eliminate) my sensitivity to opposing views in ALL categories of life. This was a great lesson in humility!
I’ve given several authors bad reviews, but thankfully I’ve never gotten a response like this. One was so weak that I emailed the periodical’s editor to give him a head’s up. His response was very polite.
Now that I’ve seen raging insecurity in action, I feel very fortunate.
Blimey! Talk about burning your bridges.
I actually feel sorry for the writer. Her first comment was possibly dashed off in the heat of the moment and the whole thing could easily have spiralled out of control from there. It is a mighty lesson on the dangers of both self-publishing and the internet for all of us. (Reminder to self – never self-publish apart from your daily blog.)
I discuss the pile-in on my blog. After my initial gobsmackedness at the author’s behaviour (great word, Jane!) I began to wonder if it really is a case of ‘there but for the grace of God…’
http://sallyquilfordblog.co.uk/2011/03/unprofessional-writers-revisited.html
(Hope the power is sorted soon, Jane.xxx)