A Message from the Soap Box: Bad Reviews vs Bad Attitudes

I totally stole the topic title from Jill Haldeman >.> But it was a valid one >^.^<

This really does fall under the whole Cyber Bully segment of posts I’ve been posting recently.

I watched a friend of mine get attacked, slandered, trashed, called everything but her name recently over a 1 star book review. Oddly enough, the book reviewed was the SAME book my sister gave a 2 star review to with the SAME results. Neither review trashed anyone, both called the author out on going over the line on stealing a well known author’s work with a simple change of the character names locale etc.

The saddest part is it was not the author that attacked either of one. It was someone we are all almost positive that is either a family member or a friend of the author in the outside world, or someone that worked with the author on the book.

As authors we can not possibly expect everyone to like our work. we can only expect our fans to, and MAYBE the people who even like the genre we write. Attacking someone that gives you an honest review is not going to help your sales nor your reputation. It in fact will only harm both. The same goes for family, friends, employees, or even employers of the author. Authors if you see someone trashing a reviewer that gave you a bad review, SAY SOMETHING. Do NOT sit idly by why this person destroys your career.

Jill’s right though, we are taught as small children that bullying, and mocking people is wrong. We are taught to talk out our difference to eliminate a problem. When we join the indie community, we are taught to ignore the trolls and the haters. Yet all I’ve been seeing lately is an over abundance of authors and their PA’s acting like little children when someone doesn’t like the book they put out. I’m pretty sure you haven’t liked every single book you’ve ever read. and don’t pull the “If I don’t like it I don’t review it” because that’s bullshyt and you know it. A REAL Reviewer reviews EVERYTHING they read not just the good ones. So you’re either a fake reviewer, or you’re a liar if you claim you don’t post any bad reviews.

Now keep in mind I’m not talking about the trolls. By all means if you want to tarnish your reputation by mudslinging the trolls and bullies when they do it to you, by all means go for it, just remember it’s not them that suffers for your actions it’s yourself.

Leave the honest reviewers alone. Don’t trash them saying they didn’t read the book when they’ve posted novella sized reviews stating events that happened in the book and what’s wrong with things in it. It’s obvious they’ve read it. A Troll doesn’t read a book, they do what their masters tell them and simply rate a book 1 or 2 and IF they’re told to review, their reviews are noticeably false and only one or two lines along the line of “this book sucks” or some other lame shyt.

Authors, PAs, Editors, Cover Artists, other people involved with a book that gets a bad review, Please, Think before you attack. If you attack every bad review, what does that look like? It will make people scared to post honestly. They’ll feel they have to lie about their opinion of the work and instead of getting the helpful pointers 3 out 5 bad reviews give, you’ll end up getting nothing and keep making the same errors over and over until someone that isn’t afraid of you stands up and says something in less than professional way. Do you really want that? I know I don’t.