Jaimey’s Comments (group member since Jun 18, 2009)

Jaimey’s comments from the Author Support Group group.

WOO-HOO!!!! I'm so excited for you, Sharon! :o)

Thank you for your concern, Sharon. I hope Amazon looks into it. This is bound to get worse before it gets better, I think. You know, honestly, I never really had a problem with her original reviews. I suspected she may not have actually read the books but I couldn't be sure so I ignored them. It was when the other crap started that I seriously began to doubt the legitimacy of the reviews. Now, I know she's just being malicious.

I recently discovered that what my harasser is doing to me is nothing compared to what is happening to some other self-pubbed authors. Why, oh why, does any author think they are in competition with other authors? Readers read. It's what they do. They read what they want, when they want.

Meanwhile, I have received two other negative reviews, one for Heartless and one for Betrayal that I am perfectly fine with. They seem to be honest reviews and if I think the 1-stars were kind of harsh, oh well. It was the reviewer's choice to rate them that low. After Betrayal's review posted, my sales increased. I'm quite all right with that one, believe me. :o)

Brief update on the smear campaign I experienced several months ago on Amazon...

A few months back, I noticed that my mean reviewer added to her reviews of my books. This is what follows what she originally wrote (in the actual review):

"I thought we were allowed to express our opinions freely. From your actions, Ms. Grant, Laura Miller, and whatever other names you go by, that is apparently NOT the case. Though mine is certainly not the only bad review posted here.

So, if I remove this truthful review, will you please stop harassing me as a reviewer, and other authors I happen to have reviewed favorably, because you are so envious, and also stop your friends from doing the same? Thank you for some common courtesy, if not to me, then hardworking professional authors. No one deserves to be treated the way you've behaved in this regard."
http://www.amazon.com/review/R4H637XO...

Am I actually being reviled for being honest about my name? Also, is this type of "review" even allowed on Amazon? I'm still floored that she has had the audacity to accuse me of doing to her everything she has done to me. Would anyone actually read this and believe her?

Sheesh.

I'm so sorry, Sharon. (And I apologize for taking so long to respond. Truth is, I just saw this.) It's always hard to get a negative review and much worse when it comes from a (former) friend.

It was kind of Mark to offer to take it down. And it seems that the review has been taken down.

I am sorry this kind of thing happens to anyone. It is unacceptable, immature behavior. :o(

Hi, Milly. I moved your topic to the HELP section. :o)

The problem with your question is that self-pubbing and trad pubbing are both filled with pros and cons.

With self you are responsible for 100% of the marketing. This is a royal pain if you have little or no experience with internet marketing. With trad you still have to market but your publisher will do some for you. Their sites and blogs get more traffic, generally speaking.

Self involves more work from beginning to end. You are responsible for editing and proofreading, jacket design and blurb. With trad publishers they take care of most of that and hook you up with pro editors.

Many trads will only take you if you have an agent. Agents can be harder to get than a publisher. With self, obviously that is not a concern.

If you are talking small presses, they seem to fall somewhere in the middle. They do some marketing but you are responsible for a lot of it, too. They take the lead in jacket design and blurbs, editing and proofreading but you have more of a say in all of these than with a bigger house.

Honestly, I would say small presses are the way to go these days. But, if you are a total control freak, self-publishing may be your only option. I went with self-publishing because I am impatient by nature. It probably wasn't the wisest move on my part.

(I used createspace.com which is an Amazon company.)

Disclaimer: I have firsthand experience with self-publishing, specifically with CreateSpace. Everything I've said here is how I understand the situation from the bit of research I've done into the subject. If anyone with more experience in these areas would like to correct any misconceptions I may have, please do so. :o)

That's cool, Sharon. :o)

Forgive my ignorance but...who is Angie Bowie? :o/

Hi, Madison! Good to know you're keeping busy and doing well. :o)

Way to go, Paul and Robert! :o)

You're both doing so good, Paul and Robert (or do you prefer Bob?)! You'll both be there in no time. :o)

I wrote over 3,000 words today for a total of 42,130. I'm so pleased. :oD

I'm going to try. I have a lot on my plate right now but I really like this idea.

Great idea, Susan! Thanks for letting us know. :o)

Wendy wrote: "Thanks Jaimey:) My fascination with dragons has reached an all-time high so I would love to see how your 'Dragon Curse' turns out!"

I hope it turns out to be something readable, lol! First attempts at a new genre are not always successful. :o)

Welcome to the group, Wendy!! :o)

That's great, Paul! You're only 2k behind me now. ;o)

That's great, Paul! You'll surpass me in word count in no time!

Susan wrote: "Ooh, what a cool feeling. I hope you told every single person who walked by that YOUR book was THERE!"

I can totally see myself doing that! :op

That's so great, Gina! I hope to experience that one day. :o)

Paul wrote: "Sad to say, the story hasn't really taken off in my mind yet."

Oh, I know how that is, Paul. I usually run into that problem in the middle of the story. I expect next week will be slow for me.

Anybody else?