Negative review of my book? RELEASE THE HOUNDS!

[james_davis_nicoll]

I was so distressed about this injustice that I looked up the list of Amazon’s board of directors. Great good luck, I happened to know two of them

Comments

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

By people who are not professional reviewers, even. The horror!

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I wonder what Dear Prudence would say about this. OH WAIT.

Really?

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

Okay, deep sense of privilege on her side; but who is ignorant enough to pay any attention to Amazon reviews????

[editrx.livejournal.com]

OMG ORDINARY PEOPLE ARE BEING ALLOWED TO NOT ONLY READ HER BOOK BUT SAY THINGS ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC?!

The peasants must be put back in their place clearly.

[jamoche]

Good golly - they commented about the author while reviewing a memoir!

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!
Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).

[(Anonymous)]

That is hysterical!

On the order of 30 years ago, TV Guide published a piece of drivel by Margo Howard in which she makes fun of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where her then-husband Ken Howard was filming a period piece of some kind; she very reluctantly included a couple of paragraphs about the filming, but she was mostly had a blast describing Hicksville; a number of people wrote in protesting the portrayal, and she blew 'em off.

It stuck in my mind, because Harpers Ferry is *nothing* like what she described; as a lifelong Washington DC area resident I went there often for a day trip (back when I had good knees).

It's one of my favorite examples of epic stupidity. I see she's still at it.

[(Anonymous)]

She and the author of "Empress Theresa" (http://www.amazon.com/Empress-Theresa-Norman-Boutin/dp/1495450422) ought get together and form a society for protecting authors from cruel reviewers.

[sean o'hara (from livejournal.com)]

Why do media organizations keep giving coverage to these deranged authors? The Guardian just had a column by an author who bragged about stalking a reviewer.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/18/am-i-being-catfished-an-author-confronts-her-number-one-online-critic

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

I am amused that the possibility the author never, ever considers is that the reviewers are right and the book deserves the reviews it received. When your memoir only makes sense if the reader has already read your mother's letters, perhaps you have not written a good memoir.

[ticktockman.livejournal.com]

Seems her main complaint is that Amazon is enabling the amateur reviewers to break the embargo and get their pans up in a prominent way, while the folks who've actually signed on to embargo agreements (is that a thing?) have to wait. The pre-release reviews end up on top.

Publishers who care about these things could decline to release advance copies through Vine. But aside from the final Harry Potter book, who has ever fussed over embargo dates for a book review?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I know her very slightly in real life, and though I find her amusing and honor her for her hard work on behalf of many charities, this surprises me not at all. She has NO FILTER and just says whatever she thinks. Not always the best approach for every situation.

[dionysus1999.livejournal.com]

Anyone with any background that includes statistics will know you can't trust a few reviews, we're human, we have biases. I read the negative reviews regarding TV shows and movies on Netflix so I know what it was about the show that turned them off.

A well written negative review can give me the information I need, including the reviewer's biases.

Some smart authors post links to the most humorous bad reviews of their work. I can imagine the anxiety an author feels when a new book comes out, but working yourself up does no one any good. I'd recommend writing some revenge fiction, instead of engaging with reviewers, and then quietly shelving it.