I'm sure some of you have seen this already, but if you haven't here is a case study of why it's not a good idea to argue with someone who puts an unfavourable review on Goodreads. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot...
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What not to do if you get a bad Goodreads review
- Thread starter Brian Clegg
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Jennifer Stone
Guest
Phew... what an immense amount of interaction! There's some serious ego-bruising there. I understand an author's wish to protect their work from unfair critique, especially if they're passionate about the subject and feel they're improving peoples lives through it. Such reactions are unwarranted, and in this case too extreme, making 'Dylan' look bad. They say 'bad publicity is still publicity', but i think 'Dylan' can do without it.
Be polite.
Be positive.
Be professional.
Whatever your business, self damage can't be repaired and a bad reputation is hard to recover from. I'd be interested to see what 'Dylan's' publisher or agent thought of this whole affair.
Be polite.
Be positive.
Be professional.
Whatever your business, self damage can't be repaired and a bad reputation is hard to recover from. I'd be interested to see what 'Dylan's' publisher or agent thought of this whole affair.
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Absolutely toe-curling.
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The magic carpet episode...my fave... ooh, he feels like a casbah sausage roll...
Oooh, I just watched the Magic Roundabout episode (thanks Katie-Ellen), followed by the Clangers and Captain Pugwash!!! Wonderful trip down memory lane... really raised a smile. They just don't make them like they used to!
*SMDH* What a maroon, as Bugs Bunny would say.
NEVER ENGAGE A REVIEWER!!!!!!!!!!!
And don't be a pompous ass about your work.
NEVER ENGAGE A REVIEWER!!!!!!!!!!!
And don't be a pompous ass about your work.
I didn't feel what he wrote was too purple prose but he way, way, way overreacted and came off as someone with a bit of a God complex. It's one thing to feel hurt (and I completely understand that feeling) but it's another to tell someone the only reason they didn't like your work is because they're too stupid. 
Other than that, I really dislike this internet tirade thing. It's too easy to destroy someone's reputation on the internet. Dylan's reaction sure made me not interested in him as an author, but it didn't make me want to attack his book and drag down his ratings.
These posts are beneficial though and teach a valuable lesson. I remember very quickly learning mine from a similar post that either Karen or Tara (maybe both!) put up last year.
Other than that, I really dislike this internet tirade thing. It's too easy to destroy someone's reputation on the internet. Dylan's reaction sure made me not interested in him as an author, but it didn't make me want to attack his book and drag down his ratings.These posts are beneficial though and teach a valuable lesson. I remember very quickly learning mine from a similar post that either Karen or Tara (maybe both!) put up last year.
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Jason Byrne
Guest
My God, it just keeps going. I can't take any more. This was yesterday. Holy crap it's over only four hours. He just sat there, and pulled this off in one sitting!
"Let them be alienated. I don't care. I'm not doing this for your approval, Elizabeth. "
You are, though. You are.
"Let them be alienated. I don't care. I'm not doing this for your approval, Elizabeth. "
You are, though. You are.
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Jennifer Stone
Guest
I got to the bottom of the first page and thought 'Wow, that was bizarre' and i got fed up of reading it half way through! I would've walked away from the keyboard long before four hours had passed. One message from me, if i were him, 'Thank you for reading, it's a shame you didn't like it, maybe you'll enjoy my next book.' How hard is that?
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Jason Byrne
Guest
Simple, effective, and universally accepted to be correct and proper. It's worth repeating, what was said in the responses — no one is going to be universally loved. Someone is bound not to like it, and they'll probably be just as right as those who do.
Haters gotta hate. Ain'ters gotta ain't. The Interview
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Jason Byrne
Guest
Now that's not okay — and I hope reporting it will have the petty attacks removed. It is supposed to be about the material alone, not even the shipping or purchasing process, and certainly not the author.
That said, there's a lot of my life in my book, as I'm sure is true of most of us, and I would hope I would know better than to fight fire with fire, and instead give copies to my friends and ask them to include reviews of what they did like about it — honestly, instead of paying for five-stars, as was discussed by Brian.
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Alistair Roberts
Guest
It's done, and finished, in more ways than one. Maybe a good example of when an author should just shut up?
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Karen Gray
Guest
Yikes :/
Liberace said 'When I get a bad review I tell my staff not to worry and to laugh with me all the way to the bank'.
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Tim Bennett
Guest
Quite an entertaining read in itself, especially..." don't interact so much with people who didn't enjoy it, it makes people uncomfortable and you look like a tool "
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Meerkat
Guest
Wow.
Serious God complex.
Serious God complex.
Woof. That was painful. In the spirit of How I Met Your Mother, I kept saying, "Oh, honey." The best advice I've ever read about author interaction came from Goodreads's site itself: don't ever engage a bad review. No matter what. Even if they're spewing false facts. In fact, most authors I've talked to say they purposefully don't read any of their reviews.
It's a good point about false facts - many years ago I asked Amazon to take down a review which had downright untrue statements in - they did straight away, so then the person put the same review up, but also complaining about it being taken down. It didn't really achieve anything. I'd also agree about not reading them - I hardly ever read reviews on Amazon/Goodreads, and certainly wouldn't respond, though I do usually read newspaper/respected blog reviews, if only to look for good pull quotes for the publisher to use on future editions and for me to put on my website.
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Jason Byrne
Guest
Very good advice, Nicole and Brian.
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