When should an author defend their book in the face of people lying about it? Case in point, the quote below. I rarely, if ever, reply to negative bad faith reviews of my book, but this guy tagged me for attention, so I gave it, and clapped back. Maybe I shouldn’t have, and maybe I was too harsh, but his was one of the few bad faith reviews I had watched and it was absolute trash where he literally lied about my book constantly (as proven in the quoted tweet). People like this guy assume that to be open to criticism you have to accept every bit off bullcrap they say about your work. No. Of course there has been constructive criticism about my book that I’ve taken on, and even addressed in the second edition, but man, when people start to identify you as their ideological enemy do the bad faith reviews start. Of course there’s too many to even attempt to call out or address, and I’ll have to rely on people making up their own mind (which works overall with the book having a 4.6/5 star rating), but it is annoying to see people turned off ever looking at my book due to an objective lie told by a person just wanting to harm their ideological enemy. What do you think @EricDJuly ? I know you deal with the same issue with people lying about Isom.
When should an author defend their book in the face of people lying about it? Case in point, the quote below. I rarely, if ever, reply to negative bad faith reviews of my book, but this guy tagged me for attention, so I gave it, and clapped back. Maybe I shouldn’t have, and maybe I was too harsh, but his was one of the few bad faith reviews I had watched and it was absolute trash where he literally lied about my book constantly (as proven in the quoted tweet). People like this guy assume that to be open to criticism you have to accept every bit off bullcrap they say about your work. No. Of course there has been constructive criticism about my book that I’ve taken on, and even addressed in the second edition, but man, when people start to identify you as their ideological enemy do the bad faith reviews start. Of course there’s too many to even attempt to call out or address, and I’ll have to rely on people making up their own mind (which works overall with the book having a 4.6/5 star rating), but it is annoying to see people turned off ever looking at my book due to an objective lie told by a person just wanting to harm their ideological enemy. What do you think @EricDJuly ? I know you deal with the same issue with people lying about Isom.
@shadmbrooks There's a second edition?
I am with you on rebuttals, Shad. I am a multi-published novelist (10 in total by a major traditional pub house) so know exactly how you feel. I never agreed with the industry standard of critical reviewers being untouchable or that authors should not engage with them in any way, let alone criticize. Publisher's Weekly lied blatantly in their review of my first book but my editor was crystal clear that even hinting of any displeasure with PW was career suicide. I obeyed but over time grew bolder and found ways to push back on reviewers who made false claims about the content itself. Over all, disputing every lame review, especially on Amazon and so on, is a waste of time. That said, IMO it is unacceptable for those who claim to be "expert" or "professional" critics giving honest reviews to lie about the content. Opinions are fine, of course, even if we sensitive authors are hurt when our work is disliked! LOL! However, misinformation presented as fact is unethical and immoral. Good for you setting the record straight. 👍
@shadmbrooks I think if you wanna engage a few times it can be beneficial but dragging it out too long hurts your image more than theirs. Smack down the criticism if it’s inaccurate or disingenuous, then starve them of the attention they’re seeking, also mute instead of block.
To be honest, I have seen quite a few people lie about your book. The most egregious I saw was someone saying your book was pro-rape because one woman out of hundreds couldn’t bring herself to hate Daylen because of her children. What about all the other hundreds of women who went insane due to his abuse and hate him and will never forgive him? Your book doesn’t brush anything off as okay. Daylen’s sins are not glossed over, and the story never tries to minimize the evil he committed. I do have some qualms with the book, but enjoyed it overall. I just wish people would stop fundamentally misrepresenting major portions of the narrative in order to bash you.