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An Author Review Bombed Books on Goodreads. Then Her Debut Book Was Dropped

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Jan Hurst-Nicholson:

https://time.com/6397305/cait-corrain-goodreads-review-bomb-authors/?

Very sad that an author would do this to fellow authors. I wonder if the review-bombed books ever recovered  :icon_rolleyes:

TimothyEllis:

--- Quote from: Jan Hurst-Nicholson on December 16, 2023, 02:27:16 AM ---
https://time.com/6397305/cait-corrain-goodreads-review-bomb-authors/?

Very sad that an author would do this to fellow authors. I wonder if the review-bombed books ever recovered  :icon_rolleyes:

--- End quote ---

There's nothing unusual about that. It's been going on for ages now.

And if not authors, it's their fans.

I've got someone who one star rates every one of my books a couple of weeks after they come out. In a way, it's actually beneficial, because it validates for those readers who won't read anything without a few negative reviews on it.

Authors off their meds, or posting drunk or high is nothing unusual either.

Trads and agents doing something about it is. I'm not sure I've heard of it happening before now.

LilyBLily:
Her apology was pretty lame, and as people have pointed out, she targeted BIPOC authors. One commented that depression doesn't make you a racist; it comes from somewhere else.

Yes, review bombing has been done many times by many people for many reasons. Goodreads' real members often one star a book to indicate that they plan to read it. And they don't give a rat's a** that they're harming the author by doing so. 

Insecurity is probably what was at the bottom of her weird behavior. Rank improvement was the goal, but only someone who lacks belief in her story's strength and in Del Rey's ability to promote her book would think such an action would be necessary. And there's the lottery-winner mentality, whereby the winner enacts many rash behaviors that impoverish them all over again because they can't adjust to the idea of having all this unmerited money. There are many cases of these winners practically shoveling their money away into obvious follies. Combine the two ideas: "I don't deserve this" and "My book isn't really any good" and you have reasons to indulge in self-destructive acting out.

Books reveal our insides, and hers must be pretty awful.

Crystal:
While the actions of the review-bombing author aren't cool, it's 100% bullsh*t to lay this at her feet. The problem is not one author leaving, what, six bad reviews on a book. It's a system where six bad ratings are considered an important sign of a book's quality.

In fact, I don't think it is... I think publishers are using this author as a scapegoat, rather than offering debut and BIPOC authors REAL support.

If publishers want to support authors of color, they should put their money where their mouth is. The should support their authors by marketing their books, mentoring them, championing their careers, etc.

The merit of a review should be based on its quality. A one-star "this book sucks," should not be considered useful feedback. If the author left thoughtful one-star reviews that point out issues with the books, then those may be useful for readers. (I think she is entitled to leave *a* review on a competitor's book, even if it's not a good look). The problem isn't that this author review bombed. It's that people consider "this sucks, 1-star," a worthy criticism.

Jan Hurst-Nicholson:

--- Quote from: LilyBLily on December 16, 2023, 04:56:09 AM ---
Goodreads' real members often one star a book to indicate that they plan to read it. And they don't give a rat's a** that they're harming the author by doing so. 


--- End quote ---

I've also seen a 1 star used as a place-maker for future reading.  :icon_sad:
I also think that some readers who are unfamiliar with the star system can rate 1 as good and 5 as poor.  :icon_rolleyes:

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