Jan 4 2012
Wednesday Links and Deals: IP Listing of Your Fave Sites & Authors Attack Ep 1, 2012 (YA Edition)
NEWS
Apple is hosting a media event in New York later this month and according to various websites, the focus is on books. There is some speculation that Apple will be rolling out a more full fledged self publishing platform. It already accepts self published books and Pages, Apple’s word processor, has a “save as epub” option. Another speculates it is about textbooks. I vote the latter. More money in textbooks and not only because the textbook market is huge, but because Apple can sell their products to text book users.
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India Grey has a lovely personal tribute to Penny Jordan who was Grey’s “writing mum.” I am sure that Jordan was proud of the writer Grey is becoming.
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This link was posted on Kindleboards, a forum that has a section that is frequented by a number of self published authors, and is basically, as the lone review states, a “blatant beggar’s offering.” I reported the book to Amazon and hopefully it will be taken down. Right now there is no buy link. This sort of thing is ridiculous.
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We have our first episode When Authors Attack! of 2012. Kira, a long time user of Goodreads, quotes some pages from Tempest by Julia Cross. Part of the book is apparently told from the young male point of view who views the object of his affection’s roommate as a raging hater feminist:
I loosened the tie on her robe. “She’s at least two hundred dollars richer, so there’s nothing to bitch about. And when is she not angry?”
“Never. But thank you for one night free of feminist lectures.”
I leaned over and whispered, “Consider it your make-up gift.”
Nice! Well, Dan Krokos, who apparently shares an agent with the author, came to defend Julie’s honor in the comments and started harassing Kira on twitter. Dan apparently believed that what he did on Twitter wouldn’t be seen or screencapped by the Internet? Do these folks not understand how the internet works? Dan starts a hashtag called #goodreadsslogans. Then Lauren DeStefano says and I quote because the you cannot make this stuff up “I’d even venture to say GR makes 4chan look like a hallmark card from my own loving grammy”. 4Chan, you guys. Lauren DeStefano compared Goodreads to 4Chan.
.
.
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Sorry, back. I had to pick myself off the floor from laughing so hard. Anyhoodle, Dan and Julie’s AGENT comes in:
So I represent both Julie Cross and Dan Krokos. I love both their books and as someone who knows them personally I think they’re both great people. So my opinion is not objective.
I think negative reviews are valuable–to readers, to authors, to everyone. I think personal attacks are not.
But even more than all that, I thought Goodreads was supposed to be a forum to talk about books, not group up and personally attack people who disagree or question a review.
This thread makes me feel ashamed to be a member of this community.
Oh, Suzie. Then Courtney Allison Moulton, another YA author, trots out the old yarn that you won’t get published if you aren’t nice. ”#goodreadsslogans the hot new way to destroy a career in publishing before you have it.” Round up the wagons and shoot the readers. That makes a ton of sense. Goodreads, as author Hannah Mosckowitz says, is really a reader’s platform. Oh, I know some authors will argue that Kira’s post is not a review. And it’s probably not but Goodreads is about readers sharing their opinions with other readers. They don’t need to be hounded and mocked and harassed by authors. This is a YA book and another commenter pointed out that Kira is an adult and she can handle the harassment but what if it was a teen?
My advice? Stay away from Goodreads if you are an author that can’t take reading negative statements about your book. And if you think that Goodreads is 4Chan, then, well, maybe you should delete your Goodreads profile and stay the heck away.
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Disney-Hyperion wants to avoid bloggers altogether. I was cruising NetGalley yesterday and noticed this proviso at the end of every D-H book: ”Disney-Hyperion accepts requests from librarians, educators, booksellers and media professionals. We are not accepting blogger requests at this time.”
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If SOPA does pass, it means that some of your favorite websites will have the DNS routing service shut off. This means the name of the website (i.e., Dear Author or Amazon or Goodreads) will not bring up the website. However, that does not mean that those sites are dead or completely inaccessible. Users are compiling internet protocol addresses and will be spreading them around so that if SOPA does pass, you can still access your favorite sites (and yes, piracy will continue apace). Here’s a listing of IP addresses of some of the biggest media sites around such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the like.
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Speaking of SOPA, apparently there are a number of instances in which SOPA proponents have listed companies as supporters when those companies are not supporters (this is not true of GoDaddy who helped draft the legislation and received a special exemption in return). Petzl America posted a notice on its website stating the following:
To reiterate, Petzl America has not and does not support SOPA or the Protect IP Act. Nor do we support any legislation that would harm the freedom of the Internet. We are strongly against counterfeiting, especially, as in the case of counterfeited Petzl products, where the safety of the end user is concerned. By extension, we are for legislation that would help reduce the theft of intellectual property, production of counterfeit goods, and knowing sale of counterfeit goods. However, we believe that SOPA and Protect IP do not address these concerns in a constructive manner.
We hope that this statement helps to clarify our stance on SOPA, Protect IP, and the general issue of IP theft and counterfeiting. We sincerely apologize for any confusion surrounding these issues.
Nintendo, Sony, and EA sports have quietly dropped their support of SOPA. I do know that there are authors who have written in support of SOPA. One of the historical romance authors with the first name Karen (I get Ranney, Hawkins et al mixed up) wrote in support of it. Karen Ranney wrote in support of the bill. I have no idea if she understands the implications. I am going to assume that she does and still wants to allow support a law that would cripple the internet.
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DEALS
Freebies
- Ryan’s Return by Barbara Freethy * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Left Behind by Tim LaHaye * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Wild Angel by Miriam Minger * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Only Us: A Fool’s Gold Holiday by Susan Mallery * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- The Bachelor by Carly Phillips * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Deadly Desires by Ann Christopher * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Highland Captive by Mary McCall * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Haunted by Heather Graham * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S *This is a highly acclaimed YA author*
- Collision Course by Zoe Archer * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George * 2.99 * A | BN | K | S
Indie Must Buy
- Angelfall by Susan Ee * 0.99 * A | BN | K | S * This book is only $.99 and it is such a good story. I encourage you to buy it now for the $.99 price. I bought it a few months ago at $2.99. I would have paid 3x that to read it.
Send to Kindle
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:14:05
FYI, the link to the Goodreads thread about Tempest has an extra “http” in it and therefore doesn’t work.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:14:57
It’s been 24 hours since I first saw that and I still can’t get over the 4chan comparison. I just can’t.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:20:24
I’ve had more than one author want to “friend” me on goodreads. “Follow” at your own peril but I will not “friend” authors.
Goodreads is for readers.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:20:32
Karen Ranney – Digital Thieves Are Stealing From Me (The Hill, 13 December, 2011) Warm fuzzies!
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:22:45
I’m just a reader, and I avoid Goodreads because it seems to have become a mean-girls club. Which is a shame, because I really do love insightful reader reviews, but between people posting reviews under the wrong books and what often seems to be ganging up for personal reasons, I’ve lost all faith in it.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:29:55
@RunRabbit: I use Goodreads to keep a book inventory, which I have come to need now that I’m not 25 anymore and have no more room in my head for such clutter. Such an inventory actually serves my insurance purposes. Also, I can access it when I’m at the used bookstore and see what I have on my to-acquire list.
I don’t have any groups (that I know of) and I rarely participate in anything, much less brouhahas. None of these things touch me in any way, except for those friends whose updates show up in my activity stream.
Seriously, I’m a heavy, active user of Goodreads and I never once stumbled across the row in question.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:32:32
@RunRabbit: I have to agree Moriah Jovan. Goodreads has 6 million users. If there is a mean girl club, I don’t think it is overtaking Goodreads. You can really limit what you see and encounter on Goodreads.
@Maili: Aha! Thanks. I remembered it was a “Karen” but I couldn’t remember which one.
@Jia: I know! 4Chan. I think it’s the new Hitler.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:34:12
@Moriah Jovan: Which IMO is the best part of goodreads. I have a handful of “friends”. A few from goodreads, a few from autism-land, a few from other forums and that’s all. I follow a few more and they come and go depending on their reviews/compatibility.
You can join groups if you want. I have a few that due to my lack of participation I might as well remove.
But for me it’s an inventory list, discussion with a few friends, but that’s all. If I want to get into those kinds of discussions…. I just wade into autism-land…
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:35:08
Totally agree with you about ANGELFALL. I loved that book, and I probably wouldn’t have read it without the urging of Hasbookpushers. (Or when you bought it and tweeted a few lines.)
The whole Goodreads thing—I don’t think this has been the first time where an author has behaved badly over there. And I suspect it won’t be the last time either.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:50:25
I think everyone pretty much bust a gut laughing at the comparison of GR to 4Chan.
When there are so many users signed up to GR, it’s impossible for there not to be any kerfuffles — after all, it is the interwebs. But what happens on GR is rainbows and bunnies compared to other sites.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 10:56:44
I’m not surprised that the authors got involved because many authors take things too personally with reviews. But I am surprised that their agent joined the party as well.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:07:35
I keep reading that GoDaddy put in a personal exemption to SOPA, but no one has ever told me what it was. Does this mean that sites on GoDaddy can’t be taken down if SOPA passes? What rationale was given for this action? I’d really like more information about this.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:12:01
@becca: From idea lab:
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:12:38
@Moriah Jovan — I do the same. I love the inventory side of GR and that’s all I use it for as well. They are also one of the first to list new/upcoming releases and I love that too. When you read as much as I do, it’s hard to make a list and keep track, and GR is awesome for that. I try and write a paragraph or two “review” (usually just my immediate impressions after finishing the book) but that’s really only for me so I can look back and see what I thought of books I read. I’ve “fanned” several authors b/c of contests and such and I’m getting tired of being spammed by several. I dont’ even have the urge to join groups or message boards primarily b/c of the dramas and brouhahas that seem to crop up more and more lately. Life’s too short to get involved in internet flame wars, however, it’s kinda fun reading them I do admit ;)
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:15:08
@Jane: @Maili: And, to make it even better, Ranney’s opinion piece ran two days before the markup session of the House Committee discussing the bill (it was tabled until later this month), and it’s linked at the official Judiciary Committee website.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:19:52
This is a flippant comment, I know, but given how many Spanish-speakers there are in the US how did a proposed piece of legislation end up with an acronym meaning “SOUP”?
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:38:23
What’s really interesting (to me, anyway), is that the reviewer never really takes a shot at the original author. She’s clearly and justifiably angry to see another example of a social discourse that equates feminism with misandry, which in turn disempowers and devalues the former. Certainly some of the responses below were a bit more personal, but not the review itself. It seems to me that the second author is the one who took away from a discussion around a pervasive social issue to a personal one.
Sigh. Just as I believe that all human beings should be required to take a CPR course, a course on how to do your taxes and on how change a flat tire, I also truly believe everyone should be forced to sit through a course in the Social Sciences or Humanities at some point in their lives.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:40:05
@erinf1: You know what I’ve found myself doing is rating a book immediately after finishing and then going back a week or so later to see if I still remember it. There’ve been many, MANY technically good (even excellent) books I’ve read lately that I could not remember I’d read. In all cases, the titles and the cover art didn’t stick in my mind.
But I knew it was bad when, a week after I’d finished reading a book Romancelandia went kookoo over (and I was equally impressed), someone referenced that book with the title and the cover and I thought, “Oh, that looks awesome. I’ll get that…” only to find I’d already read it! And not that long ago!
I honestly don’t know whether it’s me or the books, but I ran across a title on my “to-read” shelf last night I knew I’d read several years ago. I even had a sneaking suspicion of the storyline. I took a quick glance at the summary and remembered not only that I liked it, but what I didn’t like about it, and most of the details. So I gave it a higher grade than I normally would’ve because, flawed though it was (and there were several things that irritated me), here I am, remembering it (fondly) three years later when I can’t remember that well-written book I read last week.
I will say this: If the title of a romance and its cover are similar to everything else on the shelf, I will NOT remember it.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:47:01
@Laura Vivanco:
I’m not American, but I had the same reaction you did. I glanced over that paragraph and the capital letters were screaming at me. It’s desperately cold and rainy where I live today and I’m going to be fantasizing about nice bowl Carrot Ginger, or Smoky Squash or Porcini and Celeriac all day…. mmmm.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 11:55:37
I’m starting to feel like people who compared GR to 4chan have never actually BEEN on 4chan, if you get my drift. There are things on 4chan I wish I never stumbled across because now I can’t unremember them and that is a terrible thing.
With that said, I love GR and have never noticed or been part of an authorial spat. I just don’t get it. Why is it so hard for authors to NOT reply to reviews they disagree with? DON’T. GO. THERE. It’s the equivalent of sidling next to a madly buzzing honeycomb and slicing off a piece.
GRR.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 12:03:51
@Moriah Jovan: I forget books, too! Even, as you say, books that were quite good. I started out using GR just to keep track of books I’d read, using the stars to remind myself of which authors to go back to, and which to avoid. I found that I was forgetting so much that I had to start writing reviews, mostly as notes to myself, though.
On the up side, when you completely forget a book, it means potentially a fun re-read, and money saved!
Jan 04, 2012 @ 12:04:38
Thank goodness I’ve only seen the good side of Goodreads, and even now it is one of my favorite sites to visit. I use it mainly to find books and keep track of books I read. I do write some reviews and they’re really for my own self. I don’t do much connecting otherwise. I don’t really read reviews until after I’ve read a book because I’m afraid of spoilers. Off topic – but I cringe at overly-detailed tags on top of reviews some of which give everything away. Back on topic – I think it’s childish to start online attacks based on book reviews/opinions. Sheesh. Sadly, I don’t think it’ll be the last time we see a fiasco like this. For me, I just avoid and stick to the things I love about the site :)
Jan 04, 2012 @ 12:26:56
GR = 4Chan. Wow. I can’t even…..
Jan 04, 2012 @ 13:00:38
Piracy is Ranney’s cause. She posts quite a bit about it and makes a big effort to track down pirates and report them. Can’t blame her for that, but, damn…supporting SOPA? Really?
How old is Lauren DeStefano? If that’s her picture she looks really young. Not that that’s any excuse. A published author should be more mature and less stupid. 4chan, people. Jesus Fucking Christ.
Seriously authors, if you can’t handle seeing anything that’s even the slightest bit critical of your or your fellow authors’ work then you need to stay out of readers’ spaces.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 13:40:46
@RunRabbit: Let me put it this way: I love flame wars, flame outs, dramatic flounces and the like and I’m a fairly active Goodreads user (when I’m reading and not resurrecting Sim City 4…) with 190 friends. Despite all that, I’ve not only never been part of a flame war, I also never even hear about these kerfluffles until the day after.
If I miss these things despite being someone who’d thoroughly enjoy getting trolled, I’m sure normal readers can avoid these things entirely.
And the Goodreads = 4chan comparison makes my brain hurt. Last I checked Goodreads wasn’t a hotbed of anal rape jokes, but maybe I run with different circles than she does.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 13:55:41
Here’s DeStefano’s defense/explanation of her comparison of GR to 4chan. And she’s a 2007 college graduate, so unless she was a Mature Student, she’s presumably in her mid-20s.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:03:59
I had to go look up 4Chan on Wikipedia because I’d never heard of it and was afraid to click the 4Chan link. I gather from Wiki that 4Chan among other things, is a place to exchange child pornography. HOW can Goodreads compare to that?
PS I wish I could go back to my earlier state of ignorance re. 4Chan now. There are things I’m truly better off not knowing.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:34:54
Thank you for posting your review and alerting me to that segment of dialogue. I probably would have bought both these novels (Dan’s was marked on my to-read list until about five minutes ago, and I had long been planning on checking out Tempest). Now I will not.
This sort of thing is -exactly- the subtle type of propaganda that perverts the image of feminism, which was a movement for equality between the sexes. This is why people get a wrong idea that feminists must be man-hating lesbians: books like this. I won’t even get into the ‘choosing to be gay’ thing, or the subsequent defense of all this by Dan. It is damned troubling, plain and simple.
I am sure (or hopeful?) that Julie Cross didn’t write that character with some agenda, but it worries me even knowing this sentiment made it into print, much less that it was written by another woman.
As for the other issue.
Regarding authors: it’s common sense that you do not reply to reviews (unless someone @’s you on twitter, in which case they seem to be asking for an acknowledgment of some sort– and then I usually just say ‘thanks for reading’ or some such). I have a debut YA coming out this year, and if I hadn’t known this fundamental truth of author conduct already due to spending way too much time on the internet and having some modicum of perception, I still would’ve heard it from my editor.
An author writes the best possible book he or she can. If this author is lucky enough to get published, then marketers will sink money into shaping pre-book expectations in a way that will induce people to give the book a read. After it’s out? The readers own it. Their opinions shape the consensus, and the team behind the book is out of the equation. Every single review represents someone’s response to a novel. Any person who sunk minutes or hours of their lives into reading a book has the total right to express their opinion of it, or their visceral gut reaction, however they choose to express it. They’ve paid for it with their time.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:39:19
And here is another author fail. http://www.goodreads.com/user_status/show/10254573?page=1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=comment_instant
Just. Ugh. I use Goodread’s to keep track of books, mostly. I haven’t used it as a social network, and I honestly doubt I will.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:50:30
Jane: All UR reviews R belong to us.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:51:12
Sigh, when authors attack, honestly, yes rant and vent, just not where people can see.
And when I read SOPA I read is as trash as that is what sopa means in my language, lol
Jan 04, 2012 @ 14:59:49
The bit about Disney-Hyperion is a bit baffling. Do they think all those groups are mutually exclusive? I’m a librarian, but I’m also a blogger, and I am one of many librarians who do their best to blog about everything they read.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 15:04:08
@blodeuedd: *giggles* I always thought it properly named, since the idea stinks.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 15:17:03
@Janine: Me, too. I remember hearing about 4chan a few years ago when Time included moot in their influential people list but then mostly forgot about it. Where do people find so much time to troll?? I’m glad when I have a break or two to check out fave sites like DA. Never find enough time to keep up with my GR account either so I miss the flame-ups except what’s mentioned here.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 15:33:53
@Sunita: I’m afraid that if an author is so sensitive that they find a negative review to be far worse than some of the stuff on 4chan, I really don’t think they should be reading reviews.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 16:04:44
I’m on GR with an author account. Except, I approach GR almost entirely as a reader. My book has a whopping 2 or 3 reviews which I’ve made a point of ignoring, because anything short of a glowing review where the writer describes me as a literary goddess will hurt my fee-fees. (Seriously. I’m pathetic that way.) So I don’t read reviews. Easy-peasy, no angst.
Initially, when I set up the account–because it’s what authors are supposed to do for promotion, networking, or so I was told–I didn’t see the point. Then I started posting my (sometimes harsh) reviews of the books I read. Besides being a fab way for me to track my reading habits (because my memory, she no worky so good), the act of writing my impressions of a book functions as a study of what does and doesn’t work in fiction. This in turn helps inform my own writing.
I write reviews for an audience of one–Me. I don’t do much with groups. As someone noted up thread, there are much more bellicose places on the web. (Some of the political sites I frequent, for instance.)
GR is indeed for readers. If an author can’t handle the criticism, he/she should go elsewhere.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 16:25:26
Wow. That beggar ‘book’ uploader really has some nerve. You think the money will go to The Human Fund: Money for People?
Jan 04, 2012 @ 16:47:55
@Mikaela: Good grief.
Except that’s exactly what Leigh Fallon is doing in that email.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 17:31:11
@Jia: Oh I totally agree. I found it kind of stunning that she kept on with the comparison even after the ridiculousness had been pointed out by so many people.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 17:41:28
I’ve been following the author drama over at Goodreads much of today, and it blows my mind.
Jamie McGuire of Beautiful Disaster did a similar blog last month attacking a couple 1 star reviews that simply didn’t ‘get it’, which sadly rallied many of her fangrrls to attack the 1-star reviews on Goodreads. One reviewer went as far as removing her review, but the other has been fighting them off and deleting the most asinine and hateful comments from the fans. Did the author ask her fans to do this? Well, not directly, but she certainly did a great job of creating a fangrrl mob with her own attack post.
“I wonder about some reviewers that point down from their sweet solid gold stool they’ve been awarded from the School of Life. ”
and
“while you’re on your high horse expressing in all caps about how unrealistic these situations are, how stupid the characters are, how ridiculous the fans are for high ratings, and how evil I am for glorifying a dysfunctional relationship–the vitriol you spew in your review says more about you than they do about the book.”
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/1822438-the-breaking-straw
For the record, I liked the book but I will not be tempted to buy any book by any author who can’t respect all reviews and opinions of their work.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 18:24:27
@karlynp: Ugh I have a review of this book ready to go for tomorrow. I might have to link this crap.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 18:44:10
I want to thank Susan Ee for working out how to sell her book to me in Australia. As a non-kindle user I need an epub version and Barnes & Noble don’t sell here. I emailed Susan and she sold Angelfall to me directly. I am looking forward to reading it now.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 21:25:23
@Merrian That is some serious customer service and frankly after all the bad authorial behavior, it’s great to hear some good things going on between the author and the reader.
Jan 04, 2012 @ 23:20:19
I should also add my thanks to Martha Wells. I contacted her last week about her book ‘Wheel of the Infinite’ after reading a recommendation in a comments thread here on DA (The heroine is 45 years a woman of colour and led a failed coup that caused many deaths in response to a false prophecy. Now she needs to save the world. It is a fantasy so more plot than romance but there is a lovely romance between her and a lone swordsman). Again the e-book was available on Amazon and B&N. Martha has now put the book up on lulu.com so I was able to buy it. http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=0&fSearch=martha+wells
Jan 04, 2012 @ 23:27:27
@Merrian: That makes me doubly glad that I just purchased the book. That’s just awesome customer service!
I love Goodreads. I use it to track my books, organize them in some groups, and look when I’m at the UBS for some of the 200 books on my wishlist. There’s no way I can remember them all.
Plus it’s nice to use it to find other books I may like.
I visit quite frequently on my phone, and probably once a day on the computer. I never, ever come across the crazy things that happen – I usually don’t hear about them until they’re posted here at DA and then I just roll my eyes, usually add another author to my ‘not interested’ shelf on Goodreads and go back to reading.
Thanks, Jane, for the deals again!
Jan 05, 2012 @ 00:29:42
It’s too bad Dan Krokos is showing himself to be a d-bag, because when I first saw his query on Query Shark, I totally wanted to read the book. Now I won’t be reading any of his books. *sigh*
Here’s another interesting link of all the ding dong authors who flamed the reviewer via Twitter:
http://bookphilia.tumblr.com/post/15231500785/goodreads-reviewers-attacked-by-authors
Someone else posted this link in the responses, but I’m going to post it again because it’s hilarious:
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/870544-did-someone-pee-in-your-review-pool#comment_42733893
“For authors, reading their own negative reviews or the negative comments on their person from people who have never met them IS worse than scrolling through 4chan. If I had to choose between 8 hours of scrolling through 4chan or 8 hours of scrolling through people saying things that are detrimental to me, I’d choose 4chan.”
I’m dying of laughter over here. How about this – don’t go on 4chan and don’t read reviews, negative or positive! It’s that simple…
Jan 05, 2012 @ 03:08:25
First visit on 4chan : saw disgusting pictures of naked children . How is that comparable to GR???
Jan 05, 2012 @ 07:21:50
@Junne my guess is that Lauren DeStefano has never been to 4chan.
Jan 05, 2012 @ 17:35:47
@Moriah Jovan: I have to agree, that it seems if a member doesn’t indescriminately accept or give out any and all friends request it is fairly easy to really only get to read the content you want.
There’s a small core group of reviewers with their own review sites I follow, but I also discuss with old friends from LJ, which is particular fun. I have to admit that I was totally honoured to be friended by some favourite authors of mine – but we had contact via LJ (or the BVC blog) before, so it’s not as if they stalked me.
I still review their books when I read them and have never had a negative problem yet – occasionally some explanations in more detail about what was meant, but no one ever asked me to change a review or anything. I personally like getting additional in-depth background on my reviews from the author.
If I have a personal emotional problem with a trope or whatever, I say that and so far that seems to have been enough. I may have been lucky to never have had to give a one star review to one of those authors, though. Heh.
But then I usually only haunt auto-buy author sites in the first place – there is only so much time to be spent on the internet if I also want to read during the day ^^. And the books I like that fit someones request for recommendations I tend to handsale/bookpush a lot ^^
Also Martha Wells for the win! You can still get free short stories from her and probably also The Element of Fire novel free at Feedbooks. ALL her stuff is good, my favourites are The Wheel of the Infinite and The Death of the Necromancer, though.
Jan 05, 2012 @ 20:22:59
Wild Angel by Miriam Minger is AWESOME. I would highly recommend it while it is free.
A Masochistic Open Letter To Book Reviewers: Be Mean To Me, Please! - Olivia Waite
Jan 06, 2012 @ 17:39:47
[...] scathing, or authors getting butthurt over other authors’ bad reviews on Goodreads, or authors comparing Goodreads to 4chan (to agree with Dear Author: HAHAHAHAHA) … and then I remember [...]
B
Jan 07, 2012 @ 04:10:21
[...] DA 1 | DA 2 | DA 3 | DA 4 | RT 1 | RT [...]
Authors in the Red Corner, and Reviewers in the Blue Corner | The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter
Jan 07, 2012 @ 13:49:49
[...] Jane from Dear Author wrote an amusing piece about it in her Thursday News post: http://dearauthor.com/features/industry-news/wednesday-links-and-deals-ip-listing-of-your-fave-sites… [...]
Jan 08, 2012 @ 17:28:04
Hey – Lauren here. I wanted to clarify that the comment in question was taken out of context and had NOTHING to do with the Tempest review, or any review, and I’ve been spending the last two days tracking down any mention of this and trying to assure my readers that I in no way meant to bully or attack or be a part of this in any way. If you’re so inclined, please read what I’ve said here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show.html?id=248683171&page=5#comment_42890096
Thanks for reading, and all best,
~Lauren
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:02:09
@Lauren DeStefano We’ve read your original comparison between 4chan and goodreads and your subsequent explanation. I don’t know that anyone thought that that was a bullying comment but that it was the most ridiculous comment ever made. Have you even ever been to 4chan?
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:15:04
@Jane:
Hi Jane,
I have. Actually, I’ve been the unfortunate recipient of some pranks where my friends link me to the site with the promise of things like puppies.
If you want to spend a ridiculous amount of time scrolling down to check my twitter feed, you’ll be able to see that my comments were a part of a conversation. Everyone else deleted their comments and mine was left sort of swinging on the breeze. In context, what I was saying was that, for readers reading their own negative reviews can give a feeling of “MY EYES MY EYES” that is similar to scrolling through images on 4chan. I was NOT saying that goodreads is like that place at all. The comment was meant to be a ridiculous comparison, like “Hanging out with my Aunt Gassy Gerta is like chewing glass.”
I had NO intention of insulting the goodreads community whatsoever and would never have imagined my comment would become a source of infamy. I adore my readers and it bothers me to think that even one reader would think otherwise as a result of this.
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:18:32
@Las:
Hi Las,
It bothers me to know my comment was taken so out of context. I was never intending to bash readers or goodreads at all. Please take a second to read my explanation here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show.html?id=248683171&page=5#comment_42890096
I love love love my readers and it hurts my heart to know I was lumped in with this mess. (PS, since you asked, I’m 27).
~Lauren DeStefano
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:20:41
@Jia:
Hi Jia,
My 4chan comment was taken utterly out of context and I’ve been doing all I can to clarify that I was never intending to bash readers or goodreads at all. Please take a second to read my explanation here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show.html?id=248683171&page=5#comment_42890096
~Lauren DeStefano
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:22:19
@Lou:
Hi Lou,
It upsets me to know my 4chan comment was taken so out of context. I was never intending to bash readers or goodreads at all. Please take a second to read my explanation here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show.html?id=248683171&page=5#comment_42890096
~Lauren
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:23:23
@Fiona Shin:
Hi Fiona,
It bothers me to know my comment was taken so out of context. I was never intending to bash readers or goodreads at all. Please take a second to read my explanation here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show.html?id=248683171&page=5#comment_42890096
~Lauren
(Also, many apologies to the site owner for my repeated comments here)
Jan 08, 2012 @ 18:25:55
@Sunita:
Hi Sunita,
Thanks for posting my explanation.
Best,
~Lauren
Jan 08, 2012 @ 20:36:49
@Lauren DeStefano:
I don’t think most readers thought your comments had anything to do with the Tempest review. That whole hashtag was a slam against a reader community. You really cannot absolve yourself of any culpability–you wrote what you wrote. It wasn’t funny, nor was it an apt comparison, and, frankly, the fact that you deleted it says a lot. I totally get the context it was written in, and it was malicious.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:08:06
About SOPA: author Rowena Cherry in her GR group against piracy endorses it completely:
“The House Judiciary Committee has and will continue to work with groups to improve this bill and ensure that it targets the problem of rogue websites. Unfortunately, there are some critics of this legislation who are not serious about helping to protect America’s intellectual property. That’s because they’ve made large profits by working with and promoting rogue sites to U.S. consumers.”
Thanks to Ms Cherry, today I learnt Dear Author works with or promotes rogue sites, as you do not support SOPA. Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/718771-stop-online-piracy-act
Jan 09, 2012 @ 19:00:36
@Junne: I’m not sure if you are kidding me or not. Can you expand on this?
Jan 10, 2012 @ 02:53:48
@Jane:
I am certainly not kidding. I quoted exactly what Ms Cherry said.
What part did you not get?
Jan 10, 2012 @ 07:11:14
@Junne Well, I’m sure you didn’t mean to write something libelous about Dear Author as accusing us of working “with or promotes rogue sites” would be an untrue factual assertion which could harm the reputation of the blog.
Yes, I, personally do not support SOPA. I believe that the DNS filtering that can come about with no due process can adversely affect the way that the internet functions. I am not the only one. The list of anti SOPA supporters include Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Twitter, AOL, Etsy, EBay, ICanHazCheeseburger, Wikipedia. Paul Ryan (R-WI) was once a support of supporter and has now withdrawn his support.
In the NYTtimes, an editorial pointed out:
Simply because one does not support a law does not mean that one supports what the law ostensibly attempts to address. I would hope that you could accept difference in policy difference. In this instance, I believe that SOPA is overbroad, suborns due process, and would unduly inhibit the internet. You might believe differently but believing differently shouldn’t result in you throwing around incendiary and defamatory accusations.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 07:30:36
@Jane:
Of course not! What I meant to say was that Ms Cherry gave the impression through her quote that every website who disagrees with SOPA must somehow support piracy. So, as you disagree with SOPA, it’s as if she accuses DA of being a rogue website, which I find mind-boggling. My comment was meant to show that her reasoning is fallacious and leads to ridiculous conclusions like this one.
Also, the “Today I learned” bit was supposed to be ironic.
Sorry for the ambiguity. Is that more clear? When I translated it from french to english in my head, seemed clear enough :(
Jan 10, 2012 @ 08:01:26
@Junne Yes, it is more clear. I am sorry. I thought you were accusing us of something and I didn’t understand it. Thank you for clarifying. Ms Cherry is wrong, of course, but I am afraid she wouldn’t be interested in hearing the other side.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 08:15:54
In a way, I understand her, because if I was an author who has seen her books pirated everywhere, I would probably pretty much endorse anything that can prevent this. It’s just that SOPA, if passed, will be a major censorship tool.
Stumbling Over Chaos :: Linkity for a new year
Jan 10, 2012 @ 19:06:08
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