tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post6980184004079535700..comments2023-09-29T05:32:04.308-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: On Bad Behavior and Author Tantrums: Why It's Bad for the Indie Writer Community (or I Bet You Think This Post Is About You) (an IWSG post)Andrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-63152157552283761832015-05-07T19:24:31.457-07:002015-05-07T19:24:31.457-07:00Oh, and Pat, as long as your sister keeps it up, I...Oh, and Pat, as long as your sister keeps it up, I will not stop talking about this. The fact that she is now spreading herself across my goodreads stuff is just a proxy for you. You know it, and I know it.<br /><br />Oh, and I see that Amazon has again pulled your reviews. If nothing else tells you anything, that ought to.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-8963259939872693922015-05-07T18:11:25.628-07:002015-05-07T18:11:25.628-07:00Cindy: That's the funniest joke I've heard...Cindy: That's the funniest joke I've heard all day. And it's just proof that you, also, have no clue as to what you're talking about. That you believe Pat about anything is proof of a deep gullibility.<br /><br />Just to be clear, Kingston is his own person.<br /><br />Unlike Pat, I do not operate under multiple aliases so that I can manipulate things.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-17101762751166851932015-05-07T17:34:21.568-07:002015-05-07T17:34:21.568-07:00Well Andrew, You are the one who has lied. You lie...Well Andrew, You are the one who has lied. You lied to Patrick about that Knox Kingston who is really a sock puppet that reviews his own books and he's reviewed a lot of yours too. BUT...You will be glad to know I'm not going to talk about it anymore on any blog. I'm done with it. You are one of those people who will never admit they are wrong about anything. I am not checking back on your blog ever again so don't bother responding. Good luck feeding this monster. Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922596724107742478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-8208802759111548732015-05-07T16:58:37.759-07:002015-05-07T16:58:37.759-07:00Cindy: Actually, with the exception of two reviews...Cindy: Actually, with the exception of two reviews for House, none of the reviews for it came from people I knew or knew well at the time. I came to know some of them AFTER. Many of the reviews for Tiberius are from people I don't know along with the ratings on goodreads. I don't seek out friends to give me good reviews.<br />Period.<br /><br />There is nothing professional or not in giving reviews to people you know. It is part of the practice in publishing, in fact, or do you think those authors they get blurbs from for books are not acquainted with which other? That's a ridiculous assertion.<br /><br />By the way, the IWM group had already been closed out at the end of last year. If you notice, until Pat posted there to call me names over the Lyon's review, there had been no post since December. That was on purpose. The group was NOT active. Pat chose to post on IWM because he was trying to hit MY audience, because he knew that none of the people he wanted to slam me in front of read his blog.<br /><br />Now, do you see me over in the comments on his blog going on and on about this or calling him names. (Yes, I commented on one post in April, probably ill-advised, but it was in the middle of his, "I never did that, oh, no, I did but it's justified," and, yes, I was pissed. Which I still am, because HE WON'T STOP.<br /><br />I have over 300 stored comments from him calling me names. <br /><br />By the way, back when I first started receiving review requests, I did attempt talking to the authors when I knew the review was going to bad. I learned very quickly that, on the whole, that was a worthless endeavor. It's better to just do the review, because the other option is to sit on the review and how is that fair to the people who are going to spend money on it? It's not. <br /><br />So, if you've put your stuff out in the public, it is asking to be judged. Period. Friend or foe or whatever. The work, though, is asking to be judged. For instance, I think Orson Scott Card is a pretty worthless human, but I wouldn't give Ender's Game a bad review because of how I feel about him. And I think very highly of John Scalzi, but I didn't much like Old Man's War. Whether the person is your friend DOESN'T matter.<br /><br />Books are NOT babies.<br /><br />so, as to when all this will end, ask Pat. He is the one who keeps taking this to places where it shouldn't be. Seriously, I was finished until he got his sister to go over and start 1-starring everything I've published. He keeps escalating the situation. <br /><br />And, just to be clear, the issue of honest reviews is NOT something I am only now talking about because of Pat. This has, kind of, been my platform for YEARS. Look back through my posts and see how many times I've done posts on this subject. I'm sure I will do more posts on this subject in the future.<br /><br />But, right now, there is a guy who is trying to bully me and extort me to pull down a review because he doesn't happen to agree with it. If you need it, I can pull the quote for you. Pat needs to stop raging all over the Internet about me and, actually, telling falsehoods and misrepresenting things. So do you. I've seen the things you've said about me, too, and whether I am fit to be around kids and, honestly, you are the close to the last one who should be saying anything about this.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-86975047720058735372015-05-07T16:37:36.851-07:002015-05-07T16:37:36.851-07:00Pat: I didn't call attention to anything. I ha...Pat: I didn't call attention to anything. I have not contacted Amazon about any reviews, so that's got to be all on you, especially since they pulled your sisters' phony reviews from that book, too. I was quite surprised to see the review missing, in fact. As I said, seeing that they have deleted so many of your other comments (especially the ones calling people idiots), I can only assume that Amazon is now watching you.<br /><br />Also, Tony was not referring to the review of your book when he said that. Maybe try reading.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-42694317169703040482015-05-07T16:17:52.404-07:002015-05-07T16:17:52.404-07:00"Pat: So, first, you accuse me of being respo..."Pat: So, first, you accuse me of being responsible for your missing review, then you tell me you chose for it to go missing? Only one of those things can be the truth."<br /><br />I didn't say I chose for it to go missing. I was referring to your ridiculous assertion that Amazon forced me to change my name. And you made it pretty obvious in the last paragraph of your post that you're responsible for having that review pulled. Why else would they care about a review from 2011 unless someone called attention to it?PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-60108351947343391392015-05-07T16:16:58.239-07:002015-05-07T16:16:58.239-07:00I have been trying not to comment on this, but I j...I have been trying not to comment on this, but I just have to ask…when is the madness going to stop? <br /><br />First of all, it’s unprofessional to review an author that is an associate/friend. Even if it’s a good review, it’s still not professional. That way you don’t end up with problems like this one or others saying that the review came from a friend. It’s also not professional to comment on reviews either, but if the review is just a revenge review then what difference does it make if Patrick comments on it because being professional is out the window at that point. Also I happened to notice a successful Indie author commenting on reviews, not only on Amazon, but on Goodreads. On both good and bad reviews. His name is Hugh Howey. <br /><br />Anyway, by posting this you are keeping the ugliness going. Patrick is no angel either, but I tend to agree with him on this issue. I have a writing group and without any prompting to sway them I asked the question is it okay to give bad reviews to friends. I didn’t tell them the situation here at all. They all agreed that NO it would be wrong to do. There was no way your Indie Monthly group was not going to go down in flames after that. How could you not realize what would happen? It’s just not logical to think that any author is going to be okay with a bad review posted by a friend for all the public to see. Writers put a lot of time into their books. I mean…a book is like their baby to most authors. Maybe some writers would not admit that, but when it comes down to it we’re all human. <br /><br />If an author is a friend, why not just tell them in private? Why not give them good advice so perhaps they can fix it? Books can be fixed even after they are published. This is called being a friend. Of course, you’re not going to agree, but you saw the end result. It was inevitable that someone would retaliate and it will probably happen again. <br /><br />The thing about you (as far as I can tell) is that you’ve never received a real bad review and a lot of your reviews are from friends and blog buddies. I don’t think any of them are from people you don’t know. So you don’t really know what it’s like to get a real bad review. These ones from Patrick and his sister don’t count. Why don’t you do a giveaway at Library Thing and get some real reviews from readers rather than playing it safe? Put yourself out there rather than staying perched on your thrown of judgement.<br /><br />Lastly, YOU ALL need to remove those 1 star reviews and stop talking about this mess! <br />Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07922596724107742478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-28493542727789004682015-05-07T15:03:00.602-07:002015-05-07T15:03:00.602-07:00Pat: So, first, you accuse me of being responsible...Pat: So, first, you accuse me of being responsible for your missing review, then you tell me you chose for it to go missing? Only one of those things can be the truth.<br /><br />And, Pat, I am not the one who explodes if someone says they don't like what I've written. I just have an objection to pointless name-calling. So learn to actually participate in discourse without name-calling, and we can have a conversation. However, "You're just an idiot with half a brain" is not conversation.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-27416072925475344592015-05-07T15:00:13.972-07:002015-05-07T15:00:13.972-07:00As I said, Pat, this post is not about you. Neithe...As I said, Pat, this post is not about you. Neither was the last. Stop thinking so highly of yourself.<br /><br />As for my attitudes as a teacher, you're right. If a student in my class was saying to another student, "Well, you're just stupid and if you had half a brain, you'd see that," I'd tell that student to stop, because that's the kind of evil I am. And, if that student continued, I'd send that student to the office, because that's the kind of small-minded dictator I am.<br /><br />If however, the student said, "Well, I didn't like this particular story by Pat," I would say, "Really? Why not? Give me the reasons you didn't like it." Or if a student said, "I really loved this story by Andrew," I would say, "Really? Why is that. Tell me why you liked it." Because that's the kind of thing I do.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-69428605387083569032015-05-07T14:56:06.860-07:002015-05-07T14:56:06.860-07:00And now we're back to deleting comments. Hone...And now we're back to deleting comments. Honestly you have the thinnest skin of anyone I know.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-11510635753225469682015-05-07T13:58:19.390-07:002015-05-07T13:58:19.390-07:004 or 5 posts? Learn to count, buddy. You're ...4 or 5 posts? Learn to count, buddy. You're on post 5 now. Anyway, my "tantrum" didn't contain any bad language or anything like that. If you had actually read it and processed it, you would have learned something about literature. Such as that a book written like a memoir can be more "omniscient." I even recommended some books for you to read. But you'd rather just run back here to lie and delete comments. Pretty bad attitude for a teacher. Your classroom must be a lot of fun.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-26551986640349492002015-05-07T13:55:25.809-07:002015-05-07T13:55:25.809-07:00Nobody "made" me do anything. Where do ...Nobody "made" me do anything. Where do you come up with these paranoid theories about Amazon and I making each other do things? One minute I'm having Amazon pull Knox Kingston's comments and the next they're having me change my name and pulling reviews.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-17166467268805156192015-05-07T13:30:12.403-07:002015-05-07T13:30:12.403-07:00Pat: Also, this post was not directed at you or re...Pat: Also, this post was not directed at you or really about you (hence the title). This post was an answer to Tony's question. Period. It's not my fault that you serve as such a good example for what I'm talking about. Also, you have an odd idea of what tantrum means considering you have actually written 4 or 5 posts now specifically talking about what a horrible person I am AND talked about me on FB AND flamed me on goodreads AND attacked me on Amazon AND spent a month spamming my blog with insults. Not conversation, insults. Which is why they are invisible (nothing has been deleted). I've written a total of one post about you, two if you want to count the review of your book as being about you since you seem to consider your books an extension of your actual flesh. I have not spoken about you publicly anywhere but my own blog, which is my space. I have not retaliated against your work nor have I prompted people to go and attack your work. So...<br />Pat=tantrum<br />Andrew=pointing out Pat's tantrum<br />Because people should be aware of authors who have tantrums any time something negative gets said about their books.<br /><br />ABftS: Exactly. Well said. There's not even anything I can say to elaborate on it.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-63741466145336367042015-05-07T13:18:33.615-07:002015-05-07T13:18:33.615-07:00Doreen: I think pointing out a lack of editing is ...Doreen: I think pointing out a lack of editing is the easiest of all negative things to say. A writer can tell a great story without actually having the technical skills to put it together well. I always differentiate that point.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-90094496021922790822015-05-07T13:13:20.253-07:002015-05-07T13:13:20.253-07:00Pat: Laugh all you want, buddy, but I had nothing ...Pat: Laugh all you want, buddy, but I had nothing to do with your disappearing review(s). That was all Amazon and, I'm sure, based on your behavior in all of this. It's not the only thing of yours they've deleted. I notice they also made you get rid of the "BJ" handle and go by one of your author names.<br /><br />At any rate, I'm glad your review of House is back; it's like an old friend and this point and, truthfully, one of my favorite reviews.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-19012047499917196882015-05-07T13:10:05.441-07:002015-05-07T13:10:05.441-07:00Tamara: I think it is what the author is saying; s...Tamara: I think it is what the author is saying; some authors just don't believe that or understand it. The problem is that they want your "honest" opinion to be that the book is great. So, sure, I get that there are a lot of authors out there that, to put it bluntly, don't have their shit together, but, then, it's not our responsibility, nor should we even want to, to coddle them so they don't get their little feelings hurt.<br /><br />As for the disabled person:<br />1. There are always exceptions.<br />2. But, if the person was able to get it together enough to self-publish a book, s/he should be able to get it together enough to get some help in making sure it's ready to go out to the market.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-31225776098123691012015-05-07T12:49:42.614-07:002015-05-07T12:49:42.614-07:00I am pretty much an expert in the recipient of vic...I am pretty much an expert in the recipient of vicious one star reviews field, based on personal attack and having nothing to do with the book. My advice and my publishers advice- Do not respond to any negative review, ever. Readers are not stupid and can immediately spot a personal attack.<br />As far as reviewing books. I will read any book and I will review it if I have something positive to say about the book and or the writing. If the book hasn't been professionally edited or is just horrible in my opinion I will decline to do the review.Doreen McGettiganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11691803968607905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-68472531611979447342015-05-07T10:29:28.268-07:002015-05-07T10:29:28.268-07:00Pat - that comment wasn't directed at you. It&...Pat - that comment wasn't directed at you. It's directed at everyone, which is why I said it's for anyone reading this. I know way too many authors that get hung up over bad reviews like it's the end of the world, and then in turn, make the claim that you shouldn't ever leave a bad (honest) review for Indie authors, like their feelings are somehow more important than those of other artists who we criticize on a daily basis. A part of being an author is realizing that no matter what you write, there will always be people that don't like it. Sometimes it's just better to accept that and move on than to argue and dwell.<br /><br />That's all I'm saying, and it's not aimed directly at you like some kind of attack. Believe it or not, not everyone is out to get you.A Beer for the Showerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029139745335325356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-77194195976868954072015-05-07T08:41:11.551-07:002015-05-07T08:41:11.551-07:00Well said, but I still don't feel comfortable ...Well said, but I still don't feel comfortable being negative with authors in my blogging circles. They haven't removed themselves from my sympathy. Also, the books in question belonged to genres that I don't typically read, therefore, chances were I was going to have a harder time "getting into them", if you know what I mean.<br /><br />Now there was a book I bought for research that turned out to be a real nightmare. It took less than 20 minutes to finish and read like an unedited journal. That's worth a negative review, but guess what? The topic was bullying and it was written by someone with a learning disability. How ironic. I had the same thought as you: if someone puts something out there for sale, using a disability to excuse the bad quality of the product (which they actually did in the acknowledgments!) doesn't cut it. Could I compose a constructive criticism of this book that didn't come off as being a bully? Probably. Do I want my name associated with this (potential) minefield? Not really.<br /><br />"By publishing a book, the author is saying, "This is ready. I can take it." That's what an author should be saying, but according to your own article here, that's not the case with the tantrum-throwing ones. <br /><br />In any case, I do commend you for lobbying for honest reviews and regret that you have to deal with the petty payback described in this blog. Tamara Narayanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16343966432075424106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-41934123119007401922015-05-07T08:23:21.369-07:002015-05-07T08:23:21.369-07:00Beer, I hardly think when someone accuses you of &...Beer, I hardly think when someone accuses you of "middle school problems" and you explain why the "problems" indicated are not actually problems counts as a "tantrum." I'd say writing 5 blog entries because you're mad at someone is a lot closer to a tantrum.<br /><br />This post will self-destruct as soon as Andrew Leon deletes it...and then says he doesn't delete comments.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-10806903117275218882015-05-07T08:21:09.999-07:002015-05-07T08:21:09.999-07:00Andrew, you should realize I keep copies of my rev...Andrew, you should realize I keep copies of my reviews. LOL.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-83079838065829491242015-05-07T08:07:35.985-07:002015-05-07T08:07:35.985-07:00You probably already know what I think about this,...You probably already know what I think about this, so what I say is not for you, but anyone else reading this.<br /><br />When you, as an author, publish your work - be it through self publishing, or a small publisher, or through a Big Six publisher that releases millions of books - it is now officially out into the world to be judged. And you have no right to complain whatsoever when people judge it. If you don't want it judged, then write it for yourself and shove it in a closet. You have the same satisfaction without any of the feedback.<br /><br />Also, there's a difference between an honest review and stomping someone's dream into the ground. Dream stomping = "This book was stupid, don't quit your day job, go kill yourself." Honest review = "This didn't work for me, the writing needs improvement, here's what I think this book is lacking/needing."<br /><br />As a writer, your writing always needs improving. You will never one day wake up and think "Yep, this is as good as it's going to get. I can never outdo this." So instead of taking criticism personally, reflect on it. You may actually learn something.<br /><br />Also, there's a difference between giving out an honest review and going on a crusade to destroy bad books. If you're scouring Amazon for every Indie title you can find and slamming it, you're an asshole. But if a friend or fellow blogger publishes their book, asks for reviews, and you give an honest review (even a bad one) that's not being an asshole. That's being honest.<br /><br />Being an author isn't special. Everyone works hard at their creative passions. So if you make fun of bad movies and bad music but think no one should hurt an Indie author's feelings, you're a hypocrite. Because someone worked their ass off, just as hard as you if not more, to make that bad movie or song. Hell, if you make fun of books like Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey for being bad but think you shouldn't make fun of an Indie author, you're definitely a hypocrite. And if you laugh at something like Simon Cowell telling a singing contestant that they're the worst thing he's ever come across, but you think someone saying that in an Amazon review to an Indie author is cruel and unacceptable, then you're a hypocrite.<br /><br />Either you judge everyone or you judge no one. There's no special treatment.<br /><br />Lastly, and this is the thing most authors just don't seem to get, is that you need to have thick skin as an author. One star reviews <i>will</i> happen. Not everyone will think you shit gold. If you don't believe me, go look at your absolute favorite book on Amazon. I guarantee it has one star reviews, no matter what it is.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Stand-Stephen-King-ebook/dp/B001C4NXKM/" rel="nofollow">Stephen King - The Stand.</a> An old favorite of mine. That book has exactly 150 one and two star reviews. That book has more bad reviews than most Indie authors get of reviews, total. Do you think Stephen King cries himself to sleep at night over the few meanies that are trying to crush his dreams? Or that he's terribly upset that 150 people just didn't like one of his best pieces of work that others would consider a 5 star masterpiece?<br /><br />No. Because he's a professional author. And if you want to be able to put 'professional' in your name, you can't throw a tantrum when a reader doesn't like your work - your work that you <i>intentionally</i> put out into the public to be bought, shared, and critiqued.A Beer for the Showerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029139745335325356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-34618297370831696462015-05-06T22:40:59.351-07:002015-05-06T22:40:59.351-07:00dolorah: Unfortunately, it doesn't always matt...dolorah: Unfortunately, it doesn't always matter if you know the person or not. But, then, some people get too used to being patted on the back by everyone around them because everyone is too scared to say what they really feel.<br /><br />We've been trying to figure out a way to make our kids stop growing for a while, now, but, when we need to, we remind them that they, too, will one day have children.<br />heh heh hehAndrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-58521171292532808542015-05-06T22:27:14.800-07:002015-05-06T22:27:14.800-07:00emilia.m: There's this movie line:
"I wan...emilia.m: There's this movie line:<br />"I want you to tell me the truth; I want you to tell me this is the first time you've done this."<br />"Do you want me to tell you the truth or do you want me to tell you this is the first time I've done this?"<br /><br />That's how a lot of authors are: "I want you to tell me the truth; I want you to tell me this is 5-stars."Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-5339972722528156922015-05-06T21:40:04.589-07:002015-05-06T21:40:04.589-07:00Good for you bringing this to light. It is sad tha...Good for you bringing this to light. It is sad that readers who happen to be authors cannot post their "honest opinion" of a book. I have reviewed very few stranger indie books because you just never know what they will do if you don't rave how good the book is. I post my reasoning for a rating, no matter what it is. My reviews are not really for the author anyhow, they are for future readers.<br /><br />Yes, some author's (usually indie authors) need to grow up. Kids, on the other hand, eventually do "grow up" and then we miss their little antics. Especially if they are replaced with more serious rebellions. Grandchildren can be the perfect revenge, even if you never say to your kids "pay back . . ."dolorahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08715849844092553699noreply@blogger.com