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| Kathleen Hale |
But, the sad truth is, even if your book gets mainly five-star reviews, there will also be bad reviews in the mix. How is it possible for some readers to praise the work and others to pan it.
Bad reviews can be the result of many reasons. The reviewer may disagree fiercely with the author's point of view with a deeply opposing opinion and nothing will change his or her mind, the decision not to like the book made before it is is even read. A reader may purchase a book expecting something completely different from that offered, is irritated by the mistake and vent frustration in the form of a bad review.
And sometimes the reviewer is simply a troll. Someone who hides behind internet anonymity with the sole purpose of causing trouble and dissent.
Authors are vigorously advised is not to respond to negative reviews and never to interact with a trolls.
Which is exactly what YA author, Kathleen Hale did not do when a blogger by the name of Blythe Harris, rubbished her novel on Goodreads. What followed is itself the stuff of a novel and movie.
Pissed off!
Hale was pissed off! She responded then began tracking down the offending reviewer.
It seems Blythe was involved in an [online] attack on a 14-year-old girl back in May 2012, she reported, in an essay she wrote for the Guardian newspaper. The teenager had written a glowing review of a book Blythe hated, obliquely referencing Blythe’s hatred for it: “Dear Haters,” the review read. “Everyone has his or her own personal opinion, but expressing that through profanity is not the answer. Supposedly, this person is an English teacher at a middle school near where I lived… People can get hurt,” the review concluded.
In response, Blythe rallied her followers. Adults began flooding the girl’s thread, saying, among other things, “Fuck you.”
"In the following weeks, Blythe’s vitriol continued to create a ripple effect: every time someone admitted to having liked my book on Goodreads, they included a caveat that referenced her review. The ones who truly loathed it tweeted reviews at me," Hale wrote.
A social media war broke out.
"My notifications feed exploded," writes Hale. "Bloggers who’d been nice to me were hurt. Those who hated me now had an excuse to write long posts about what a bitch I was, making it clear that:
- Reviews are for readers, not authors.
- When authors engage with reviewers, it’s abusive behaviour.
- Mean-spirited or even inaccurate reviews are fair game so long as they focus on the book."
Hale tracked down Blythe's address, went to the house and called her at work on the telephone. Their confrontation makes fascinating reading.
Responses to Hale's essay in the Guardian have been wide and varied. For some, it is is simply a fascinating tale but bloggers, reviewers and Goodreads members were appalled. They accused Hale of stalking a reader who'd done nothing more than give her a bad review. But a number of authors have rallied behind Hale, applauding her for “exposing a troll,” and for confronting, “a typical online bully hiding behind anonymity.”
It's becoming a dangerous place out there for both readers and writers.
But one thing is certain, Harper Collins, publisher of Kathleen Hale's novel, "No One Else Can Have You" must be smiling all of the way to the bank!
