Self-publishing isn’t about the author. It’s about pleasing the reader.
by Anne R. Allen
Easy self-publishing and the introduction of the e-reader brought seismic changes to the publishing world a decade ago. The “Kindle Revolution” propelled a bunch of smart authors from the slush pile to the top of Amazon’s bestseller lists.
Suddenly writers had choices. Authors who had been bloodying their knuckles on the doors of New York publishing were finally free to seek readers on their own. They could have successful writing careers even though the 20-something NYC publishing gatekeepers from Brown and Wellesley didn’t relate to their work.
From the introduction of the Kindle to the establishment of Amazon’s own imprints, indie authors ruled on “The Zon.” While the big publishers kept their ebook prices sky-high, indies could offer competitive books for under five dollars. It was gold rush time.
Of course not every new indie author succeeded, even back in those days. The ones who did mostly had a strong social media presence and a lot of books in the hopper. By publishing books in a series in quick succession, some savvy writers created a need and fulfilled it quickly. Authors like John Locke, Amanda Hocking and Hugh Howey made bestseller lists and big headlines by savvy rapport with readers and strong marketing skills. (Some of which, as in the case of John Locke, were not entirely ethical.)
However, the majority of successful “indies” were established authors who already had a readership from writing for traditional houses. Trad-pubbed midlist authors like Joe Konrath, Dee Dee Scott, and Dean Wesley Smith turned to indie publishing with great success. Their readers loved the cheap ebooks, and their popular blogs taught new writers about self-publishing and fueled the movement.
And that movement is still going strong. But success is more elusive these days — partly because of changes at the Zon — and also because some amateurs use Amazon as a place to play, not a place of business.
They forget they have a real job — to please readers.
Amazon is Not Grandma’s Refrigerator Door
The “Kindle Revolution” also meant a lot of wannabe authors who had not yet acquired the skills to provide readers with a professional product were able to self-publish their amateur efforts.
Undeveloped writers started using Amazon like Grandma’s refrigerator door — a spot to put up their fledgling attempts at art in the expectation of praise.
Unfortunately, this meant a lot of readers became skeptical of indie books.
And writers who published too soon were disappointed by minimal sales or lukewarm reviews.
Many of those authors are embarrassed by those books now. I often hear from them.
Here’s their problem: it’s hard to make those “practice books” go away. You may be able to substitute a more polished version of the text as an “update,” but will the reader choose to download the update before reading the early version?
Having updated several books myself, I can tell you most do not.
You can also pay for a more professional cover. But Amazon often will only show the original cover (the one designed by your friend’s kid in high school art class.) It will also live forever on Goodreads.
Plus it’s your name on that thinly-disguised Harry Potter fanfiction. The one where a character very like your young self has an affair with Sneverus Sape.
You can unpublish it, but the listing will still be there under your name, and secondary sellers will claim to have it for sale. (Those sellers figure if somebody really wants it they’ll go hunting for it.)
I’ve heard from authors who now have to use a pen name because of self-publishing that fanfic when they were fifteen.
Most of these authors wish they hadn’t allowed their young selves to play with Kindle Direct Publishing as if it were a toy.
Amateurish, Cruel Competition Among Self-Publishing Authors
Another aspect of amateurism in some corners of the indie publishing world is competitive author behavior.
Some indies treat self-publishing as if it were some online game, where knocking out your fellow “players” gets you more points..
But the truth is the opposite is true. Pros know that banding together with other authors in your genre — rather than competing with them — is savvy marketing. My sales often increase ten-fold after a joint marketing event, anthology or boxed set (Do make sure the anthos and sets aren’t scammy, though.)
But there’s nothing savvy about competitive indie authors. They’ve jumped into an industry without having a clue how it works. And they don’t want to learn.
They prefer to behave like children in a sandbox fighting over an insufficient number of toy trucks.
Self-Publishing isn’t a Zero-Sum Game
The truth is, publishing isn’t an either / or business. It’s a “hop on the bandwagon” business.
Helen Fielding wrote a phenomenally popular book in the 1990s called Bridget Jones Diary. Readers didn’t know they were hungry for funny romances until they read it, but then they wanted more. Agents advised their authors to write this “chick lit” the industry suddenly craved. This wasn’t to compete with Helen Fielding, but to join her in this new, wildly popular genre.
The same thing happened when Gillian Flynn created a new kind of domestic thriller with her break-away hit Gone Girl. Did Flynn want to have the domestic-thriller-with-unreliable-narrator market cornered? Did she need to keep other authors from joining her in a new genre? Of course not..
When Paula Hawkins wrote the domestic-thriller-with-unreliable-narrator, Girl on the Train, she didn’t get minions to one-star Gillian Flynn’s book, or send death threats to her home. Instead, her publishers marketed her book to a similar audience with phenomenal success.
This is how professionals succeed — as colleagues, not squabbling children.
Protect Yourself from Competitive Indie Authors
I have heard from a number of self-publishing authors over the years who have been bullied and even had their careers and mental health harmed by fellow authors who consider them “competition.”
The most common tool of the competitive crazies is the negative review swarm. They rustle up a bunch of minions — or pay an illegal review service — to attack a fellow author’s books with dozens of scathing one-stars that say literate things like “I threw up.” It’s obvious to anybody reading them that these “reviewers” haven’t read the book, but unfortunately some people don’t read reviews. They only count the stars.
This kind of cruelty can tank a book. (Although not always. I got a “review swarm” early on that actually pushed my book to the bestseller list.) Sometimes the number of reviews — positive or negative — will push a book into the spotlight.
Still, you want to stay out of the path of these dangerous, unhinged people.
I heard from one victim only a few months ago. He’s a thriller writer who has been relentlessly bullied by a “rival” author. This competitive crazy had not only directed minions to leave nasty one-star reviews on this author’s books, but hacked the guy’s social media to post insults all over his pages. He sent unrelenting poison pen messages, and even phoned the author with death threats.
It’s a horror story I’ve heard way too many times over the years. One historical fiction author got so many scary emails and one-stars she unpublished her book and didn’t even shop at Amazon for years.
Her story sparked my novel So Much for Buckingham, where Amazon review dramas lead to murder.
Stay Away from Dangerous Groups
You can’t protect yourself completely. I sometimes get poison pen messages — mostly as blog comments or Facebook DMs. Usually, they’re written by semi-literate teens or drunks who feel entitled to have a writing career without learning to write. They think by attacking me, they can make reality go away.
My most recent, offended by my post on amateur self-publishing called me a badly-behaved “Karen” who personally invented grammar to make her feel bad.
I’ve learned the best way to react is: send to spam, delete and block. Don’t engage, no matter how strong the temptation. These people have no writing skills, but they sure have bullying skills.
The only way to stay safe is to stay off their radar.
Leave any group where crazies lurk. What might have been a welcoming author group turns into a cesspool with one or two sadistic members.
I’ve observed Goodreads is the home of most competitive author bullying. They also have an ever-escalating troll problem. The bullied thriller writer met his stalker in a GR writing group. I’ve witnessed horrific cruelty on the site, and experienced a bit myself.
Several years ago, an unhinged woman appeared in our Boomer Lit group and attacked me personally. I tried to ignore her, but the ageist insults were relentless. I never discovered if she’d written something she considered a “rival” of my Boomer Women collection.
Maybe she’s simply one of those people whose life’s goal is to be hated by as many people as possible.
The group had been helpful, but I needed to escape. I’ve since spent as little time on Goodreads as possible. For an alternative to Goodreads, Jane Friedman recommends Read this Twice.
Facebook groups aren’t immune. I recently left one after seeing new members attacked by a gang of moronic trolls.
If you see bad behavior, get out. There will be another group. If you have connections you don’t want to lose, send a DM to suggest forming an alternate group.
Crimes Against Readers
I should also mention the professional Amazon-gamers who use the site for perpetrating lucrative crimes against readers.
I’m not just talking about the aforementioned entitled children who push semi-literate drivel on unsuspecting customers
I’m talking about big-time criminal behavior. These people are not writers at all. But they know how to fool Amazon’s algorithms, especially in the Kindle Unlimited program. where authors are paid according to pages read.
There were some big scandals a few years ago with book “stuffing” and other scams that played Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program by getting more pages “read” by promising a prize at the end of 1000s of pages of nonsense text.
Others use outright plagiarism. They lifted paragraphs and even chapters from bestselling authors, inserting them into mediocre books. Or they took popular M/F romances and changed a few pronouns to make them M/M or vice versa.
Some of these were crimes against Amazon, and others bilked authors, but they all cheated readers.
Respect Readers!
The one thing all these “players” have in common is disregard for readers.
A truly successful writer puts the reader first, no matter how they choose to publish. A book is just a collection of letters on paper or an electronic device without a reader. We need to remember to treat that reader with respect.
This is why we shouldn’t play games with self-publishing. It isn’t wise to play games with readers’ money or their time.
We are nothing without them.
by Anne R Allen @annerallen June 6, 2021
***
What about you, scriveners? Did you ever Kindle a book before its time? Have you dealt with competitive crazies or self-publishing groups where trolls took over? Have you ever bought an indie book that turned out to be a juvenile effort by somebody who needed to take a few writing classes?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
A satire of the dark side of online reviews and the people who make a game of them…a game that can lead to murder.
Camilla and Ronzo see their reputations destroyed by online review trolls who specialize in character assassination, while Plantagenet Smith heads over to England, where he encounters a dead historical reenactor dressed as the Duke of Buckingham. Plant is promptly arrested for the murder. In jail, Plant meets the ghost of Richard III, and hears what it’s like to live with character assassination “fake news” that has persisted for half a millennium.
“This wonderfully satiric comedy is a joy to read. On the surface, it’s a frothy romance cum suspense story about a whacky writer, Camilla, whose life is threatened by trolls and who topples from one hilarious disaster into the next.
But underneath, it provides a perceptive insight into the mad world of modern publishing, the sub-culture of Internet lunatics and the mindset of cultists who can – and do – believe ten impossible things before breakfast.
The reader is left with the question: how much of the story, perish the thought, might be true? Tremendous fun, wittily satiric and highly recommended”…Nigel J. Robinson
So Much for Buckingham is available at:
All Amazons Kobo Nook Smashwords Googleplay Scribd
Available in paper from:
AmazonUS AmazonUK Barnes & Noble
Also in AUDIOBOOK!
available at Audible and iTunes
.
Anne—smart and sensible as always. As battled hardened as I am, the outer extremes of cruelty are still astonishing.
Ruth–It is amazing. I had a much more optimistic view of humanity before social media. Somehow the Internet brings out the worst in people. They say 4% of the population are sociopaths, but I think the percentage on social media is a whole lot higher.
Anne, excellent post as always, and I totally agree with you, the Internet somehow does bring out the worst in people, and it affects not only literature but politics too! We’ve had problems with the extreme right and populists BECAUSE of social media: Inarticulate (and confused) people now have a voice when in the past nobody ever heard of them!
And I’m so sorry to hear you had those problems in the Boomer Lit group on Goodreads that I had created: You should have told me! But in any case, that group is dead now, as most things are on Goodreads with the passing of time. They go on for a while then die and I never understood quite why. But I guess you have the answer! What happened to you in that group probably happened to several others – hence, end of the group!
And it’s just as well. Nobody needs that kind of social media!
Ghastly behavior. And awhile back there was that thing on GR where people were trashing books that hadn’t even been released yet. I don’t know if that still goes on, I’d all but forgotten about GR. Another alternative I heard about to GR is Booksloth.
I will never understand people who want to be writers but don’t think they need to learn how to write, or pay attention to spelling or grammar. One excuse I see fairly often to get around those shortcomings is they claim “I’m only writing for fun/to please myself.”
I had a fellow indie basically trash my book, asking if it was just a first draft and not edited. Then she wanted me to beta-read her next book. :::insert eyeroll:::
“… only writing for fun/to please myself.” Then why publish it?? They can read their own junk on their computer screens! Why make the rest of us suffer with it?? [insert double eyeroll] Some people really have no idea, do they?
Garry and Susan–True! If authors are “just writing for themselves”, then they should keep it to themselves. 🙂
D. D. That woman who wanted a beta read sure didn’t know much about interacting with humans. I sometimes wonder if a lot of “people” on the Internet aren’t androids or aliens or something. 🙂
Goodreads still allows reviewing of unpublished books. There are people who write 100s of one-star “reviews” daily. I complained to a librarian about one, since she obviously hadn’t read the books. The librarian said there’s no requirement to read a book in order to review it. Yeah. I’ll check out Booksloth. Thanks for the top.
Um, there is no requirement to read a book before reviewing it?? That flies in the face of logic. How can one review one’s reading experience when the reading experience does not exist?
Liz–That’s what I’ve been told by three different GR “librarians”. If people don’t like the title or the concept, they can leave a one-star review. Which means GR “reviews” mean absolutely nothing. Not that I’m not grateful for the intrepid readers who review my books.
I wonder at what point GR will lose enough credibility that people will no longer use it.
So, someone who trashed your writing wanted you to beta-read her writing? Couldn’t make up her mind whether or not you knew your way around a paragraph? It just goes to show the disconnect with reality some have …
Respect readers. Amen to that. It’s a mantra I repeat regularly in my kid-lit circles. There is a misguided percentage of children’s writers who feel kid readers need to be patronized. Oy. Makes me a little crazy.
CS–Alas, I see that in people speaking to children, too. They feel that condescension is the only appropriate mode of speaking to people under 18. No wonder kids roll their eyes so much.
This reminds me of the following quotation:
You cannot write for children. They’re much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them. – Maurice Sendak, children’s author and illustrator
Hi, Anne,
I’ve been lucky to escape that so far. But it reminds of the debacles with reviews. Everyone seems over sensitized, viewing anything other than what they want as competition. Six months ago, I picked up a paper book as part of research for a project. I hesitated on buying it at first (at $24.99). The title suggested it was what I needed. The blurb was less clear. Neither said it was a writing workbook nor that it was spec fiction focused. Even the cover didn’t have a hint of spec fiction on it. Kind of a big deal if you weren’t wanting a writing book on spec fiction. The book itself felt unfocused (it was likely a series of blog posts with the worksheets added to make the book longer). It gave it a 2 star review, noting the blurb and title didn’t match the content, that it was a workbook, and that it felt unfocused. Within days, someone else zoomed in with a review that had to have originated from the author in someway. It was a five star review defending against all the things I’d complained about. Book’s been out since October 2020. Price started at $24.99. It’s now selling for $6.28.
People don’t think about what this looks like to potential readers. The author has other books out in a genre I read in. I won’t touch anything she wrote.
i also ran into a writer who, if I commented on his posts, and it didn’t fit his exact view of how writing should be done, he would post a rebuttal the following day. Basically vaguely referring to a commenter and then explaining why I was wrong. When I came out with some writing worksheets for pantsers, he bought a set, then the next did another post on how people aren’t following the way writing should be. He didn’t mention the worksheets, but the timing was such that it had to be the trigger. I’m thinking, “Dude, what is your problem?” Why does it matter? A lot of pettiness out there.
Linda–Bloggers who indulge in this behavior make me furious. It’s so much not what an author blog is for. It’s like hanging out a sign that says “I’m a jerk. Don’t buy my books.” Sigh.
Linda–You’ve hit on yet another problem with self-publishers. Some feel they have to fight every negative review, even when it’s valid. I’ve had reviews of my comedies saying “It’s almost as if this author is writing comedy.” This is actually a good review to attract people who want to read a funny mystery. Fighting it or leaving a snarky response would only make me look unprofessional. But it’s easy to buy a good review these days, unfortunately.
As far as overpriced indie books–that’s a pet peeve of mine. So self-destructive.
Thanks, Anne, for delivering a message that had to be sent. Actually, I’m reading several messages in her and I agree with every one. I can’t imagine trashing another writer’s work. If there’s something I don’t care for, I just stay silent. As for Goodreads, I haven’t walked over that bridge in years. The last time I was there it was Trollville, and there was no attempt to police the ridiculous comments.
Something occurred to me about indie vs TP. I can’t recall ever being asked by a reader what publishing method I use. Seems to me, as long as the product is professionally presented and the story suits their fancy, that’s good enough. Provided the price is right, of course. 😉
Amen, Garry. Professionally presented and a good story… works every time, with readers!
Garry–I did combine several big issues here because I figured they all come under the umbrella of amateur, childish behavior. “Trollville” is a perfect description of Goodreads. It’s too bad. It was a great concept. But it needs rules and rule enforcers. And yes, very few people care if an author is self-published or published by the Random Penguin. But what they do care about is quality.
Anne, it always amazes me how much energy some people put into negativity… if they’d turn that around and be positive, what a wonderful world this could be. Maybe they could learn to write good stories that uplift and entertain readers. But then, that would entail actual work, like the rest of us writers engage in. Work they’d rather put into tearing others down. (Still scratching my head over that!)
I tell my writing students that they have a choice. They can be SELF-published (meaning take their first draft and publish it warts and all) and be considered a schlocky, amateurish writer who’s not worth reading. Or they can be INDIE-published (meaning they follow all the same “rules” that traditional publishers follow—learning how to write a good, engrossing story; hiring a good editor; hiring a professional cover designer; hiring an interior layout designer if you don’t have the desire or know-how to do it yourself properly) and be considered a real writer, a good or even great author worth reading.
Basically, it’s a choice between being an amateur or being a professional. I choose to be professional, an indie author, even with all the work it entails. I read voraciously and I completely resent books that are filled with inconsequentialities, typos, erroneous information, incomplete sentences, wrong words, etc. And I never read those writers again. When I do run across a well-written, well-formatted novel, I rejoice… and run out to get more by that author.
After all, I don’t write for me, I write for readers. And I refuse to cheat or short-change any reader. The ONLY way to capture and keep readers is to RESPECT them. Thanks for a great post, Anne… food for thought for all those out there who want to do their best!
Susan–You’re so right. It’s all about respecting readers. Indie authors can be just as professional as tradpubbed. In fact, their books may be more thoroughly edited. Self-publishing rough drafts doesn’t do anybody any good and it labels an author an amateur.
Terrific Anne; there but for the grace of… well, Jeff Bezos I guess… but this is a terrific admonitory piece. I declare you back in the saddle on this blog and I’m sure I speak for many to say we couldn’t be happier.
Will–Many thanks! Yes. I am back in the saddle. Sort of. I can walk again (with a walker). And drive! It’s taken a while, but I’m finally escaping my medical incarceration. And yes, I guess I’m back to my snarky self. 🙂
Sad some people are so insecure they have to attack others and make them feel insecure as well. We are all in this together and should helping not hurting one another.
Alex–Sad is the word for it. People who have aged, but not matured can be dangerous and destructive to us all.
I was severely trolled four years ago on FB and my career since has been non-existent. I think people have long memories.
Richard–That’s awful! I hope you have been able to get some help recovering from that kind of attack. When you’re ready, maybe you can reenter the market with a pen name. Pen names can be a hassle, but if you have a personal stalker/troll, sometimes you have to invent your own “witness protection program.”
Thanks for replying. I think my mistake at the time was trying to carry on and NOT do what you suggested. Instead I just kept publishing and retreated from engaging on social media. It’s only now that I’m starting to dip my toes back in. The advantage is that I have a huge back catalogue for anyone to discover.
Excellent post, as always, Anne. I share your weekly blog posts to the Rhode Island Authors group FB page.
I hope this message finds you well! ????????????
Martha–Thanks for sharing our posts with my fellow New Englanders. I’ve lived in CA a long time, but I still feel the tug of my roots in Maine and Connecticut.
My health is improving all the time. I drove myself to the doctor for the first time this week. Felt amazing!
Well said, Anne. I couldn’t agree more. Most self-pubbed authors I know DO treat it like a business, and they reap the rewards for their hard work. Trolls of any kind make me sick. How about the clueless newbie who emails to ask if you’ll fund his/her writing career? Some can get quite nasty, too. Last week or the week before I received an email that said, “Hey, bigshot author! Can you fund my writing career? You probably won’t. You’re selfish. All you care about is money. You forget what it’s like to start out.” Blah, blah, blah… Sadly, it wasn’t the first time an angry writer emailed to ask for money. Crazy! They obviously think we’re all wealthy. Boy, are they in for a rude awakening.
Sue–Rude awakening is right! Want a rich person to fund your career? Try a plumber. They make real money. This is a new one to me. Thanks for the warning. I had no idea. The sense of entitlement in some young people is mind-boggling.
Jumping in: The reason plumbers make real money is they don’t surf the internet, they don’t get blocked, they don’t get distracted by advice on “how to write a bestseller,” and they don’t go down time- and energy-sucking rabbit holes paying attention to BS about “How to sell books.”
Nope.
Plumbers just get up and fix the gd leak. 😉
An excellent article here. Thank you. All of your points, whether or not I have experienced them myself (some of which I have), have really turned me off most social media and make me leery of joining those I haven’t yet. My FB presence and involvement is minimal. I adhere mostly to LinkedIn and Alignable, which are more profession- and business-oriented. I’m not sure they are considered “social” media. Although I should do more marketing, I’m too busy writing and going about other business to become embroiled in FB spats. It would appear that there are an awful lot of people out there in Social Media Land who don’t have enough to keep them gainfully occupied.
My best wishes to all of you writers and creatives out there. May your work shine like the stars!
Brass Castle–LinkedIn and Alignable are good for networking with the business side of publishing, but you’re not likely to reach readers. Reader-specific groups are the best for reaching people who might actually read your book. But they vary by genre. Some genres seem to attract more crazies.
It’s not that these people have too much time on their hands as much as the time of trolls is well-paid for. Some of these people are professionals on Fivrr or other sites who have been paid to destroy a writer’s career.
Good point! I am aware of paid professionals who work to destroy others in other realms, but hadn’t thought about the same in the book publishing and marketing world.
I did receive a crazy attack once, for a post I wrote on my old blog 10+ years ago, about the legends and myths around the edibility of the tomato. I had a lot of fun researching the piece and included all of the sites that provided material for my story. Somehow, I was perceived as cruel and irresponsible for posting such a maligning piece. I never replied, for it was obviously a crank comment. I never had any negative response from any tomatoes, either.
There are crazies out there, and there are the paid ones, as you point out, who are both trying to do damage and to get a rise out of a writer, perhaps to induce the writer to respond with inflammatory words, to prove the trolls’ point.
Sorry, trolls, I don’t have time to play your games!
I’m not sure if you’re aware of the “Omegaverse Lawsuits”, in which one author of werewolf romance novels sued another author of werewolf romance novels for plagerism. All the similarities were genre similarities. That’s the worst case scenario for this petty attitude. As I recall, the lawsuit failed.
Molly–I wasn’t aware of the Omegaverse lawsuits. I’ll have to check that out. But I certainly know about the plagiarists who attacked some of the bestselling romance writers in the business, including Nora Roberts. That was word-for-word copying. Unfortunately in very narrow genres like werewolf romance, similarities are bound to appear, so it would be hard to prove without word-for-word copying.
Before reading this, as a writer in the draft phase, I thought Amazon was a great place for self publishers to get their work out there. Although saturated, there are still some authors who thrive. However, getting this jammed packed view point of the site and the many issues of first time authors I will be consider more options too and plan out thoroughly if I indeed do publish there.
Thank you for this! It feels like this site will be brutely honest to keep us informed 🙂
Shannon–Amazon IS a great place to self-publish. In fact indies make 80%-100% of their sales there. And a savvy self-publisher can make more than a trad-pubbed author in many genres. What I’m saying here is–approach it as a business. Learn the ropes first (I recommend David Gaughran’s FREE book “Let’s Get Digital” and Jane Friedman’s blogpost on self-publishing.) The smartest way to launch a self-publishing career is to have at least two books written, polished and ready to go. Then plan your launch with a publicity campaign in place. (One that doesn’t involve Goodreads, I’d advise) Then–the sky’s the limit!
If you are still in the learning stage and want to get feedback, you can publish chapter by chapter on Wattpad. It’s a good intermediate venue, and some writers actually make a career there.
This was a great post, and I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments, too. First, I’m glad you’re on the mend and driving yourself around. Second, I’m always struck by how much time people spend tearing down others online. I think of them in the same way I do computer hackers: seriously, do something useful with all the time you seem to have on your hands!
I read this post immediately after reading a post on another blog that urged authors to include Goodreads as part of their platform. I’ve tried. My books are on GR, but I seldom interact with anyone on the site. I don’t use it as part of my marketing platform because it does feel trollish. It also seems like the Wild West in terms of rule enforcement and guidance. And now that the promos are a pay to play…there’s even less reason to indulge GR.
Thanks for a great reminder that the reader comes first.
Something even GR admin remind us all now and then – GoodReads is aimed at readers first. It’s not there to promote authors.
I’m a moderator on a GR group, and it’s the only time(so far) I’ve been trolled, with all my books getting one-star reviews, which was really tough for the newest ones that hadnt got many reviews at that point. Some folks just went round GR moderators, trolling them.
But most of the time I spend moderating is to tell newbie authors on GR to read our advice posts for Authors, and to come in and be a reader, not to try and spam their book.
Jemima–Sorry that happened to you, too. 🙁 I know indie authors are partly to blame because early on, they only went to Goodreads to spam and readers got an us/them mentality. That may have been the beginning of the troll culture, but 10 years later, it’s way out of hand. You’re right that any author who goes to Goodreads should wear their reader hat and keep their own books out of the discussion.
Amreade–Alas, computer hacking and trolling are the guerilla fighting of our age. A lot of these people are well paid, especially by some anti-democracy governments. So it’s not about “they have time on their hands”. It’s about “run and save yourself. These people are dangerous.” Even when it comes to book reviews, many of the negative posts come from paid foreign government operatives. And look what just happened with the Colonial Pipeline and the meatpackers. Hackers are the new secret agents of our era.
I know some marketing gurus are still pushing Goodreads as part of an author platform, but it never was a great idea and now it’s a very bad one. At least it used to be free to give away books in hopes of reviews. Now they charge. And nobody will give a review. They just take the books, don’t open them, and resell them as new.
But as Brass Castle says above, it’s a site for readers. We don’t belong there unless we’re wearing our “reader” hats. And even when we do, the trolls are everywhere. That’s what happened in my Boomer Lit group. I never mentioned my book, but this woman could not stop hurling insults and taunts at me because of her hatred of the older generation.
I used to describe Goodreads as “Mean Girls” meets “Lord of the Flies’. I think that still holds.
I tend to forget that plenty of trolls and hackers are well-paid. That’s pretty scary and even worse than just plain old mean people who want nothing more than to spew hatred. I’m so sorry you had that experience in the Boomer Lit group. It’s inexcusable.
So many good points . . . I’ll be rereading the whole article at least once, to make sure I caught everything. The comments and responses are instructive as well–I hadn’t heard of Wattpad until tonight, so thank you!
I actually spent a TON of money on a fabulous and highly professional independent publisher so that I could get exactly what I wanted when I published my first book–and I’m very proud of what we did together. I love the cover and internal design, the developmental editor was exactly who I needed, and the entire team held my hand while I tried to understand what it actually takes to produce, print and distribute a book. What I didn’t know was how expensive and time-consuming printing, distribution and marketing would be, or how many decisions I would have to make. And I didn’t take some of my publishing team’s advice–to publish on demand–which I should have done . . . 20/20 hindsight, I guess. I’ve also been mad at/about Amazon, although I understand I couldn’t have sold many books without it. Putting the book on Goodreads has been pretty pointless too, and yes, a few trolls have visited me there. But all that hasn’t killed my desire to write, so I’ll navigate this ever-changing industry a little wiser and certainly better informed, thanks to all of you and the many others who are willing to share their wisdom and experience.
Jenney–I think we all have a love/hate relationship with the Mighty Zon. But without Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, there would be nothing but vanity presses or trad pub to choose from, so alas, we have to live with the other stuff.
I’m glad to hear you were pleased with your hybrid publishing experience. It does tend to be very expensive, especially with marketing. Now that you know the ropes, you may be able to publish without the hand-holding and you may be able to save money working on your own. I think they’re right that it pays to have your books in print as well as ebook, although it’s a lot more expensive.
I knew about (most) of this but seeing it all out here like this is kind of disturbing, to be honest. The behind-a-screen online world has created a place people feel more comfortable being horrid. And I’ve heard Goodreads is a swamp so I stay away. On a positive note, thanks for the Read This Twice
link. I’d never heard of it. Off to check that out.
Sarah–It is heartbreaking on so many levels. I don’t like knowing my fellow humans are capable of this stuff.
I haven’t tried Read this Twice myself, but Jane Friedman is a reliable authority. Anything to avoid Goodreads. I think calling it a swamp might be unfair to swamp dwellers. 🙂
Yeah, I know. Damn. I got a text from The Swamp Thing, poor fellow, saying he’d never hang out on Goodreads. He wasn’t happy. Who knew the fab, elemental superhero had a cell phone?
I’m gobsmacked. Imagine what could be achieved with the time and resources wasted both on the trolling behaviour, etc., and wasted by the innocent having to deal with it.
Elle–That is so true. Imagine if they put this energy into learning to write good books, instead of attacking people who do. This stuff is epidemic and it’s hard to see how it’s going to stop. I do tend to despair. I saw a thread on FB just this morning, with authors comparing horror stories about attacks from Goodreads trolls. I think the trolls see it all as some kind of videogame. It’s all about “defeating the enemy.”
I think the prize for biggest Goodreads troll goes to the woman who stalked an antagonistic author’s friends list and tarred us all with the same brush, though we hardly knew the guy and were just networking with other authors. It’s sad that a couple hundred people have a BBA list with no idea why most of the authors are on it.
Anyway, leaving that all behind, my best advice to readers is to make use of Kindle samples. It’s what I do. Not only can you spot amateur writing and stuffing, you can decide for yourself whether a book your friends are all reading actually appeals to you.
I even get samples when I’m familiar with the author. Sometimes I love one book but not so much another from the same author. There are too many good books waiting to spend my precious reading time on anything that doesn’t hold my attention.
I often find great stuff from authors I’ve never heard of but liked the description. The sample removes the risk factor.
Jaq–Some trolls can be really unhinged, can’t they? I ran into one of those early on–long before I had my own blog. I left a comment on an agent’s blogpost where she mentioned a famous poet had been trolled by a literal-minded moron who didn’t understand metaphor. I left a clever comment that said something like “poetry has metaphors.” Said troll got hold of my email address and wrote me a toxic email calling me a sadistic cow-murderer because this poet used the metaphor of a bullfight. The energy that went into this guy’s research and petty vindictiveness was stupendous. I’ll bet he found a nice home on Goodreads.
And you’re absolutely right that the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon and other online book retailers is often what makes or breaks a book. I wish more readers took the time to check. Even if the book is free, we don’t want to waste our time on badly edited or poorly written amateur books. I’ll be writing about the “look inside” later in the summer.
Well written, Anne! That was really a sensible write-up! I have always heard my mentor say these exact things. More of all, he is more concerned about the reader. He takes respecting readers at priority!
Jackson–Exactly. The reader shouldn’t be treated like a teacher who’s there to give writers participation trophies. They expect professional work when they open their wallets to buy your book.
Whether you’re producing a novel, anthology of short stories, or a nonfiction book, self-publishing gives you the most creative freedom and a bigger cut of the proceeds.
Jobin–Each author has to choose for themselves. Some genres, like romance, sell very well if self-published. But others, like literary fiction and upmarket fiction need the authority of reviews in prestigious magazines, which we can’t get if we self publish.
Hey Anne! This was really a wonderful piece. I had a blogging website and after a significant growth I saw spammers hitting me with all they got. I had no choice but to start reporting them and use spam tools. I must say self-publishing isn’t an easy road, if walked carefully, it is nothing less than a blessing. Keep sharing more!
Jason–Spam hits us all, even if we’re not getting much traffic. I remember getting my first spam on my old Blogger blog. So disappointing to see it wasn’t a comment, but an ad for real estate in Dubai. 🙁 You’re right that the solution is to be diligent–always report spam and delete immediately. Eventually the spam elves learn what’s spam on your blog and they’ll get better at blocking it. Like everything in publishing, it takes diligence and long hours, but you’re right–it’s worth it.