Karlynp & The Doggone World

Does this sound familiar?

Irate authors upset over critical reviews call

reviewers at home, send harassing emails,

threaten legal actions, and put  a bounty

on exposing a critic's identity

It sure does, and it is nothing new. In 2001 Maria Russo wrote the following article, and it is a frightening reminder of how so little has changed. If anything, due to social media, the landscape is far worse. Reviewers are no longer just from major publications, and authors are no longer just from the big publishing houses.

But one thing is for certain, 'authors behaving badly' is nothing new.  And yes, we are now seeing a wave of 'reviewers behaving badly' as well, most often to defend themselves against these attacks. The internet offers today's critic a voice that reviewers in the past didn't have: social media.

So for those who continually say "I have never seen an author attack a reviewer!", wake-up and read for yourself.  And for those who believe critic's can be silenced by these egregious tactics, guess again.

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By Maria Russa March, 2001

No author enjoys getting a bad review, and it’s probably especially irritating to read a slam of your book in Publisher’s Weekly, the book industry’s trade journal, because P.W. reviews are unsigned, so you can’t even conjure an image of your adversary. Last week, Jaime Clark, a first-time novelist who was reviewed negatively in P.W., decided to take matters into his own hands: In an e-mail sent to a list of literary editors, Clark offered to pay $1,000 to anyone who would tell him the name of the reviewer. “You need not reveal your identity to collect this bounty,” he assured his potential Judas, “but you must be able to substantiate your information.”

>> Read the full article