a special treat for connoisseurs of fail
Ahoy, 'tis a perfect storm of fail. These don't happen often, so I'm documenting this for posterity. It offers lessons in 1)how not to write fiction; 2)how not to respond to reviews of your fiction; and 3)how not to respond to an author losing her shit.
Summary of events:
1) Big Al's Books and Pals posts a review of a self-published novel called The Greek Seaman, by Jacqueline Howett. The review was lukewarm, citing numerous spelling and grammatical errors, but was fairly encouraging as reviews go. Just so you have the flavor of the work in question, here's part of the description the author posted on Amazon:
What is an eighteen year old newly wed doing traveling on a massive merchant ship anyways? Hadn’t she gone to Greece on tour in a ballet as a dancer? These are questions, Katy asks herself while traveling the high seas with Don her chief officer. However, little do they know a smuggling ring is also on board for this ride, on a blue diamond exchange and when explosions and threats to sink the ship also happen, they must try to save themselves. [Free sample.]
All rightie then.
2)The author appears on Al's blog to defend her masterpiece (sigh), first by copy-and-pasting positive reviews of dubious authorship from Amazon, and then by arguing with the reviewer and other commenters, starting with "My writing is just fine!" and ending with "Fuck off!" Her comments are as badly written as her prose. The video she links to is worse.
3)Needless to say, this does not engender sympathy among the commenters. The battle goes viral. Appalled writers, reviewers and publishing types weigh in. Many of their comments are as badly written as the author's contributions. It turns into a dogpile, the nasty comments continuing long after the author stops responding, and congeals into the proverbial Hot Mess. The reviewer freezes comments.
In short: Author Fails as Writer. Author also Fails as Part of the Writing Community. Massive Commenter Fail on both Glass House and Humanitarian grounds. In fact, the only person involved in this sacrificial volcano who did not fail was the original reviewer, who delivered a balanced review and maintained his civility despite extreme provocation. The Shiny Stick-on Star of the Week goes to Al of Big Al's Books and Pals.
Summary of events:
1) Big Al's Books and Pals posts a review of a self-published novel called The Greek Seaman, by Jacqueline Howett. The review was lukewarm, citing numerous spelling and grammatical errors, but was fairly encouraging as reviews go. Just so you have the flavor of the work in question, here's part of the description the author posted on Amazon:
What is an eighteen year old newly wed doing traveling on a massive merchant ship anyways? Hadn’t she gone to Greece on tour in a ballet as a dancer? These are questions, Katy asks herself while traveling the high seas with Don her chief officer. However, little do they know a smuggling ring is also on board for this ride, on a blue diamond exchange and when explosions and threats to sink the ship also happen, they must try to save themselves. [Free sample.]
All rightie then.
2)The author appears on Al's blog to defend her masterpiece (sigh), first by copy-and-pasting positive reviews of dubious authorship from Amazon, and then by arguing with the reviewer and other commenters, starting with "My writing is just fine!" and ending with "Fuck off!" Her comments are as badly written as her prose. The video she links to is worse.
3)Needless to say, this does not engender sympathy among the commenters. The battle goes viral. Appalled writers, reviewers and publishing types weigh in. Many of their comments are as badly written as the author's contributions. It turns into a dogpile, the nasty comments continuing long after the author stops responding, and congeals into the proverbial Hot Mess. The reviewer freezes comments.
In short: Author Fails as Writer. Author also Fails as Part of the Writing Community. Massive Commenter Fail on both Glass House and Humanitarian grounds. In fact, the only person involved in this sacrificial volcano who did not fail was the original reviewer, who delivered a balanced review and maintained his civility despite extreme provocation. The Shiny Stick-on Star of the Week goes to Al of Big Al's Books and Pals.