I have many thoughts, but it took me a couple of days to write this, and then I didn't want to bury it under the Golden Globes liveblog, so
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Lord Cockmonster debates aside, I do have a firsthand insight into the crap fest that authors do go through that I actually consider to be harassment.
I don't have a problem if someone doesn't like a book, an author's writing style or subject, or if they wish things in a book had gone differently. What some serial writers are contending with nowadays are tiny groups of career flamers and mini-militias. I've seen people stalk an author for years, verbally attack their children and spouses. They RECRUIT other people to criticize, join message boards over and over using proxy servers and new names just to badmouth and flame authors. They insult, make personal remarks, and generally act in a way that is not acceptable in polite society. My author wasn't the only one to go through this, and I see some author tantrums and wonder if they are being attacked in this way. I just think that sometimes people feel free to take criticism to a mental-illness level.
You know, I've heard of that happening, but the interesting thing is that none of the freakouts related to what I'm talking about seem to be anything like that at all. These are people who are picking up a book for the first time, giving it a negative or mixed review, and the author sees it and freaks out. There doesn't seem to be any prior knowledge of the writer (in terms of, like, stalking), and they're not calling names, using profanity, or getting personal the way the writers themselves are in response. So I guess what I'm saying is, the kind of harassment you're talking about seems to be a completely different phenomenon. It isn't the kind of easily-avoidable situation I'm talking about here
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They have no idea how horrible it can get, then. If they keep up that behavior, they will get the attention of the 'professional' trolls and it will get ugly. So, so ugly. I'm talking 'mailing dead things to author' ugly.
I believe it. I think that's what's so ridiculous about some of this--these writers are flipping out over reviews that aren't even that terrible, much less actual unpleasantness/harassment. I have to think they haven't been on the internet in publishing very long. I mean, I've seen people snark about my ego, my looks, and my personal life, and even that is nothing compared to what some of the writers you're talking about endure. The writers in those links are acting like a single bad review is the end of the world; you're right, they really do not understand what actual bad behavior looks like.
True. And the bad behavior isn't really that surprising to me because I have reason to believe that some of the trolling I've had to deal with is from less-successful authors. When they go to another author's message board and say "This author is crap, you should try MY favorite author, Suzie Insecure. She really writes an AMAZING story, not like this crap!!!" it's not too far of a mental leap to imagine them going a little nuts over an obscure review and pounding an individual in a not-so-sane way.
I don't have a problem if someone doesn't like a book, an author's writing style or subject, or if they wish things in a book had gone differently. What some serial writers are contending with nowadays are tiny groups of career flamers and mini-militias. I've seen people stalk an author for years, verbally attack their children and spouses. They RECRUIT other people to criticize, join message boards over and over using proxy servers and new names just to badmouth and flame authors. They insult, make personal remarks, and generally act in a way that is not acceptable in polite society. My author wasn't the only one to go through this, and I see some author tantrums and wonder if they are being attacked in this way. I just think that sometimes people feel free to take criticism to a mental-illness level.
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Yeeeeeeah, me too, and indeed, that is the stuff that I find gross and alarmin', and I am sorry it happened to you!
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