Lisa Henry > Status Update

I should also clarify: I sometimes read 1 star reviews because they can be as helpful as 5 star reviews. I don't go looking for butthurt, and I don't need a link to flag the review right there, thanks GR.
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Seriously, GR? Most authors aren't whiny children. Deal with the problem of those who are, not the majority of us who were getting along just fine before you started stymying reviewers.

*eyeroll*

Goodreads corporate comms is clownshoe.

Julio wrote: "*eyeroll*

Goodreads corporate comms is clownshoe."

I have rolled my eyes so much today that I have a headache...

Wow, REALLY?!?! You GOT that kind of message?! They truly succumb to some whiny authors to fill their massive ego, don't they?

This is getting more ridiculous by the minute.

Ami wrote: "Wow, REALLY?!?! You GOT that kind of message?!"

Yep. All authors are getting them if you click on a 1 star review of your book.

And it's pointless, because if I was the sort of person who tore into a reviewer for leaving a 1 star, I'm pretty sure a patronising message like that wouldn't stop me.

And, for the record, the review wasn't that bad. The reader didn't like the subject matter, that's all. I've had more scathing high reviews :)

Lenore wrote: "This is getting more ridiculous by the minute."

I know, right?

Lisa wrote: "Lenore wrote: "This is getting more ridiculous by the minute."

I know, right?"

Totally agree, it's beyond stupid.
Should we all prepare to leave this place or what?

Who's running this shit show? This sounds like amateur hour. *smh*.

Con wrote: "OMG I had this last night with a 2* review. I was so startled by the message t..."

Fat-fingered stalker?

Can I give you my address...?

It's been a while.

Little Butterfly wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Lenore wrote: "This is getting more ridiculous by the minute."

I know, right?"

Totally agree, it's beyond stupid.
Should we all prepare to leave this place or what?"

There's a lot of talk going on about Booklikes and what it's like over there... seems like their servers are having a hard time taking all the GR refugees at the moment though, who are all trying to import their book reviews at once.

Haha. This is actually kind of hilarious. In a ridiculous and WTF!?-kind of way. O_o

Susan wrote: "Who's running this shit show? This sounds like amateur hour. *smh*."

I can handle the dumb messages. It's people getting shelves deleted with no warning that is worrying.

It takes a wile either way. Have to parse huge cvs files.

You cans till set up a profile and fuss with Facebook and twitter integration.

Dunno if it's a real GR replacement—seems more like tumblr for books, instead.

I went to look at booklikes and I couldn't even sign up, it kept complaining about my name?
So, I figured I stay here and be treated like an imbecile by the PTB and enjoy my friends.

karlakolumna wrote: "Haha. This is actually kind of hilarious. In a ridiculous and WTF!?-kind of way. O_o"

A lot of unhappy campers here at the moment though...
My shelves are safe, I think, but a lot of people have lost their shelves, and the reviews that they did for free, which added to GR's value.

It IS ridiculous.

Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "I went to look at booklikes and I couldn't even sign up, it kept complaining about my name?
So, I figured I stay here and be treated like an imbecile by the PTB and enjoy my friends."

Yeah, that would be the worst things about moving. I've made some great friends on GR, and I'm in some great groups.

Pfft. I'll bet the groups are next!

They took my lambast-y Orson Scott Card review down. Also my kill-it-before-it-lays-eggs shelf.

Not so bad. Only book on there was a Christian POS instruction manual for how not to raise a homosexual.

julio wrote: "They took my lambast-y Orson Scott Card review down. Also my kill-it-before-it-lays-eggs shelf.

Not so bad. Only book on there was a Christian POS instruction manual for how not to raise a homosex..."

What's annoying though, is how can they be sure that shelf wasn't for your collection of Scary Insect books? Someone got a "due to author" shelf deleted. Not "Won't read due to author" or "Christmas came early due to author". So who's in charge of making these judgement calls? And without even giving anyone the chance to rename their shelves...

Now I'm tempted to start a "kill it before it lays eggs" shelf and fill it with books about spiders and scorpions.

Lisa wrote: "A lot of unhappy campers here at the moment though... My shelves are safe, I think, but ..."

I've already checked my shelves and reviews as well. They should be safe, I hope. But if GR keeps up with this arbitrariness, who the bloody hell knows...

Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "I went to look at booklikes and I couldn't even sign up, it kept complaining about my name?
So, I figured I stay here and be treated like an imbecile by the PTB and enjoy my friends."

I went to look but didn't like that you have to sign up just to look around. I'm more a look before I sign person . I'll wait things out and see what happens. I like my small group of friends here and I like being able to interact with the nicer authors lol. Ooops hope that's not breaking a rule

It's pretty funny.

They tried to quietly announce a policy change of this magnitude on an obscure feedback thread on a Friday afternoon.

We've been complaining about it ever since.

Viva la resistance!

Lisa wrote: "julio wrote: "They took my lambast-y Orson Scott Card review down. Also my kill-it-before-it-lays-eggs shelf.

Not so bad. Only book on there was a Christian POS instruction manual for how not to r..."

And the whole Orson Scott Card thing is a perfect example of why shelving should be left to personal choice. Because maybe I don't want to give my money to a homophobic hate monger. And I'd like to know what causes I'm supporting with my money before I give it out.

Some people might be able to separate the author from the book, but if you can't, you shouldn't have to. It's for exactly the same reason that I buy tuna with "dolphin safe" labels, and clothing that promises not to have been made by a bunch of five year olds in a sweat shop. I want to spend my money ethically, and that counts for books as well.

^^^^ agreed

julio wrote: "It's pretty funny.

They tried to quietly announce a policy change of this magnitude on an obscure feedback thread on a Friday afternoon.

We've been complaining about it ever since.

Viva la resis..."

Right, Friday afternoon, and hoping by Monday we will have gotten all our mad out.
They should also give people time to change the 'offending' shelves/reviews before they delete.
Yet, likes don't work, feeds are screwed up, emails aren't reliable, my notifications only go back about 3 hours, the girl in the chair makes regular appearances, pictures are deleted, you can call a reader vile, vile names and that's ok..I'm sure I've forgotten things. Yet again, have a shelf named 'author-behavior' and it's deleted in a blink of an eye.

I signed up to Booklikes just to see how it went. And only a minute after I signed up, it said that I FOLLOW 25 OTHER ACCOUNTS?! How can that be, when I just sign up!! I think I will delete that account again. I'm deleting account there.

Ami wrote: "I signed up to Booklikes just to see how it went. And only a minute after I signed up, it said that I FOLLOW 25 OTHER ACCOUNTS?! How can that be, when I just sign up!! I think I will delete that ac..."

:) Ami, the same happened to me. They automatically add some accounts after you input what genres you're interested in. Just unfollow them. It's pretty easy and it was one of the first things I did.

@Lenore: which made that site feels more heavy on the blog/social media side rather than book collections. Oh, well... I'll stick to GR for now. Hopefully none of my shelves are considered offensive or attacking authors. I've been here since 2007. It sucks if I have to go find somewhere else to play just because some whiny authors crying foul.

Ami wrote: "@Lenore: which made that site feels more heavy on the blog/social media side rather than book collections. Oh, well... I'll stick to GR for now. Hopefully none of my shelves are considered offensiv..."

Fair enough. I'll keep my options open for now.

ETA: Keep my options open regarding which of these websites I'll be using in the future.

I feel the urge to laugh hysterically.

It's sad and mortifying.

Loederkoningin wrote: "I feel the urge to laugh hysterically."

I feel the urge to drink. Wait, why am I fighting it?

Never fight the urge to drink Lisa. On a Saturday night, as an Aussie, it is your duty to drink. I think I will join you. The behaviour of GR and some of the authors here make drinking sound like a good idea.

Awilk -home alone- wrote: "Never fight the urge to drink Lisa. On a Saturday night, as an Aussie, it is your duty to drink. I think I will join you. The behaviour of GR and some of the authors here make drinking sound like a..."

In that case, cheers!

Let's play 'Drink and click the flag button'!

When it comes to Booklikes...I'm not feeling it. Its Tumblerish lay out makes it hard to quickly get an overview and it just doesn't seem decent enough an alternative to invest time and energy in. It's a shame that Betterreads still doesn't exist. If it did I'd flip GR the finger and be outta here.:)

Loederkoningin wrote: "Let's play 'Drink and click the flag button'!

When it comes to Booklikes...I'm not feeling it. Its Tumblerish lay out makes it hard to quickly get an overview and it just doesn't seem decent enoug..."

Yeah, I like the social aspect of GR, and the groups and the chats.

Meh.

Whose turn is it to get the drinks?

I'll have a vodka and tonic.

Awilk -home alone- wrote: "I'll have a vodka and tonic."

Make it two!

Lisa wrote: "Seriously, GR? Most authors aren't whiny children. Deal with the problem of those who are, not the majority of us who were getting along just fine before you started stymying reviewers."

I know right!

Interesting insights :D Hehehehehehe

Camille wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Seriously, GR? Most authors aren't whiny children. Deal with the problem of those who are, not the majority of us who were getting along just fine before you started stymying reviewers..."

It's a crazy decision. Really. The thing I liked about GR was they stood by their reviewers when badly behaved authors were complaining about shelving. And today they've turned around and are deleting shelves without warning. Not nice, GR.

Kynthos-the-Archer wrote: "Interesting insights :D Hehehehehehe"

My insights: brought to you by vodka. :)

Not nice, Amazon, the site that careers to every upstart, deluded self-publishing 'author' with a dream of making it big overnight while reaping in the Createspace and KDP percentages.

Camille wrote: "Not nice, Amazon, the site that careers to every upstart, deluded self-publishing 'author' with a dream of making it big overnight while reaping in the Createspace and KDP percentages."

Exactly.

Unregulated self publishing. *shudder*
And while most SPAs do the right thing, sadly it's only the vocal minority that get heard. I don't think it's an accident that most BBAs are also SPAs. The rest of us got toughened up the old fashioned way: by being told "no" a lot of times by publishers and agents. Seriously. There is nothing a reviewer can do to us that we haven't already heard before.

Rejection gave me superpowers!

(Also, I'm still drinking.)

Totally agree! Plus, being an author is not simply about putting words on paper. It's about having the temperament, the desire, the need, and the ability to release a story to the world.

Please note the multiple meanings in the word "release".

But Amazon put out all these articles, which were then picked up by other sites such as Galley Cat etc, about self-made millionaires like Amanda Hocking and suddenly everybody thinks a laptop and a willingness to imitate and to capitalise on the latest trends makes them an author. :-s

Too early for me to drink..I'm only awake because my body doesn't respect weekends and was demanding to be fed :-)

Camille wrote: "Totally agree! Plus, being an author is not simply about putting words on paper. It's about having the temperament, the desire, the need, and the ability to release a story to the world.

Please n..."

11 pm here, and the perfect time to drink :)

The thing with successes like Amanda Hocking (I haven't read her stuff, so I can't speak to quality) is she put a hell of a lot of time and commitment into her brand, and into getting her name out there. And for every Amanda Hocking, there are probably hundred who didn't stick with it.

And "release". Yep, let it go, it's done, and it's on it's own now for better or for worse. Once it's out there, you have no control over how it is received. So let it go.

* pours a drink for Camille as well. Realises she is in a different hemisphere. Drinks it on her behalf *

What scares me, is that it has become PC to cater to the "lowest common denominator" not just here but everywhere. Why does my personal opinion always have to be positive?!

Anyone finding it really ironic that next week is Banned Books Week in America, Sept 22-28? A week celebrating anti-censorship?

Goodreads: "We are against censorship." *censors shelves*

Me: *facewall*

I think the message Lisa got is the goodreads equivalent of 'don't dry your dog in the microwave'. Of course most people aren't stupid enough to do that, but the sad fact is that some people are and need to be told shit like that. The sad fact is (and we've all seen them) that some authors react like their babies are murdered when they get a bad review. Too bad for the rest of us, that we have to also read the instructions for the terminally stupid, but if it saves a dog's life or several weeks worth of goodreads drama playing out on a comment thread, my opinion is that I'd be happy to just roll my eyes, suck it up and move on.

Lenore wrote: "Ami wrote: "@Lenore: which made that site feels more heavy on the blog/social media side rather than book collections. Oh, well... I'll stick to GR for now. Hopefully none of my shelves are considered offensiv..."

Fair enough. I'll keep my options open for now.

ETA: Keep my options open regarding which of these websites I'll be using in the future."

This. I also found the auto-follow obnoxious and I can't say I'm feeling the Booklikes love. I really want Betterreads, and would be happy to volunteer my time and experience to help make it so. But in the meantime, I'm keeping my social book website options open.