Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This is How NOT to React to a Bad Review

I was surfing with Whisk and I came across this one blog that reviewed a book.  The review didn't like it so much and sited several problems.  The author started attacking him in the comments.  Go check it out.  It is a lesson on how NOT to react to a bad review.  But it is entertaining.

Check it out.

At this time there are 307 comments!  I only got to 30 or 40.  It's like a Jerry Springer episode.

22 comments:

  1. Yikes! What I found particularly amusing were all of the spelling and grammatical errors in the author's comments, which only lends strength to the reviewer's comments.

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  2. I like the way she said "Fuck off!" then came back several comments later to say it again.

    In comparison, I once posted about how weird a script decision was in a direct-to-video version of Beowulf, and the movie's producer popped into my blog to say why he thought it was a reasonable decision. No bad manners, he was very civil and informative. That's how you respond to a review you disagree with.

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  3. Not sure which was worse, her tantrum, or the pile-on after the fact.

    She chose the absolute worst way to handle a critical review.

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  4. Sean > Yeah, I thought it was funny for a bit, but then later on I started feeling bad for her. I've known so many 'artists' who put their creative works out for all to see and are amazed and indignant when someone doesn't like it.

    Talysman > Yeah I liked the double Fuck Off too. She spelled it right and there was no ambiguity in her intent. That's great that he explained why and was cool about it. I just thought the whole thing was a train wreck. Just reminded me why to just say thanks sometimes. Imagine if she had been cool about it and just made sure he had the most recent copy.

    Though I do think her sales will spike because of it. A lot of people will want to 'see' what's being talking about.

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  5. Yeah, that is terribly atrocious comments written on the blog by the writer offended.

    I tried to write in her style. Am I doing it right?

    Just sad. That Al is more erudite and grammatical then the writer.

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  6. Paladin > Did she ever. Yeah the piling on got a little bad, but its hard to defend her. Like I said above, as it went on I felt bad for her.

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  7. -C > The one thing she did that was unforgivable was demand the review be removed. And yeah, Al seemed like he was trying to get her to rein it in and salvage some dignity.

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  8. Wow. That hurt my head. I couldn't read much at all - I just wanted to hide. I think I was feeling all of the embarrassment that the author should have been feeling. lol.

    - Ark

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  9. What happened to "there's no such thing as bad publicity?" I'm just happy when someone BUYS my book, let alone REVIEWS it. Sheesh!

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  10. Thanks for putting that human drama out there for us all to be amazed by. I laughed, although really it is not funny in the strictest sense... it is like the involuntary chuckle when some punk goes down while walking on ice. A flinch, a laugh, and a whispered, "There but for the grace of God, go I~"

    Can you imagine being trapped in a conversation with that woman?

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  11. I say bully for her.

    The world would be a better place if those grammar, spelling, and punctuation editor-nazis (pie lovers to a man) would stop stifling all the golden words spun by aspiring, psycho-tunes novelists.

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  12. Wow, that was just, wow! I'm quite at a loss for words. Ah well, let her eat cake I say ;)!

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  13. She does not take criticism well, as you said after that she got hammered by nearly everybody.

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  14. That's the thing about the internet: people on it never fail to do the stupidest things.

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  15. It just amazes me how she asks, no demands that the review be taken down. Oh this poor lady.

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  16. Not to sound cliche but it is like watch a train wreck.

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  17. I checked out her blog - her personal writing is no better than her professional. And she "sees nothing wrong" with any of it, evidently. Yipes.

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  18. Holy crap that's hilarious. I'll be sharing with my writers' group :)

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  19. Al > I think that episode would definately benefit a writers group.

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  20. Did any of you check out her reviews on Amazon: 72 reviews, 60 of them were one-star. Wow.

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  21. Yes, we caught a few of the reviews on Amazon. I think if they could have given her no stars, they would have.

    I didn't think the review that started it all was that bad. And he gave her a two.

    Oy.

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  22. I'm just astonished that right out of the gate the author offers up three sockpuppet "reviews" that all manage to say essentially the same thing. "Descriptive" is the key word here.

    Apparently she's not merely an inept writer but an inept sock-puppeteer as well. Wonderful fun. Thanks for linking this.

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