One-star reviews–an annoying and frustrating reality for authors. Sometimes, but rarely, deserved in the minds of most writers. The advice from seasoned fellow writers is to never engage with the reviewer. Now, there’s a new wrinkle from this article in Time.
Extortion scams! These malefactors threaten to flood Goodreads with one-star reviews of an author’s books unless they pay up.
Money may not be the only issue. The article also says this about the attackers:
[T]hey are frequently targeting authors from marginalized communities who have spoken out on topics ranging from controversies within the industry to larger social issues on social media.
So, does that raise a flag to keep your blog posts “safe” or nonpolitical? I suppose, if had a huge following or high SEO, I might be concerned. As it is, that’s not currently a worry for me. How about you?
All in all, the piece from Time is worth checking out.
Unbelievable! But if this is the truth then it is believable but horrifying. This message needs to be spread far and wide about review bombers and their extortion methods. Thanks for posting this John. No, I doubt that I would keep any book of mine nice and tidy for the sake of political correctness, whether a best selling author or not. Once that happens it’s a slippery slope ..
People aren’t happy unless they’re making someone else’s life miserable. I’ve shared this far and wide. 🙁