Augh.. that..

Relevent to our interests? I think so. by Neshomeh on 2011-03-30 02:36:00 UTC Reply

Oh, my friends, this is a cautionary tale. This is the tale of what happens when an author does not learn how to deal with reviews. This is the tale of BigAl's review of "The Greek Seaman" by Jacqueline Howett. Read the review. Then read the comments. Laugh. Weep. Learn.

That said, I'll also encourage you to scroll down the board a bit and take a look at Phobos' post on his mission. It's relevant in an inverse sort of way.

~Neshomeh

Is there an appropriate wiki article to plug this into? by Aeidhryn on 2011-03-31 22:36:00 UTC Reply

I'd hate to see such an... interesting... example go to waste. Since we were speaking of education (H & K's kiddy book)...

Done and done. *points down-thread* (nm) by Neshomeh on 2011-04-01 02:56:00 UTC Reply

Whoops. (nm) by Aeidhryn on 2011-04-03 00:16:00 UTC Reply

Augh.. that.. by Something Blue on 2011-03-31 04:31:00 UTC Reply

How does she even.. that's just...
*shakes head* by Gamma on 2011-03-30 22:08:00 UTC Reply

Immaturity much?
I agree with the posts before me; the author is acting like a bad fanfiction writer. The whole conversation is kind of an inverse of reviews on the pit; people are backing up the reviewer instead of the author.
I can't believe it., by Sergio Turbo on 2011-03-30 16:54:00 UTC Reply

That girl reacted exactly like the stereotiped Suethor.

And the review actually didn't say that the book was bad - it had a good story, but had issues with grammar. A polite, honest review.

Is bad writing going to invade the published Word Worlds too? Because it would make PPC work a lot harder. How can you mock bad writing when the canon material isn't better?
O_O by Jacer on 2011-03-30 07:37:00 UTC Reply

Dear heavens. It's like an immature fanfic author.

Except that instead of backing up the reviewer, like they do on that thread...people on the Pit back up the AUTHOR when they rage.

I was on the receiving end of that in early February...

Thank you Lord that there are still smart people in the world.

Re: O_O by Miah on 2011-03-30 17:50:00 UTC Reply

"Dear heavens. It's like an immature fanfic author."

That is exactly what I was thinking.

"people on the Pit back up the AUTHOR when they rage."

I was talking about this on the IRC the other day. It really would not surprise me at all if this Howett person was a fanfic writer before deciding to become a novelist. It really is a different world.

I have wondered recently if the PPC has not started to fall into that trap a bit. Mission writers don't get reviews other than, 'I liked this.' (I know that, at times, I have been guilty of this type of review myself, especially if I am in a hurry.) But we also are beginning to have an atmosphere where anything negative is seen as bullying. We don't want to foster flaming our PPC authors, but we have to balance that with allowing our reviewers freedom from fear of reprisals from the authors or other PPCers.

Personally, I am pledging to stop giving vapid reviews. I cannot guarantee that my reviews will be the best ever given, but I will be putting more effort into them in the future.

Expand this post →

Re: Relevent to our interests? I think so. by Karen Elaine DuLay on 2011-03-30 05:29:00 UTC Reply

....seriously, person?! Reviews are valuable feedback! LISTEN to the valuable feedback! Listen to it!
The saddest part by doctorlit on 2011-03-30 04:09:00 UTC Reply

is that Ms. Howett's comments claiming her writing is fine are themselves riddled with misspellings. My favorite of these is "discusting" which sounds to me like a PPC term for exactly what is happening here--a disgusting discussion that threatens to damage dignity.

That term by Teddy Leach on 2011-03-30 11:05:00 UTC Reply

It needs to get on the wiki!

Oh... my... that's FUNNY. Sad, but funny. by Sedri on 2011-03-30 03:51:00 UTC Reply

*snicker* That woman is an embarrassment. Yet these comments are like TrainWreck Syndrome - I just can't stop reading. Cautionary tale, indeed. Anyone think we should make a wiki link to this? It's too precious to be lost to the depths of the internet.

I did one. by Neshomeh on 2011-03-30 04:00:00 UTC Reply

I added a bit on the Review article in the wiki. I feel like it might be useful somewhere in the FAQ for Other People too, though--I'm just not sure quite where.

~Neshomeh

I'll take a look. by Sedri on 2011-03-30 04:15:00 UTC Reply

There ought to be at least one suitable spot in there... or I'll make one. Not just for laughs, though - it's a useful illustration that no one can really argue with.

Re: Relevent to our interests? I think so. by Arjay The Pyro on 2011-03-30 03:03:00 UTC Reply

If actions could translate as sounds over the internet, you could hear me rolling my eyes.

Honestly,(as stated by numerous commenters) the author acting in such an unprofessional manner is really off-putting.