Respect.

I prefer to keep out of the drama, for the most part. But I cannot be quiet about this.

As a writer, I can understand why an author would become upset when their book receives a bad review. I can. However, writers should expect that not everyone is going to like their work.

When I originally published PROGRAM 13 in 2011, I received a decent amount of negative reviews right along with positive ones. But instead of lashing out at those who disliked PROGRAM 13, I took their criticism and used it to make the book better. When I republish it next month, I’m hoping that people will enjoy it. But if they don’t? That’s okay. At least they took the time to read what I wrote; they took a chance on me. And that’s what actually matters.

What I find extremely disturbing about this is that these authors think it is okay to harass reviewers who leave negative reviews on their books. When I say harass, I do mean harass. As in: internet stalking, posting [the reviewer's] personal information and threatening phone calls [to the reviewer]. If someone doesn’t like your book, that does NOT give you the right to harass them. Threatening someone because you’re not happy with what they think of your work? It’s wrong.

When it comes to the harassing of book bloggers, there are some things I think are worth pointing out:

• Book bloggers do have lives. I know for a fact that when I ran Nicole’s YA Book Haven, I was running the blog while working a full-time job, and dealing with personal issues at home. I read whenever I had a chance. I reviewed as many books as I personally could. But I never had enough time to take on every review request that I received. Thankfully, most of the authors/publishers that I dealt with were totally understanding when I needed to reject a review request. But, occasionally, I would receive a rude response after sending a nice, and professional, rejection. Writers cannot expect bloggers to take on every single book that is pitched to them. Bloggers do have lives.
• When you send a review request to a blogger, you are asking them for an HONEST review. There is no promise that they will like your book, but it is a risk you take. When the blogger posts their review, and it turns up that they loathed your book? That doesn’t mean you have the right to attack them. You asked them to post an HONEST review for your book, and they did. Take what they said into consideration, and move along.

Authors need to have thick skin. It’s hard, yes, and the negative reviews are going to hurt, but use the criticism to better your writing.

It's just upsetting that there are authors that think this is acceptable, when, really, it's nothing but bullying.