# UPDATE-Bad luck and anger about Goodreads Giveaway :(



## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Just got my first review from someone who won a copy of my book in a Goodreads Giveaway. It was a one star, one line review, and used the title of my book to put down my book.

I was really upset until I clicked on one of the shelf this guy had it on ("giveaways") to see that out of the 23 books he has won in Giveaways he has given 21 of them one star reviews, with his reasoning always being some kind of rude comment about how it's not his kind of book or making fun of the people who read that kind of book. 

Now I'm just mad. I write romances because I love the happy ending and I want to make my readers happy. Maybe my book could have brightened the day of someone else who entered the giveaway and instead it went to someone whose soul intention was obviously just to put down others.

And this person is a Goodreads Librarian.


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## Phil Bulman (Feb 17, 2012)

You may want to consider doing another giveaway and offering more copies.  I've done a few giveaways there.  The reviews may take awhile to show up, but most are fairly thoughtful.  I have gotten ratings from one to five stars, so there is quite a diversity of opinion!

In any case, it sounds like you got your one star review out of the way, and can look forward to better days.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Thanks. That's what I'm hoping for.

And thankfully I gave away 10 copies in this giveaway so at least that was not my only shot at a review.

I can stomach a bad review. I know not everyone will like my books.

I'm mostly just upset because this person is obviously just being intentionally cruel, and not just to me but to everyone he has won books from.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

Olivia Fuller said:


> Just got my first review from someone who won a copy of my book in a Goodreads Giveaway. It was a one star, one line review, and used the title of my book to put down my book.
> 
> I was really upset until I clicked on one of the shelf this guy had it on ("giveaways") to see that out of the 23 books he has won in Giveaways he has given 21 of them one star reviews, with his reasoning always being some kind of rude comment about how it's not his kind of book or making fun of the people who read that kind of book.
> 
> ...


That's absolutely disgusting, I'm so sorry that this happened to you - is there no way you can make a complaint to goodreads? It's just downright disrespectful to authors who buy and send copies of their works out of their own pocket - I've won books that I've not really enjoyed on GR but I always review them on the merit of the writing, plot and characters even if it wasn't exactly my thing! People really need to learn some manners


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

I'd actually leave a comment on this one and I'd politely ask him to pass the book along to someone who might enjoy it.


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## Katja (Jun 4, 2011)

Olivia Fuller said:


> And this person is a Goodreads Librarian.


Pretty much everyone who makes a request of becoming a librarian at Goodreads gets to be one, so this isn't a good merit to use as a measure. Source: I'm a Goodreads librarian.

That said, that's a crappy thing to do. :/ Sounds like he just participates in every Goodreads giveaway, whether he likes the genre or not.


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## ClaireMarie (Feb 23, 2013)

So sorry you ran into someone like that. I kind of cringe every time I look at my Goodreads reviews. I find a higher level of snark there than on regular Amazon reviews. But, I've also made some good friends so it all balances out. Good luck with the other nine.


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

The guys a prick so even more reason to leave it well alone and move on. From five giveaways the only review I ever got was a two star complaining that in the couple of chapters they read my descriptions of the London Underground weeny accurate enough. Whatever. The main point of giveaways is to get on to-read lists. If you want reviews go to the Making Connections group and ask to be listed. People actually request your book there, plus you you stick to ebooks so it doesn't cost anything. When I do paperback giveaways I only offer one copy at a time. I learned early on that the chance of getting someone who actually wants to read you book is slim so I just try to keep my costs down.


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## CarlG (Sep 16, 2012)

I've been generally disappointed with my Goodreads giveaway results. Out of six books given away in two giveaways I think I've gotten two reviews, one middling and one poor.

Plenty of people signed up to win the book, but I wonder if a lot of them had only a casual interest (since it's free). I wish I could get the book into the hands of readers who genuinely want to read it.

I'm also concerned with recent reports of people who use the contests to stock their book resale businesses, listing them on Amazon and other places without ever having read them.

ETA: Also, I agree that Goodreads reviewers tend to be on the snarkier side, and it concerns me that Kobo is reportedly planning to link up to those reviews, and that some libraries already do.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

headofwords said:


> If you want reviews go to the Making Connections group and ask to be listed. People actually request your book there, plus you you stick to ebooks so it doesn't cost anything.


Thanks for the advice.



headofwords said:


> When I do paperback giveaways I only offer one copy at a time.


I learned my lesson about this one and have a giveaway going now for only one book.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

That one is a strange one. I haven't won a goodreads giveaway since I signed up 2.5 years ago. I won 2 I think right off the bat and nothing since. Makes me mad a bit that he got 2 of the books I entered. Not really sure what point he is trying to make. 
The 2 books I am talking about are trade published. So I guess they really are randomly chosen. I always wondered about that. I mean I wondered if publishers get to look at the winners and have a choice. 

But on the other hand, its a giveaway. Like any other giveaway, people can do whatever they want with the winnings. Not really anything you can do about it. 

Its not going to hurt anyone though. We readers can read you know. So we can read the reviews and take from that.  

Plus, the average rating on this book is still very very high. To me actually unrealistically high. So I don't see how this is going to hurt anything.


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## timskorn (Nov 7, 2012)

I'd give it more time.  I recently gave away 15 copies and received 5 reviews, most of them constructive and more than a couple sentences.  Goodreads does say that they weigh a few different factors in making sure your copy has a higher likelihood of getting into the hands of someone who enjoys that genre.  That said, obviously not everyone will enjoy your book, and your book always has a chance of landing in the hands of someone like that, unfortunately.  I'd like to think out of the 10 copies you gave out, you'll some more constructive reviews coming your way soon.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

headofwords said:


> The guys a prick so even more reason to leave it well alone and move on. From five giveaways the only review I ever got was a two star complaining that in the couple of chapters they read my descriptions of the London Underground weeny accurate enough. Whatever. The main point of giveaways is to get on to-read lists. If you want reviews go to the Making Connections group and ask to be listed. People actually request your book there, plus you you stick to ebooks so it doesn't cost anything. When I do paperback giveaways I only offer one copy at a time. I learned early on that the chance of getting someone who actually wants to read you book is slim so I just try to keep my costs down.


fangirl moment - you're he who wrote the tuberiders - wow. I entered that giveaway and was sad not to have won, though I did get a review copy via a group  Unfortunately editing has somewhat taken over and I've yet to have the time to read and review it. But I AM looking forward to it. It's not all a waste 

on the subject of the asshat in question though (can I say asshat on KB?) I realised to my horror he was in my friend list and actually had to tear him a piece and delete him, I feel that indignant.


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## Scribbler (Apr 27, 2012)

Olivia, I'd just put it down to experience. Forget the guy and move on.


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## Paul Clayton (Sep 12, 2009)

Some of the folks over there can be pretty dismissive and nasty.  I had one person review my sample.  They didn't like it and that featured prominently in their review.  Mainly they did not like an action one of my characters took.  At any rate, that was, let's say, four years ago.  Then, when I did FREE day and announced it there, they pounced on that and got their free copy.  Four hundred and some pages they read. Despite their having a bad reaction to the sample.  And, sure enough, they reviewed it again and kicked it to the curb.  There must be some kind of awful karma between them and I going back a couple lifetimes.   I know, I know.  We have to suck it up.  Don't respond.  Move on.  But it does smart a bit.  And I can't see myself doing the same.  But that's life as a writer.  So, you are not alone.  Best!


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## Paul Clayton (Sep 12, 2009)

CarlG said:


> I've been generally disappointed with my Goodreads giveaway results. Out of six books given away in two giveaways I think I've gotten two reviews, one middling and one poor.
> 
> Plenty of people signed up to win the book, but I wonder if a lot of them had only a casual interest (since it's free). I wish I could get the book into the hands of readers who genuinely want to read it.
> 
> ...


Snark, yes. And I too read about Kobo and don't feel good about that. I'd go further than snark. For some people reviewing online has become some kind of virtual blood sport. And, okay, if four people out of the 4.7 kabillion who reviews books sees this and wants to nail me to the cross, so be it. But I'm not naming names and no fuzzy lovable little creatures have been harmed by me stating my opinion.
I has spoken!


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## GWakeling (Mar 23, 2012)

Sorry to hear this, Olivia. Seems we're both having bad days! Chin up, and let's carry on and look forward to some more positive reviews!


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Scribbler said:


> Olivia, I'd just put it down to experience. Forget the guy and move on.


That's exactly what I intend to do. Just wanted to rant a bit first.



Paul Clayton said:


> Some of the folks over there can be pretty dismissive and nasty. I had one person review my sample. They didn't like it and that featured prominently in their review. Mainly they did not like an action one of my characters took. At any rate, that was, let's say, four years ago. Then, when I did FREE day and announced it there, they pounced on that and got their free copy. Four hundred and some pages they read. Despite their having a bad reaction to the sample. And, sure enough, they reviewed it again and kicked it to the curb. There must be some kind of awful karma between them and I going back a couple lifetimes. I know, I know. We have to suck it up. Don't respond. Move on. But it does smart a bit. And I can't see myself doing the same. But that's life as a writer. So, you are not alone. Best!


Wow. That's terrible... and a very awful coincidence...



GWakeling said:


> Sorry to hear this, Olivia. Seems we're both having bad days! Chin up, and let's carry on and look forward to some more positive reviews!


Yep! I have 9 more books out there so hopefully at least 1 got in the hands of someone who likes it!
Good luck to you as well


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Sorry that you were unlucky enough to have this jerk win one of your books. It's obvious that he enters every giveaway whether he has any interest in the book or not.

He also won this book & gave it a one star.  Really! It looks like it's all a game to him.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

cagnes said:


> Sorry that you were unlucky enough to have this jerk win one of your books. It's obvious that he enters every giveaway whether he has any interest in the book or not.
> 
> He also won this book & gave it a one star.  Really! It looks like it's all a game to him.


Yep. I saw this one too. I was shocked. That's when I knew I shouldn't take the review to heart and try to move on...


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Olivia Fuller said:


> Yep. I saw this one too. I was shocked. That's when I knew I shouldn't take the review to heart and try to move on...


Exactly, the review had nothing to do with your book. I serious doubt that he even read it.

It's frustrating, like Atunah mentioned when giveaway books aren't going to the people who really have an interest reading them & instead go to people like this guy.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

Aww, Olivia, that is so nasty. I can understand your frustration - with Goodreads, you can never influence the way the winners are picked so yes, there are some people on there who just blindly enter all contests because it means free books, and then they review them and say the book is crap because it wasn't their kind of story. Fortunately, I have always had good responses from people who won my books (or no response, but that might just mean they either don't write reviews or didn't like it but didn't see the point of bashing the book). 
My advice: do a giveaway for one book, and then hand-pick two more winners from the list of people who entered, and mail them notifying them that they won your book. I don't think Goodreads even notifies the winners, I always do it myself. The only thing you need to do is click that button saying 'I sent copies to the winners'. And if you see any participants in your giveaways who strike you as genuinely interested, what's stopping you from making them winners too?  Just don't put up 10 copies in the giveway (like someone else in this thread said) because that might just attract freeloaders.


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## Pnjw (Apr 24, 2011)

Atunah said:


> The 2 books I am talking about are trade published. So I guess they really are randomly chosen. I always wondered about that. I mean I wondered if publishers get to look at the winners and have a choice.


I don't know about the trade publishers, but I can tell you when I run a giveaway, no, I don't have a choice. Goodreads sends me the shipping information for the winners and that's that.

I don't actually use the Goodreads giveaway for reviews at all. I mean, if they come in great (and I hope they are fair-not someone who is just being a jerk). I use it to get my book on people's shelves to help with visibility. That's it. Every little piece of internet real estate I can find is what I'm after.


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## RoseInTheTardis (Feb 2, 2013)

I'm really sorry.

That guy is just a nasty piece of work. Why enter giveaways just to slam the book? Especially with a single, stupid like about how it's not "his type of book". Um, so WHY DID YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY? Argh. That ticks me off.



JanneCO said:


> I'd actually leave a comment on this one and I'd politely ask him to pass the book along to someone who might enjoy it.


Even though it's tempting and I doubt this guy has a lot of support in entering giveaways just to be a jerk, commenting as an author on GoodReads is a really bad idea. If it leads to anything, it won't be good for the author. For all we know, this guy is doing the giveaway thing just to get an author to say something to him so he can get call it out and get people to dogpile on.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

I actually just left a comment on Goodreads underneath the guy's review and someone else did too. Nothing disrespectful, just stating the facts. It's obvious the guy is a pompous jerk, if you read what he replied to one of the other Goodreads users (Andrea) who called him out on his stupid one-line review.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

Olivia Fuller said:


> I was really upset until I clicked on one of the shelf this guy had it on ("giveaways") to see that out of the 23 books he has won in Giveaways he has given 21 of them one star reviews, with his reasoning always being some kind of rude comment about how it's not his kind of book or making fun of the people who read that kind of book.


What a jagoff.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I am still kind of baffled that he won 23 books in the giveaways. I got 2 since I been on goodreads. Now given, I only enter for books I am interested in, in the genres I like. But still, I entered quite a few over that time.
Either he has just a lot of luck there or he enters literally every single giveaway. Probably the latter, since he got a breast feeding book  

And don't respond to the dude anymore. He really seems to get off on poking at people. Its useless. He is doing this on purpose so just let him be. 

Thankfully folks like him are in the minority on Goodreads. But when there are what, 11 million members, there's bound to be a few of those.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Atunah said:


> And don't respond to the dude anymore. He really seems to get off on poking at people. Its useless. He is doing this on purpose so just let him be.


Agreed. Thanks for the support everyone  But responding to him anymore might just get him riled up.


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## bmcox (Nov 21, 2012)

Terribly sorry this happened to you. One of the problems of the system is that the odds of winning the next book giveaway increase if you provide a written review for the last book you won. So in order for him to receive the books he wants he enters everything and trashes the books he didn't want. The idea behind this algorithm was to increase content generation on the website, but it is now just a game and he is exploiting it to his advantage. I am only determining this by his pattern of behavior exhibited on his book list. I do not actually know whether he read the book, as he said, and hated it. If he did read it and hate it, then, however thoughtless, that's his legitimate response. Either way, I would advise those attacking him in the comments section to stop, as it does not help Olivia in the least.

Hopefully you'll receive a few thoughtful reviews down the line.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

DDark said:


> Some people love to hate a book. I honestly believe that.


I believe that too! I notice that many people on goodreads have an unusually large number of 1 star reviews. I've rated one book 1 star & just a few 2 stars. Why? Because I only read books that I find intriguing & I think I may enjoy . Some people are just looking for books to rate poorly so they can get attention & a reaction. Why else would anyone bother to waste their time on a book that they have no interest in?


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

There's a lot of anger in publishing. 

More than they told you about in the Intro to Publishing 101 workshop.

It's not all tweed blazers with leather patches. There's some serious shitass stuff some days. If you don't read reviews, you can avoid a surprising amount of it!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

bmcox said:


> Either way, I would advise those attacking him in the comments section to stop, as it does not help Olivia in the least.


Please.

Betsy
KB Mod


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## katiemoe (Feb 1, 2013)

I do feel if there is such a clear pattern of him doing this across a high percentage of books, it is worth bringing it to the attention of GoodReads. Not to expect anything to be done, but just to bring this to their attention, as it creates a less than pleasant environment and I'm sure that is not what they want.

I tried a couple of giveaways, did learn to reduce it to one book, but still don't think I'll be doing one again anytime soon. Better to get a copy in the hands of a blogger who will review it than just a random spin of the wheel for all who enter to pursue free books.


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## 60865 (Jun 11, 2012)

Just went to read the discussion under your book. The guy seems to be so full of himself I would not give him another though!


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

Sorry to hear that. I've done a goodreads giveaway and didn't recieve any review so far of that title. I think some people take pleasure in putting other people down. It's a lot easier to knock a house down than to build it and some people delight in the destruction. I review books myself, but if a book would get less than 3 stars from me, then I won't review it, I just move on to something else. There's enough negativity in the world already.

Have some virtual (((hugs)))

Annette


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

Not the best recording but you get the idea. This is what I always think of when I see or read about people like this.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Now why would a guy try to win a book called Breastfeeding Solutions: Quick Tips For the Most Common Nursing Challenges? Hmmm...not surprisingly, he gave it one-star as well.  I guess it couldn't help him with his issues.  

Yeah, I know he could be a dad and won it for his wife but still...my dh didn't even like to say the word, "breastfeeding". lol


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

cagnes said:


> Sorry that you were unlucky enough to have this jerk win one of your books. It's obvious that he enters every giveaway whether he has any interest in the book or not.
> 
> He also won this book & gave it a one star.  Really! It looks like it's all a game to him.


I should have read ahead and then I'd have seen your post, anyway, the fact that he won that book--possibly taking it away from a new mom that was having difficulties and who might have found a tip in there that would have helped her, really ticks me off.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Please.
> 
> Betsy
> KB Mod


Thanks, Betsy 

I appreciate the support from everyone, I really do, and that's why I posted this to begin with. I was hoping to vent a little about a situation I felt was unfair and to hear some kind words from you guys. So, thanks everyone for allowing me to do that.

But as unfair as this whole situation might be, I didn't start this thread because I wanted the reviewer attacked. That's not going to create a positive atmosphere for anymore. And it might come back to bite me :-/

I agree that it would be best in the long run for him to just be left alone.

Thanks everyone


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

MaryMcDonald said:


> I should have read ahead and then I'd have seen your post, anyway, the fact that he won that book--possibly taking it away from a new mom that was having difficulties and who might have found a tip in there that would have helped her, really ticks me off.


Yeah, that upset me too. There might have been someone who really needed this book and instead it went to someone who obviously had no interest or desire to read it. It's sad


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

Why do people sign up to win books that are obviously NOT their cup of tea?      Worse, then review it like that??    If I win something that isn't to my liking, I don't fault the product, I would just pass it along to someone who'd like it.


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

RoseInTheTardis said:


> Even though it's tempting and I doubt this guy has a lot of support in entering giveaways just to be a jerk, commenting as an author on GoodReads is a really bad idea. If it leads to anything, it won't be good for the author. For all we know, this guy is doing the giveaway thing just to get an author to say something to him so he can get call it out and get people to dogpile on.


I comment all the time, it's not a bad idea at all. I have noticed that the bloggers/reviewers will only do the "dogpile" thing if the author says something nasty (or as happened recently with the Cover Snark fiasco, when they sic their street team on them!  FYI - not a good idea to flex your muscle on someone else's blog)

I HIGHLY doubt this guy could stir up trouble for being asked to pass the book along. It's not not a comment worth making trouble about, but more importantly, no one is going to get in on author bashing unless there's a reason.

Authors are part of Goodreads - you are allowed to express your opinion on anything you want. Just make good choices when you do.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

Hi Olivia and Betsy,

just to make it clear, I didn't attack the guy on Goodreads, I just asked him why he would post a one-line review if the author asked for a review (since that is what he was implying in his one-line review...) and he said he didn't owe the author anything, so I said I misunderstood him and that he is right that readers don't owe authors anything, and we wished each other a good day. He even sent me a GR friend request! (which I declined, by the way... I mean, come on...that's taking it a bit too far)

Jen.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

Whatever happened to, "If you can't say something nice...?" Yeah, a person has the right to post a one-star review of a book they got for free, but that's just rude, IMO.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

jenminkman said:


> Hi Olivia and Betsy,
> 
> just to make it clear, I didn't attack the guy on Goodreads, I just asked him why he would post a one-line review if the author asked for a review (since that is what he was implying in his one-line review...) and he said he didn't owe the author anything, so I said I misunderstood him and that he is right that readers don't owe authors anything, and we wished each other a good day. He even sent me a GR friend request! (which I declined, by the way... I mean, come on...that's taking it a bit too far)
> 
> Jen.


I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to accuse you or anyone else of actually attacking him: I just wanted to make it clear that I hadn't started this post to attack him and that I agreed it was a good idea just to leave him alone.

Thanks for the support, and no worries


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Jan Strnad said:


> Whatever happened to, "If you can't say something nice...?" Yeah, a person has the right to post a one-star review of a book they got for free, but that's just rude, IMO.


I don't feel that a one-star review is necessarily rude if it's an honest rating for a book that you honestly wanted to read. I don't care for scathing, mean spirited reviews, but I see nothing wrong with an honest rating.

That's clearly not the case with this guy. I seriously doubt that he's even reading all these books he wins. I don't see where he can get much of a thrill from winning a book that he has no interest in... I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of those whole only want the books to sell them.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

cagnes said:


> I don't feel that a one-star review is necessarily rude if it's an honest rating for a book that you honestly wanted to read. I don't care for scathing, mean spirited reviews, but I see nothing wrong with an honest rating.
> 
> That's clearly not the case with this guy. I seriously doubt that he's even reading all these books he wins. I don't see where he can get much of a thrill from winning a book that he has no interest in... I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of those whole only want the books to sell them.


I agree. Nothing rude about a 1 star as a principle. I just left one recently and I wasn't being rude, I was being honest.

I am lucky that I do a lot of vetting and research before I ever read anything so my average ratings are higher. But if I feel a book is a 1 star for me, or a 2 star, I have no problems putting that down.


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## Anne Frasier (Oct 22, 2009)

Goodreads claims to choose winners of free books according to tastes, but in actuality that doesn't seem to be the case. close to all of the reviews I received from giveaways started with something about it not be the kind of book the winner read.  i no longer give books away there.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

cagnes said:


> I don't feel that a one-star review is necessarily rude if it's an honest rating for a book that you honestly wanted to read. I don't care for scathing, mean spirited reviews, but I see nothing wrong with an honest rating.


I completely agree. Do I like or want a one star review? Of course not! But I recognize that everyone has different opinions and likes different things and that not everyone will like my books. And that's ok. If you honestly don't like it then feel free to say so. You have that right and I will respect it, even though it hurts.

What I don't like is for anyone to be mean, rude, or cruel. To me or anyone else. There is no need for that and it's entirely possible to give an honest one star review without tearing the author apart.

In this situation, I was obviously not torn apart but I did feel the review was mean spirited as there was no explanation for the dissatisfaction (not that I am owed this at all) and it was clear from the shelf the book had been placed on that it had not even been finished. If you dislike something so much to not even finish it, then why even take the time to review? That just feels hurtful and unnecessary unless you are going to at least explain why.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

Yeah, I'm sorry, I may have attacked.

Though in my defense, his snarky horrible comment actually popped up on my GR feed and I would have probably said something along the same lines whether I'd seen this thread or not - I work with authors. I know how much unjust or unjustified ratings and reviews can cut people down.

I will, however, contain myself from posting re: this matter on GR again!!


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## Ann Herrick (Sep 24, 2010)

This is the problem with freebies, be they on Goodreads giveaways, Amazon free days or whatever.

While many readers pick freebies that they actually think they might enjoy, others just grab anything and everything, and then write snarky/nasty reviews about the books, generally because it turns out to be the kind of story they usually never read!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

I'm reminded of another critique, in another art form and another time.

After the first performance of Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto, a critic wrote that "it made him realize that music could actually stink."

Witty. Tchaikovsky suffered from depression for weeks. Lost time. Time he wasn't composing. Thanks to this wonderful, generous human being.

Who was this critic? I couldn't tell you his name without looking it up. Most people don't know about this incident, even fewer know the critic's name.

An awful lot of people know Tchaikovsky. An awful lot of people, even those who usually don't like classical music, love his first piano concerto. It is probably the most recorded concerto ever.

So there.


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## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

Some are just elated to leave 1 star reviews. I think it gives them a feeling of power, which in real life they don't have--so they beat up on a book.   They are simply hollow and bitter people.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

I saw your comments, Andrea - and his response to them was utterly disproportionate. I think he was trying to write you off as a lunatic for criticizing him (at least, that's what I gathered from the pseudo-psycho-science mumbo-jumbo he was spitting out in response to your comment on his profile... obviously trying to come across as really smart). Being smart, sadly, does not equal being social. Or, I don't know, maybe we should both be 'reading about cognitive distortions' like he suggested. By the way, he's at it again... this time he's 'reviewed' Tiny Treads, a book about knitting socks, and he accuses the book to read like a 'knitting sales catalogue' ... because it's about knitting. Seriously, I don't get upset easily, but someone should stop this guy!! He claims he has also written glowing reviews, but I only see one-star reviews on his profile page. I think Olivia can safely ignore his review and 'comment' because it's obvious to everyone he's just making up stuff to feel all-powerful.


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## James Bruno (Mar 15, 2011)

I couldn't refrain from also leaving a comment on this jerk's review. 

Surely it can't hurt to send a complaint to Goodreads about the malicious nature of one of its so-called Librarians.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

James, I just read the Goodreads rules and it seems this guy stays within the boundaries set by GR...  he's sly. He doesn't attack the author, he doesn't use bad words, he's not plain offensive, he's just too sarcastic for anybody's good. But if what other people on this thread say is true (that he's using the giveaways to get free copies of books and he's increasing his chances of winning by always 'reviewing' the copies he's won...) then I think we'd have a chance of filing a complaint. Plus, I am definitely blacklisting this guy in future giveaways I might do on Goodreads. If he's the winner, I'm not sending out a copy of my book to him, whatever Goodreads says - they can never prove I didn't send one out, after all. This poor excuse of a reviewer doesn't deserve to be sent any free books ever again.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Olivia Fuller said:


> Thanks, Betsy
> 
> I appreciate the support from everyone, I really do, and that's why I posted this to begin with. I was hoping to vent a little about a situation I felt was unfair and to hear some kind words from you guys. So, thanks everyone for allowing me to do that.
> 
> ...


Thank you, Olivia. We want authors to be able to vent here in the Writers' Café; everyone needs to have someplace to vent.  But all too often, fellow authors, in an effort to be helpful, do rush to the site/review/whatever being vented over to jump on the person/post/review/comment being vented over. In the long run, this is NOT helpful and often starts a round of retaliation.

This is the reason we ask that people not include links (which you didn't, Olivia).

Thanks for understanding, Olivia! I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your giveaway.

Betsy


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

For the record, I've had people 1-star plenty of my books that they paid cash for, that were never available for free.

Not as many, mind you, but it does happen.

They are like ... let's say ... _nostrils_. Everybody has them.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

Dalya said:


> For the record, I've had people 1-star plenty of my books that they paid cash for, that were never available for free.
> 
> Not as many, mind you, but it does happen.
> 
> They are like ... let's say ... _nostrils_. Everybody has them.


This made me giggle because I was thinking of people with more than two nostrils!!


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Thank you, Olivia. We want authors to be able to vent here in the Writers' Café; everyone needs to have someplace to vent.  But all too often, fellow authors, in an effort to be helpful, do rush to the site/review/whatever being vented over to jump on the person/post/review/comment being vented over. In the long run, this is NOT helpful and often starts a round of retaliation.
> 
> This is the reason we ask that people not include links (which you didn't, Olivia).
> 
> ...


Thanks Betsy  I have definitely found a lot of support here and posting here has helped me through more than one bad day.

And yes, that's why I was also careful not to even mention the name of the book, let alone provide a link. 
Though I suppose in retrospect it wasn't really that hard to figure which book and which reviewer I was venting about even though I didn't provide that information :-/

I actually feel a bit bad now 


Dalya said:


> They are like ... let's say ... _nostrils_. Everybody has them.


This made me laugh as well, though I admit it took me longer than Im proud of to figure out why you were talking about nostrils!


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## cvwriter (May 16, 2011)

CarlG said:


> I'm also concerned with recent reports of people who use the contests to stock their book resale businesses, listing them on Amazon and other places without ever having read them.


Oh wow, that's disgusting. I didn't even think of that. It reminds me of the skanks over at LibraryThing who want gifted Kindle books so they can return them for credit.


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## L M May (Mar 14, 2013)

MaryMcDonald said:


> Now why would a guy try to win a book called Breastfeeding Solutions: Quick Tips For the Most Common Nursing Challenges? Hmmm...not surprisingly, he gave it one-star as well. I guess it couldn't help him with his issues.
> 
> Yeah, I know he could be a dad and won it for his wife but still...my dh didn't even like to say the word, "breastfeeding". lol


WOW - that is kind of weird. I think some people just like to enter giveaways too. And yeah ... he could be a dad, but still. Sorry your giveaway didn't go well.


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## Soothesayer (Oct 19, 2012)

Sounds like either one of those "impossible to please" types... or your competition. Goodreads is known for its flash mobs of negative reviewers.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

cvwriter said:


> Oh wow, that's disgusting. I didn't even think of that. It reminds me of the skanks over at LibraryThing who want gifted Kindle books so they can return them for credit.


People are just unscrupulous - I didn't know people could even DO that (mainly because we don't have e-book gifting in the UK).

All of these things have totally ruined my day.



Olivia Fuller said:


> And yes, that's why I was also careful not to even mention the name of the book, let alone provide a link.
> Though I suppose in retrospect it wasn't really that hard to figure which book and which reviewer I was venting about even though I didn't provide that information :-/


It was an unfortunate coincidence that this popped up on my GR feed; I wouldn't have hunted him down or anything. Safe to say that I have de-friended and nothing like this will be popping up on my feed in future; I shall now do nothing other than be supportive here on KB!


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## Accord64 (Mar 12, 2012)

I went over to Goodreads to read the review - and all the followup comments (11 so far).

Clearly this guy is out for attention and I'd caution against feeding his insatiable appetite any further. I doubt it's going to help the OP. Time to walk away.


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## Andrea Harding (Feb 27, 2013)

Accord64 said:


> I went over to Goodreads to read the review - and all the followup comments (11 so far).
> 
> Clearly this guy is out for attention and I'd caution against feeding his insatiable appetite any further. I doubt it's going to help the OP. Time to walk away.


WILL NOT FEED THE ANIMALS *bashes self on head*


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## Cherise (May 13, 2012)

Andrea Harding said:


> WILL NOT FEED THE ANIMALS *bashes self on head*


Nor the trolls, either.


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## Accord64 (Mar 12, 2012)

Andrea Harding said:


> WILL NOT FEED THE ANIMALS *bashes self on head*


But your heart was in the right place.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

Now I'm curious...if you're running a giveaway, and somebody like this gets chosen as one of the winners (I'm paranoid now because I also have a Goodreads giveaway running at the moment), can you contact the people at Goodreads and request that they choose a different winner? Because I sure as heck don't want to give this person a free copy of my book... (I can't imagine many other people would, either.)


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

DDark said:


> ... Some people love to hate a book. I honestly believe that. I have reviewers on there who have ripped my book to shreds and openly state they are going to buy the next book in the series, and the next. I generally don't read reviews often on Goodreads because that site is cluttered, but a few readers brought it up because apparently, it p*ssed them off. I told them not to comment on the reviews.


That reminds me of Woody Allen's Annie Hall: " The food is terrible and such small portions".


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

jenminkman said:


> James, I just read the Goodreads rules and it seems this guy stays within the boundaries set by GR... he's sly. He doesn't attack the author, he doesn't use bad words, he's not plain offensive, he's just too sarcastic for anybody's good. But if what other people on this thread say is true (that he's using the giveaways to get free copies of books and he's increasing his chances of winning by always 'reviewing' the copies he's won...) then I think we'd have a chance of filing a complaint. Plus, I am definitely blacklisting this guy in future giveaways I might do on Goodreads. If he's the winner, I'm not sending out a copy of my book to him, whatever Goodreads says - they can never prove I didn't send one out, after all. This poor excuse of a reviewer doesn't deserve to be sent any free books ever again.


Sadly, this does seem to be the case. Other than the possibility that he is gaming the system to amass books to sell (something that can't really be proven even with his pattern of winnings and "reviews"), he doesn't appear to be breaking any actual rules. Though I don't see the harm in at least bringing the situation to the attention of Goodreads and seeing what happens. And I don't even really care about the review he left me anymore. I just don't want to see other authors spend time and money on giveaways only to be betrayed by people who have no interest in the books to begin with.

And while I'm on that subject, I just like to point out the thing that most upset me about this whole situation: there were printing errors in some of the books I ordered for the giveaway and I had to call Createspace to send me replacements, so I literally hand picked each and every book I sent out to the winners (some of them page by page) to make sure they were printed properly and up to standard. So it just makes me sad thinking that my book might be sitting on a shelf somewhere never to be read by someone who didn't want it in the first place.

At this point I hope he does sell it so that at least it might make it's way to someone who actually wants it.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

And I would like to request again: I know you all mean well but please, please do not respond to him because now he is questioning whether or not I have put you guys up to this and I don't want it to reflect poorly on me and dissuade others from reading or reviewing my book 

Edit: I would be ok with you confirming that you are in no way involved with the promotion of this book and you do not know me, but other than that, please just leave it be...


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

There's really nothing you can do (I say that as a GR "librarian" woo-hoo  )

I did post and suggested her pass the book along to someone who may like it.  Help to find it a better home.  And, I sampled the book on Amazon prior to suggesting it ... it's certainly NOT a one-star book, so take heart and have some cake or something.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Italiahaircolor said:


> There's really nothing you can do (I say that as a GR "librarian" woo-hoo )
> 
> I did post and suggested her pass the book along to someone who may like it. Help to find it a better home. And, I sampled the book on Amazon prior to suggesting it ... it's certainly NOT a one-star book, so take heart and have some cake or something.


I just saw your comment, actually. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement and for the suggestion that he pass it along


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Yeah, there are some people on Goodreads who seem to do nothing there but rip on books, whether they've read them or not.  The internet is full of trolls.  The nice thing about GR is, for all its snark, it's a community full of smart readers.  No one using that site will look at his review and think, "What?!  Well, I'm convinced.  This book sucks."  They'll think, "What a moron this reviewer is" and give your book a fair shake anyway.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Italiahaircolor said:


> There's really nothing you can do (I say that as a GR "librarian" woo-hoo )
> 
> I did post and suggested her pass the book along to someone who may like it. Help to find it a better home. And, I sampled the book on Amazon prior to suggesting it ... it's certainly NOT a one-star book, so take heart and have some cake or something.


Your kind comment is gone now  I hope my post about not responding to him did not make you delete it, as obviously I was not referring to your constructive remarks about passing the book along to someone who might want it...


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

I deleted the comment ... maybe he read it, maybe he didn't ... but I respect your wishes and right to vent with a tribe of writers bashing this guy over the head for being an a******. But let me go on record as saying, loudly, he deserves to be called out on the carpet for his behaviors which are unpleasant.

My response was guttural, like a literal, physical "oh no you don't!" ... I just don't like (what I call) the Culture of Cruelty on Goodreads. I was a member long before I was writer. I belong to dozens of groups. I _know_ that, in comparison to Amazon reviews, Goodreads reviews are all about the _reviewer_, not the book, not the writer. Most people write them to show how witty they are hike up the "follow my reviews" and "friend" counter on their personal pages, it's a sport and popularity contest based on reviewing books. These reviewers, like this guy, take below-the-belt shots at writers to prove themselves funny, insightful, and snarky. It sucks. It's rude. It's hurtful. It should stop.

But Goodreads does nothing to quell this behavior. They encourage it, almost, in a very back-door way. Mean reviewers become heroes, legends. They don't get banned, even when the reviews (like yours) are personal. They don't even get a tiny slap on the hand.

If I could stop my addiction to reading reviews, the first place I'd cut would be Goodreads. But I can't ::sigh:: so I carry on and will bite my tongue.

Sorry this happened to you.

ETA: He responded to what I said prior to my deleting it ... so he got the message. It doesn't need to live forever ... but he got the message and all it took was being a little nice to him. I suspect he'll back off now, and I hope **really** he does.


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## James Bruno (Mar 15, 2011)

I've never taken to Goodreads. I find too many toxic "reviews" left by space cadets with too much time on their sweaty little hands. I'm coming out with two books soon and am steering clear of GR -- no listing there and no giiveaways.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Italiahaircolor said:


> I deleted the comment ... maybe he read it, maybe he didn't ... but I respect your wishes and right to vent with a tribe of writers bashing this guy over the head for being an a******. But let me go on record as saying, loudly, he deserves to be called out on the carpet for his behaviors which are unpleasant.
> 
> My response was guttural, like a literal, physical "oh no you don't!" ... I just don't like (what I call) the Culture of Cruelty on Goodreads. I was a member long before I was writer. I belong to dozens of groups. I _know_ that, in comparison to Amazon reviews, Goodreads reviews are all about the _reviewer_, not the book, not the writer. Most people write them to show how witty they are hike up the "follow my reviews" and "friend" counter on their personal pages, it's a sport and popularity contest based on reviewing books. These reviewers, like this guy, take below-the-belt shots at writers to prove themselves funny, insightful, and snarky. It sucks. It's rude. It's hurtful. It should stop.
> 
> ...


I respect that  I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was calling you out. I wasn't  I'm not calling any one person out.

And the addiction to read review? Oh man, if I could stop that. People tell me not to read them but no matter how I try, I do. I just want to know that one person, *even just one person*, had a happier day because they read my book. That's the best reward for me. And if I have to read through dozens, hundreds, of terrible reviews because of it then so be it.

But regardless, thanks for the support. Just like I have said to everyone else, thanks so much for the support. I haven't exactly had the smoothest ride in these earliest stages of my writing career (and I know I'm not the only one here with that experience) and it's very comforting to know that I am not alone in my frustrations and struggles. Thanks everyone


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Italiahaircolor said:


> ETA: He responded to what I said prior to my deleting it ... so he got the message. It doesn't need to live forever ... but he got the message and all it took was being a little nice to him. I suspect he'll back off now, and I hope **really** he does.


Thanks again. I'm hoping this kindness goes a long way 

ETA: and yes. The nice probably did it. But I have held my tongue even though I have just wanted to say "enough already!" No matter what, I doubt that me responding to him would have done any good.


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

I would contact Patrick Brown at Goodreads and let him know what's happening.


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

James Bruno said:


> I've never taken to Goodreads. I find too many toxic "reviews" left by space cadets with too much time on their sweaty little hands. I'm coming out with two books soon and am steering clear of GR -- no listing there and no giiveaways.


Your book will probably make it on to Goodreads whether you list it or not ... as soon as a reader reads it and wants to review it, your book will appear.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

LilianaHart said:


> I would contact Patrick Brown at Goodreads and let him know what's happening.


Honest question: who is Patrick Brown, how do I contact him, and why?


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

Olivia Fuller said:


> Honest question: who is Patrick Brown, how do I contact him, and why?


He's the community manager. Under "About Us" at the way bottom of the page is a link to "Contact Us"


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Italiahaircolor said:


> He's the community manager. Under "About Us" at the way bottom of the page is a link to "Contact Us"





LilianaHart said:


> I would contact Patrick Brown at Goodreads and let him know what's happening.


Thanks! I will probably do that. I don't know if it will make a difference but I would like to at least try so that other authors do not experience a similar situation.


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## Gina Black (Mar 15, 2011)

I'm so sorry to hear about this. My one experience with a giveaway gave me loads of people saying they wanted to read my book but not much else. The books that I sent to the winners did not result in any reviews. It left me feeling like it was a wasted effort.

I think based on your experience (and mine) I wouldn't bother again.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

I just wanted to update everyone on this.

I filed a very detailed complaint directly with Patrick Brown and I just heard back.

While they find the situation upsetting and can understand why people in the Goodreads Community are upset, as we all suspected there is nothing that can be done because this person did not technically break any rules. However, I was told that this particular case will be taken into account as they work on improving the algorithm for choosing winners.

I expected this would probably be the case, but I sure hoped that something positive might come from this and that they would see the maliciousness of intent.

In the past year that I have been publishing I have attracted nothing but one very bad seed after another. It appears this is just another one of those times


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

OliviaF said:


> While they find the situation upsetting and can understand why people in the Goodreads Community are upset, as we all suspected there is nothing that can be done because this person did not technically break any rules. However, I was told that this particular case will be taken into account as they work on improving the algorithm for choosing winners.


While I understand that they can't do anything about this scandalous behavior, due to "technical" reasons, I rather find this upsetting and it doesn't move me to change my position that I will not contribute any original content to their site or partake in give-aways and all that. I sincerely deplore being reduced to using their site for my purposes only without giving anything whatsoever back, much as one would use a lemon. This is of course due to technical reasons. Obviously.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm not going to lie but I actually cried when I got this response back. 

I know that he didn't technically break any rules but it's blatantly obvious that he is maliciously entering giveaways with the sole intent of leaving a negative review and then doing who knows what with the book.

He even said in all the discourse that he feels that classic literature is deserving of 5 stars and that all other works are 1 star in comparison. He also said that he is dismissive of romance novels because of their low quality and because they are porn.

He has made it clear that he has gone into the giveaways with a bias and has already decided that he will not like my book or anyone's book before he even reads it, but since he hasn't technically broken any rules nothing can be done.

Edited to add: Oh! I'd like to point out that among all the comments he wrote, he did at one point give a half line "summary" of my book as an example that it is not "high literature." And you know what that "summary" tells me? That maybe he read the description on the back of the book but not the book itself...


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

OliviaF said:


> ...
> In the past year that I have been publishing I have attracted nothing but one very bad seed after another. It appears this is just another one of those times


Nope.

You've got all of us. And most of us are awesome.

You have to take a little bit of "abuse" to be a part of this exclusive group of folks known as authors. And to get to those amazing folks known as "fans."

I've encountered shitty people too. Folks who are straight-up nasty are pretty easy to deal with. You ignore them. People who pretend to be your friend until there's no monetary value in being your friend are not so easy. But you learn, and even the shitass things make you appreciate the good stuff even more.

Look at the support you have here, and put the h8ers on a h8ers list and move your mind to other things.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Dalya said:


> Nope.
> 
> You've got all of us. And most of us are awesome.
> 
> ...


And this is why I'm here.
Thanks. I really needed this right now 

Edited to add: And I also wanted to say that the thing is, I don't really care about the review anymore (even though I'm upset I spent money sending the book to this guy). It's glaringly obvious to anyone who sees that review and those comments now that it's not legitimate. I just didn't want this to happen to anyone else. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure that other people didn't have to go though this with this guys...


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## Accord64 (Mar 12, 2012)

I'm confused about a couple of things.

1. Didn't this guy have to actually apply for this specific book in order to get a a free copy of it? If so, why apply for a genre that he admittedly doesn't like (which aslo applies to several other free books he obtained)?

2. I would think that Goodreads would be a bit more concerned about this type of reviewer as it tends to degrade the reputation of the site in general.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

Accord64 said:


> I'm confused about a couple of things.
> 
> 1. Didn't this guy have to actually apply for this specific book in order to get a a free copy of it? If so, why apply for a genre that he admittedly doesn't like (which aslo applies to several other free books he obtained)?
> 
> 2. I would think that Goodreads would be a bit more concerned about this type of reviewer as it tends to degrade the reputation of the site in general.


Yes, he did have to apply for it. Though when challenged on that very thing he would either suggest the other person seek psychological help, say he bought it for someone else (in which case there is no need to review) or say he entered accidenltey (and as someone who has entered several giveaways, you don't just accidentely click to enter. There are several steps.) This coupled with the his admittance to dislike the genres and any books besides the classic, were clues to me that his intentions were malicious.

This as well as the argument that it degrades the Goodreads community were that basis of my argument that something should be done about this situation. I wrote an argument over a page long with links, quotes, and specific examples of his maliciousness and the harm to the Goodreads community, but because he did not technically break any rules then there is nothing they can do and he is entitled to his "opinion."

Though I did just enter a giveaway today and notice that FTC regulations state that if you win a book in a Giveaway you must disclose that in the review. He hasn't done that, but I'm not getting into that can of worms...


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## Paul Clayton (Sep 12, 2009)

By the way, I have spent over fifteen hundred dollars at GR's advertising one of my books over the years.  I do this because there are a lot of serious readers over there, and where else can you drop your line and find that many fish?  The ads are easy to use and target to the reader you want.  So, overall, I view it as a positive.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

I had commented on another romance book that he rated 1-star. In his response he admitted that he probably was clicking through the giveaways fast and did enter this by accident. Yeah right. It takes 3 clicks to enter a Goodreads giveaway... not so easy to enter accidently.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

cagnes said:


> I had commented on another romance book that he rated 1-star. In his response he admitted that he probably was clicking through the giveaways fast and did enter this by accident. Yeah right. It takes 3 clicks to enter a Goodreads giveaway... not so easy to enter accidently.


I actually saw your response as I was looking through his reviews to write my complaint.

I know how many steps it takes to enter a giveaway and I don't believe him. Not one bit.


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## RoseInTheTardis (Feb 2, 2013)

Gah. I'm really sorry, Olivia. I'm not surprised GR can't do anything but it sucks when he's obviously entering giveaways for books he doesn't even want just to give them bad reviews to be a jerk. 

At any rate,  you're awesome. Don't let the jerks get you down. They're not worth it.


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## JTCochrane (Feb 6, 2012)

headofwords said:


> If you want reviews go to the Making Connections group and ask to be listed.


Who do you ask to be listed? The moderators of the group?


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

RoseInTheTardis said:


> Gah. I'm really sorry, Olivia. I'm not surprised GR can't do anything but it sucks when he's obviously entering giveaways for books he doesn't even want just to give them bad reviews to be a jerk.
> 
> At any rate, you're awesome. Don't let the jerks get you down. They're not worth it.


Aww thanks  It means a lot 

All I wanted was to bring attention to this issue so others did not have to experience it.

Maybe Goodreads can't do anything but hopefully this thread will


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

OliviaF said:


> Aww thanks  It means a lot
> 
> All I wanted was to bring attention to this issue so others did not have to experience it.
> 
> Maybe Goodreads can't do anything but hopefully this thread will


Well, you made me think twice about offering a book for a giveaway on Goodreads. Only two of my books are in print, and I haven't done much with them. I think I'll stick with giving ebooks away. At least those can't be re-sold.


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

MaryMcDonald said:


> Well, you made me think twice about offering a book for a giveaway on Goodreads. Only two of my books are in print, and I haven't done much with them. I think I'll stick with giving ebooks away. At least those can't be re-sold.


I have another giveaway going now for my first book. I set it up before all of this happened :-/

At least it's only for one book this time, but I'm not sure what to do in the future...


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## L M May (Mar 14, 2013)

JTCochrane said:


> Who do you ask to be listed? The moderators of the group?


Actually I think I am a part of that group! (Making Connections) I haven't listed my book for review yet, I know that one of the groups I joined a while ago had a list that was very long until your turn came around. I think it was a few months. Not sure if it was this one.


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## Gennita Low (Dec 13, 2012)

Writing to Patrick is a waste of time, imho. He has so many fights to break up at Goodreads, with so many people--writers and reviewers--squabbling about personal attacks that I suspect he just sends out a generic reply to the most "quiet" of complainers.

Wait till you (okay, not you, just a General You...wouldn't want to wish that on any author) are in the midst of a free-for-all, where every reviewer within her personal circle seems to target you and your book and shelving you for bad behavior and going on a rampage on your blog and then you and your friends start to defend you because, you know, that's how it always is...then you get Patrick's attention  .  Which is, by then, way too late, because the damage has been done.

Sorry this happened to you. It was a tough deal, especially when it's a giveaway designed for readers who WANTED that book. Hugs.


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

I listed a giveaway on GR a few days ago and am now checking every day to see if aforementioned jerk is 'accidentally' signing up for it. So far, so good!   the people requesting all seem to be genuinely interested in YA Paranormal...!


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## OliviaF (Feb 3, 2013)

jenminkman said:


> I listed a giveaway on GR a few days ago and am now checking every day to see if aforementioned jerk is 'accidentally' signing up for it. So far, so good!  the people requesting all seem to be genuinely interested in YA Paranormal...!


Me too :-/ I had a giveaway for my first book start the day that he left this review. I haven't received any reviews from the other winners but I did notice that at least one of the winners entered to win this book as well, so that has to be a good sign, right? 



Gennita Low said:


> Writing to Patrick is a waste of time, imho. He has so many fights to break up at Goodreads, with so many people--writers and reviewers--squabbling about personal attacks that I suspect he just sends out a generic reply to the most "quiet" of complainers.
> 
> Wait till you (okay, not you, just a General You...wouldn't want to wish that on any author) are in the midst of a free-for-all, where every reviewer within her personal circle seems to target you and your book and shelving you for bad behavior and going on a rampage on your blog and then you and your friends start to defend you because, you know, that's how it always is...then you get Patrick's attention . Which is, by then, way too late, because the damage has been done.
> 
> Sorry this happened to you. It was a tough deal, especially when it's a giveaway designed for readers who WANTED that book. Hugs.


I wanted to at least try because I knew if I didn't I would kick myself if I ever saw him doing this to another author and wonder if I could have helped.

And thanks  But I'm sorry that happened to you (I'm assuming that's what you meant). As many bad seeds as I've encountered so far I sometimes forget that there are other people who have had it much worse...


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## Josie Gerard (May 20, 2013)

OliviaF,
I just happened on your thread (2 months later) and I'm sure you're over it by now. But I want to share my book giveaway experiences of two years ago to help you see how good you had it. To drum up advance publicity, three months before publishing my first book on KDP, I participated in a GR and Library Things giveaways and made sure the winners knew when the pub date was. I also requested a brief review or mention on GR, LT, Amazon, their blogs. 
I realize they're not required to provide reviews, but that's based on the old "gentleman's agreement" that if a book was so bad they couldn't write a positive review, they could decline (I know this for a fact b/c 20 years ago I was a book critic). But the old agreement has morphed into an excuse for irresponsibility and laziness. 
I disseminated 10 books on each site, waited a month. No response. I politely queried to ensure the book was received, it was. I was waited another month. No response. Panicked, I did another 20 books giveaway (and requested reviews before the pub date). Again, I courteously followed up with all 40 people.
And this is where they got ugly. 37 of them had some lame excuse: they never received it; it got lost in their email or harddrive or mail; they thought it was a children's book (at 345 pages?); they didn't realize it was so long (didn't they read the blurb before entering the contest?), and on and on. Then a bunch of them took me to task for "pushing" them, and told me they'd get to it in their own sweet time-or never. I could tell they hadn't even cracked the cover. 
Only three posted reviews--all 5 stars--but I could tell from her review one hadn't even read it. I crossed my fingers that the 37 evil GR winners would later post reviews, but none did. Before you "blame the victim" (me) that it is a bad book, let me say it won two state arts council awards and portions were accepted for publication in literary magazines.
I was absolutely dumbfounded (and out lots of money). As a reviewer, if I'd accepted a book for review, never in a million years would it have occurred to me not to review it and by the deadline. I was counting on them to help launch my book and their silence fatally damaged it. After I recovered, I realized that they're nothing but irresponsible morons suffering from low self-esteem and envy. GR's very bad reviewer rep should be more widely publicized.      
Yes, it's a shame you were the victim of a hateful idiot--but it's better than 37 hateful idiots. As they say they, only thing worse than bad publicity is no publicity.


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