I’ve been surfing for more views on author bullying and came up with an interesting blog by Kristen Lamb, a non-fiction author of self-help marketing books. Lamb comments that bullying isn’t something you leave behind in high school any more. There’s some general background you can skip over, but one of her comments is very thought-provoking, which is that she no longer reads book reviews because they are so identified with author bullying.
Reviews are a time-honored method of marketing your book. It’s also a time-honored method of finding a good book to read. And now Lamb thinks the review process has been degraded through the process of bullying, or political infighting, or just general meanness until it’s worthless for marketing your book. I guess this is the result of sites like Amazon and Goodreads opening reviews up to the general public. They end up with lots of troll tracks on their pages.
Lamb suggests a number of methods to reduce the damage that bullies do to your psyche and your pocketbook as an author: 1) Develop your name as a strong personal brand. 2) Keep records of bullying in case you need to take action. 3) Support your friends when they’re bullied. 4) Report and block bullies. 5) Do not engage with bullies, as this will encourage them to harass you more. 6) Hire a professional to find out who scary or creepy people are. 6) Speak up about bullying to create a stronger community of authors.
Lela E. Buis 
Feb 06, 2016 @ 05:29:10
I found her story rather hard to believe, though. Yes, I remember bullies in elementary school and even as late as 9th grade, but not after that. Not the sort she’s describing. And someone sneaking into your office to delete your work? (Which I guess means she didn’t have a password on her PC.) In over thirty years of management I never heard anyone make such a complaint, nor did I ever hear of such a thing from other management friends. There may be people in the world who would do such a thing, but they’re very, very rare.
On the other hand, people who make up very creative excuses for why they didn’t get their work done on time or to the quality level required are very, very common. And somehow the problem is never, ever their fault.
So that’s where I quit reading it. I wasn’t going to believe anything she said after that.
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Feb 06, 2016 @ 05:37:23
it definitely sounds like a dysfunctional situation. The “mean girls” culture can lead to some very strange actions.
Lamb’s comments on author bullying do echo what a lot of other people are saying so I included her list of recommendations here. These are appropriate; plus, I’d add contacting the FBI about anyone who made actual, scary threats. You don’t even have to hire your own professional that way. The FBI will track the IP address for you.
I’ve also used her advice for the springboard for my next blog.
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Feb 06, 2016 @ 16:29:41
I do hope she makes a distinction between bullying vs. negative reviews. I can see how a negative review can turn into something personal, though, and I have a list of things to watch out for.
The merely insulting. E.g “this guy needs to learn how to write.” If it’s not about the story, don’t say it. A very poorly written story is as much the fault of the editor. (But don’t say that either!)
Teaching the author how to write. “What would have worked here . . .” Talk about what’s really in the story (good and bad) not what might have been there.
Keeping a history. “This is the third time this author has used the same cliche” or “this is disappointing from an author of this caliber.” Review each story on its own merits.
Speculation. “The author’s ideas about big companies tell me she never held a position of responsibility in one” Just say that the portrayal is unrealistic and leave it at that.
I still don’t think breaking my rules would amount to bullying, but I can see how people would have grounds to be upset.
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Feb 06, 2016 @ 16:55:05
The fact that her actions were so extreme is the reason she was able to get away with it. Bullies thrive by being able to gaslight. I went to all kinds of lengths to keep her out of my office, even own to having the locks changed.
And considering I have been successfully self-employed for over a decade and have written almost a thousand blogs and five books, I don’t think my work ethic is questionable 😉 .
Authors have been subjected to all kinds of abuse. One author gave up writing because the trolls kept sending death threats and sending her funeral ads. I swear if I had not seen this kind of stuff so often I wouldn’t believe it either but some people are just not right in the head.
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Feb 06, 2016 @ 18:08:15
Welcome, Kristin. It’s definitely a strange psychology. Something like road rage, would you think?
If you’re not up on the situation, there’s currently a conflict in the SF&F community between factions that generally fall out as conservative versus progressive. This has affected the Hugo Awards for the last two years, and seems to be escalating. There seems to be a lot of bullying going on.
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Feb 06, 2016 @ 18:12:37
The personal attacks are what causes the problem. Authors tend to respond in kind, which only escalates the conflict. This does certainly change the dynamic about reviews. When they become personal, then they’re not about the quality of the books any more.
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