Internet slander, a cautionary tale

I'll return to flogging and essays on craft next week, but this week I need to share with you an Internet attack on me that, even days after it has been resolved as best as possible, still upsets me.

Backstory: (don't you wish that you could be this blatant in a novel?) In 2000 and 2001 I self-published my first two novels with iUniverse. Like many writers, I believed in their worth, hadn't found an agent, and wanted to give it a try. I was an "early adopter" -- iUniverse's price back then was $100. Who wouldn't, for a hundred bucks?

Those 6- and 7-year-old novels are, unfortunately, still available on Amazon.com and other Internet outlets. I wish they weren't -- they no longer represent what I do as a writer. The learning curve is a long one.

PLEASE do not buy either of the books. Not worth your money or time.

How I discovered the attack

A while back, out of curiosity, I signed up for "Google Alert." I set it to notify me when my name appears on the Internet. I recommend that you consider doing this if you have a public face or a book out there. I'm glad I did.

I received an alert a few weeks ago and followed the link to the Amazon.com page for my very first book, a speculative novel of ideas called The Enemy. I found a new review that was not only negative, it was nasty.

There were already reviews on the page, posted 7 years ago by people who know me and had bought that book. They were all very positive, with 5 stars. These were the early days of Amazon's reviews, and they were not required to give a name. They posted anonymously. I did ask friends to do reviews, just as many authors do, but did not tell anyone what to say or what to write about.

Luckily, they all "got" the novel of ideas aspect, appreciated it, and that was a part of their reviews. They liked the story, too. Unluckily, my new reviewer didn't. That was okay -- fiction is subjective, and I don't expect everyone to like my work. But this reviewer went further, much further.

This reviewer, let's call him Nasty, also said he thought that, because my book was so awful, the earlier reviews couldn't be real and that I'd written them. So Nasty was, with no evidence, calling me a liar.

BTW, I'm not going to use names in this report in respect for my newfound vulnerability. I don't want to be attacked again by the gang I'm going to tell you about.

Nasty strikes again

A second Google Alert came the next day. Nasty had posted a mean-spirited, disparaging review about my second book, With Regret, a mystery set in the old West. I'm the first to admit that it has its inadequacies, but some people have enjoyed it. Nasty's review sounded as though he'd read it, but he got story elements wrong. I had to wonder how much of a reader Nasty was -- he'd missed the ideas aspect of the speculative novel, and misunderstood a key (and perfectly clear) aspect of the Western.

But that's the game, isn't it? You take your chances. I could live with that. I put the bad reviews out of my mind, although there was a lingering aftertaste from the accusation of being a liar.

Here's here it gets weird.

About 2 weeks later, a new Google Alert called me back to the page for The Enemy. There were 2 new, very negative reviews. That's acceptable, if legitimate.

One reviewer, Nasty Buddy, savaged the novel. The other, I'll call him Slanderer, didn't discuss the book, but instead slandered my capabilities as an editor based upon the "awfulness" of the book.

So on that page I had one reviewer calling me a liar and a cheat, and another denigrating my editing services, though he had obviously never experienced them.

Oddly, both new reviews were posted on the same day. That seemed suspicious to me, so I went to the Amazon page for my Western novel. Slanderer was there with a new negative review, and so was another new reviewer, Nasty Buddy2.

And both had been posted on the same day as the new ones for the first book.

So what are the odds that 3 different readers would post, on the same day, negative reviews on 2 novels that were very far from each other in style and content, one being speculative fiction and the other a mystery?

Impossibly long. The only links between the two novels were that I wrote them. . .and that Nasty had reviewed them 2 weeks earlier.

The plot thickens

Luckily, Amazon links reviewers' names to information they have posted about themselves. Nasty, Nasty Buddy, and Nasty Buddy2 didn't reveal anything but a couple of locations, and had no contact information. But Slanderer had a link to, guess what, an Amazon.com page for a self-published novel of his own.

I went to Slanderer's Amazon page and, would you believe it, there were 5-star reviews of his novel posted by Nasty, Nasty Buddy, and Nasty Buddy2.

What are the odds of that?

Do you see a pattern here? It seems clear that Nasty, apparently so enraged by my books, called in his three friends, Slanderer, Nasty Buddy, and Nasty Buddy2. He told them of these terrible novels and then encouraged them to read them and post reviews. That's the only explanation I can think of. BTW, I later learned that Slanderer and Nasty both live in Indiana.

But why did these people do this? I recognize none of the reviewer's names, nor can I find them in any files. To the best of my knowledge, I've done nothing to harm or offend any of them (all men, by the way).

Amazon to the rescue

Luckily, I had read that Amazon.com has a remedy for wrongful reviews. Amazon's rules state that reviews must concern only the book. No personal attacks allowed.

When I saw the slanderous review, but before I discovered the gang rape that was going on, I emailed Amazon.com at community-help@amazon.com. I pointed them to the Slanderer review, and they took it down in less than an hour. Thank you Amazon!

Then I discovered the apparent collusion between the four "reviewers," Nasty, Slanderer, Nasty Buddy and Nasty Buddy2.

I emailed Amazon again, detailing the location and nature of the reviews, the timing "coincidence" of the multiple posts on the same date, and so on.

It took a couple of days, but apparently they agreed that I was being attacked because all of the spurious reviews were removed. Whew.

But I was deeply disturbed by all of this, especially by the attack by Slanderer, who is also a writer and a novelist.

During the last 2 ½ years, I've made many kindly, wise, and helpful acquaintances (if not friends) on the Internet. I've been privileged to be a part of a broad, supportive network of writers and agents who contribute to people who are working hard at writing and publishing.

To encounter a slanderous, mean attack from a fellow writer shocked and angered me. Naturally, I wanted to learn more. Slanderer proudly displayed a link to his website, so I followed it to see what I could discover about him and his novel.

More to come

I'll detail the outcome of all this in my next post later this week, including an email exchange with Slanderer, and what I plan to do about the attacks. Next week I'll get back to flogging.

Sadly,

Ray

Comments

[Kathleen Bolton]

You really have to wonder about people who would spend precious energies trashing someone's work so publically. It sounds like some sort of twisted marketing campaign as well.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, Ray. I'd be livid too.

[mai]

Waiting eagerly for you to turn the page. And kudos to you, for your cool and intelligent handling of the ...

[tee]

another tale from the dark side of the internet. it makes it so easy to spew the venom when people think it's anonymous. but i am a firm believer in karmic retribution and they will get back what they throw out there eventually. hang in there.

[Tapetum]

Google Alert sounds deeply handy. Unfortunately, I share a name with a Playmate of the Year, so I think I would have an unusable proportion of false positives.

Count me in as another who just doesn't get why people waste their time and energy being destructive on the internet.

[Jessica]

Someone once said that the combination of anonymity with an audience can turn a seemingly normal person into a deranged a-hole.

Sorry you're going through this. Nobody deserves it, but especially not someone who devotes so much time and energy to helping other writers.

[Therese Walsh]

Like Mai, I'm eager to hear the outcome of this. You've certainly handled yourself with class and dignity, and I applaud your research and quick handling of the matter with Amazon (and Amazon, for their response time). I'm sorry to hear this happened to you--one of the nicest guys in the blogosphere.

[MaryK]

More than any other profession, I think as a writer you need to grow a hide as tough as a rhino's.

[catie]

There are people in this world who simply have too much time on their hands and more than a fair share of venom in their hearts. It is outrageous to inflict this kind of cruelty on another person and I'm terribly sorry that it's happening.

[Susie]

So sorry to hear two of the nasty's were from Indiana. (my being a Hoosier) I'd be interested to know who they are, as not to become involved with them by chance while looking for a critique group. Take everything with a grain of salt, Ray. Some people aren't happy unless they are stiring the crap to see how much it will stink.

~Susie

[Tapetum]

Wait - another Hoosier? Where are you Susie? (I'm in southern - near Louisville)

[Scott Marlowe]

The darker side of the Internet and Amazon reviews, for sure. Sorry you've had this sort of encounter.