Now that GR seems to be cleaning up its act, the trolls are leaving GR (or being banned) and attacking authors elsewhere. We just heard about this libel attack against Melissa Foster, best-selling indie author of Chasing Amanda. Melissa, along with an ENTIRE list of other authors, have been accused of review swapping and purchasing reviews on Fiverr, here:
And here:
This is FALSE information. We’ve heard through bloggers and authors we highly respect that Melissa is an honorable and ethical person. These blogs accusing her have appeared just recently, along with this , and are run by a disgruntled ex-GR member who attacked Melissa just recently on the site and was banned for doing so. You will notice that there is absolutely NO proof on these blogs to verify the accusations. That’s because those accusations are false. They are libel.
As Melissa says in her :
Who is the person behind the Fiverr Report? We don’t know. Melissa is working on it:
We hope that Melissa hires a good attorney and goes after this person. The attack on her is outrageous and the perpetrator shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.
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I knew it would happen.
These idiot bullies (and they are idiots who really don’t have a clue as to how much corruption is out there) should be going after the really big scammers out there making millions with fake information and fake reviews. And this is happening all over the place, from the film industry to large publishers. But no, the dumb bas%^&ds go after struggling authors instead and they don’t even have proof…and are always wrong, at the expense of some unknown author struggling to get by.
Or the bullies should be going after the really big scammers in publishing that promote certain authors and publishers through high end PR Firms with good reviews and all kinds of plugs that mask as reviews. What about the literary agents with “self-publishing” services who make it appear their clients are all just humble self-published authors like everyone else, but in the background the agents are constantly pulling strings. You don’t see the bullies going after them screaming conflict of interest and failure to disclose.
In other words, I often wish these bullies would channel all that energy in the right places toward those who are really scamming and leave the poor unknowns alone.
Melissa comes across as a really cool lady. Its awful to think she is having to put up with these awful stalkers. The bullies tell such outrageous lies, but they can never back their stories up with truth.
Of course the bullies on the BBA thread on Amazon have posted a link to the blog that tells all these lies about Melissa, Hugh Howey and the other authors. The bullies are commenting on how wonderful a blog it is and how dreadful all the authors listed are. It doesn’t bother the bullies that this story is a big lie, it doesn’t bother them that there is no proof of whats being said. They are just happy because the blog is author hating and the bullies on that BBA thread on Amazon are serious author haters, even though some of them are in fact authors themselves.
The haters gotta hate!
Wasn’t there something on Dear Author about this? I thought I read it in the comment section over on GR policy changes.
Hmm, we haven’t heard of Dear Author mentioning this but we’ll take a look.
Here you go.
Melissa is a very helpful, always-networking writer. To suggest otherwise is … well, pretty much in keeping with psychopathic trolldom.
She’s a wonderful person. She’s also the founder of World Lit Cafe:
http://www.worldliterarycafe.com/
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?action=printpage;topic=162910.0
Yeah, other people listed on it are now angry, too. It’s obviously a troll site presenting false information.
STGRB, you may want to look at these articles, too:
http://www.ilona-andrews.com/business-of-writing/public-statement-time
http://www.hughhowey.com/very-small-rocks/
Not surprising Jane Litte stuck her nosy nose into the whole mess.
The only way Jane Litte is able to get any publicity for her floundering site is to follow the sh*t-storms and get involved. Typical ambulance chaser.
I was made aware yesterday of this totally uncalled for disgusting attack by a mutual friend of Melissa and myself. Sadly It looks like nothing has really changed re the bullies and the trolls Johnny, only where the attacks are coming from now…
Well, GR is changing and if we can have a positive influence on GR, then we can all have a positive influence elsewhere. That’s why we report these things on our blog. We’re not going to stop just because these bullies have taken their bullying elsewhere.
What is so heartbreaking about this is that Melissa Foster has worked so hard to promote and help other authors. It’s terrible that this is happening to her. On that list of accused, there was also Hugh Howey, Brandon Sanderson, and Amanda Hocking. There were dozens more, too. This person needs to be caught and sued, IMHO.
I couldn’t agree more Johnny. However, the authorities (law) seem loath to do anything…
We’ll keep working on it. Hopefully someday, they will be as good as the authorities in other countries and their strong stance on cyber abuse.
Hey everyone, I just wanted to let people know that our spam filter is acting up. I just found Amused’s and Good Belle’s comments in the spam folder and I have no idea how they got there. If you’re comment doesn’t appear, please contact us and let us know.
I commented last night with the link to the DA post on paid reviews. Might have hit the spam folder. It never posted.
I just found it. So sorry about that! I don’t want people thinking that we’re deleting their comments on purpose.
I figured something like it hit your firewall. 😀 No sweat, sweetie!
Yep, there’s a saying: “Wherever you go, there you are.”
I had time to go through that site where they posted about Fivver and Melissa Foster, and from what I saw they claim to be “journalists.” I know there’s an argument about that in some places, and some small bloggers insist they are journalists. But according to several defamation cases I’ve read, judges almost always rule that small independent bloggers are not journalists and shouldn’t pretend to be journalists. So if Melissa Foster and the others decided to pursue legal action I have a feeling they might have a good case just based on previous rulings alone. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/usa-blogger-ruling-idUSN1E7B70UA20111209
Thank you for your support and for seeing through this coward’s veil of hype. All of the authors on their list appreciate your support. This is a very disturbing time indeed, when we should be concentrating on our writing and instead our attention is called to this garbage.
I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone named in those rants when I say thank you. For believing in us and for taking a stand. xox
You’re welcome, Melissa! We are big fans of everything you do for others, especially with your World Lit Cafe (http://www.worldliterarycafe.com/). We really hope you catch this person soon.
First, I want to thank you all for your support against author bashing. As an author, I truly appreciate you! I can’t tell you how good it feels to know there are readers out there who care enough about justice to support us in such a way.
On Sunday, a friend sent me a link to the blog about fake book awards and book reviews. I started reading the list and a few names made me immediately doubt the validity of the anonymous blogger’s claims. I know about 8 of these authors via social networks.
I can’t say for sure that any of these authors have done what they’ve been accused of (with the exception of one or two who openly admitted to buying reviews a year or so ago), but I can tell you this: I am on that list, and I can say with no hesitation that I did not ever pay for 500+ fake 5-star reviews, as I am being accused of. I personally cannot imagine wasting $2500 on such a thing! There are far better ways to spend my marketing dollars.
As someone who was a survivor of severe bullying as a child, I refuse to let this blogger determine my destiny or success. I know where I stand on ethics and anyone who knows me knows exactly where I stand on reviews and more.
To my companions on that list, I know many of you reacted the way I did: shock, anger, fear of how these lies could hurt your career…helpless. Take back your power, and don’t let this idiot have it! He is weak; you are much stronger. And go write another bestseller. Life is far too short to waste on trolls who are only miserable with their own lives and lack of success.
Hear! Hear!
You’re welcome, Cheryl! We are here to help those like you who are in a position where it’s impossible to fight back. Author bullying has gotten way out of hand and it’s high time it was put to an end.
I looked into this and based on the writing style and past published rants I have reason to believe that the person behind this is Robert S.
Whoever he is, we hope Melissa finds him and takes him to court. What he did is outrageous!
Okay I’m officially jealous now Melissa! My name wasn’t mentioned. *grins*