Given how hard it is to keep track of one's own actual socials, why on earth would anyone want to sockpuppet? Just a whole lotta wasted time/effort that would be better spent ACTUALLY WRITING.
Every since I did a goodreads giveaway and sent my novel to 25 people none of whom were bothered to write any review at all, good or bad, I have known the site is a scam
Looks like plain old-fashioned racism to me. (And you know how, with the right, it's ALWAYS projection? This is the ugly truth behind their accusations of "cancel culture".)
I wonder if Del Rey will pull the trigger on the morality clause that is no doubt buried in her book contract boilerplate? Because they are at risk of reputational damage by association if they don't. (Not to mention she's been attacking their other authors.)
@cstross Del Rey just announced on birdsite that her book is no longer on the 2024 roster.
Which, whew. Wow. Wooooow.
And yes, you're right about it being racism. @victoriastrauss on Bsky also pointed out the roots this kind of thing has in the YA writing/reviewing world, too. The bad behavior and strategies morph across genres, and always seem to find congenial conditions on Goodreads, go figure.
@lilithsaintcrow@victoriastrauss Not surprised about racist review brigading flourishing on Goodreads: GR has been a toxic swamp ever since Amazon bought it (if not earlier).
@cstross I call it "Amazon's 4chan" publicly now, in front of gods and everyone. It's that bad.
Really it's a marketing scam, but trad publishing has bought in so hard for so long they're still sitting at the casino table, getting further in with each roulette spin. Sunk costs fallacy on an entire-industry scale.
@lilithsaintcrow Big Fibe trad publishing's wheels grind too slowly to adapt to Amazon's shitweaselry before the big river co moves on to flood another medium with bullshit.
@cstross@lilithsaintcrow Looks like Del Rey has taken "Crown of Starlight" off their publishing schedule. And Rebecca Podos is no longer agent for Corrain.
@lilithsaintcrow@cstross@soonleenz Yah. I can't imagine what the poor agent must have thought when they found out, but having one of your writers depth charge her career before it's really begun?
I can see a standard advice template being updated in a hurry
🤨 Fake reviews on Goodreads: tacky but regrettably common.
😡 Fake negging reviews: very bad, tell the author to stop it at once.
🤯 Fake Negging reviews aiming exclusively at POC/minority authors: That’s racist AF and a red flag for reputational damage by association to the publisher and agent if they don't dump the perpetrator.
This is why book contracts have morality clauses …
@bellinghman@lilithsaintcrow@cstross@soonleenz I'm not sure any amount of advice would help someone who is intent on this sort of perverse behavior, TBH. I'd be shocked if the author even admits fault in spite of the consequences.
@cstross@tedmielczarek@lilithsaintcrow The article was updated this morning (at the bottom) to reflect that she has admitted the reviewbombing and sockpuppetry, and she seems to be following the "try again later" method of "apology": blame everything on mental illness/meds, conveniently forget details that have been spelled out with precision by others (like who she targeted), have a plausible-sounding reason not to be contacted further, and of course, admit to everything but the racism.
@Sharksonaplanesigh Like clockwork. And it appears the book has been "pushed back to 2027”. By which point the publisher is hoping everyone will have forgotten, of course. @cstross@tedmielczarek
@lilithsaintcrow@Sharksonaplane@cstross@tedmielczarek I've estimated the memory-life of an SFF grudge (worthwhile or drama!) at about three years for a while now, and it's actively messing me up a little to see a major publisher apparently landing on the same number. Oooh, that's not something I wanted to be, y'know, real and applicable.
Sockpuppetry, harassment, and trolling are above all giant wastes. Wastes of time and effort that could be better spent actually making art, or just petting a dog somewhere. It's that part that gets me--the sheer unnecessariness of it, the frittering away of time and work.
@lilithsaintcrow I've been out having a walk around the garden. Determined it's still too wet to do anything out there but the ferals were very excited to have company.
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