Have any of you been following this trainwreck? For those who haven’t, here’s a a brief summary (not of the work itself, but of the internet drama surrounding it).
A literary blogger reviews a novel by a self-published author. He comes to the conclusion that while the story itself is solid, the writing is so poor that it pretty much ruins the story, making for an awkward reading experience.
Then the author herself arrives on the scene, making personal insults in the blog’s comments section, and throwing a tantrum worthy of a spoilt 3-year old.
What do you guys think? Is this woman really that nutty and deluded, or is it all some clever marketing ploy?
You can’t get people to buy a book through Internet blogs – at least, not enough to make any difference. Her comments only marks her as a thin-skinned amateur.
You do not argue with a critic. The author always loses. It’s impossible not to come off as whiney and unpleasant. You yourself describe Howat as coing off “nutty and deluded,” and you can bet anyone who reads her comments is getting the same impression.
And no one is impressed by glowing Amazon reviews – usually by a friend of the author (if not the author herself).
George Scithers often quote Greener’s Law: “Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel.” Though ink and barrels are far fewer these days, it still applies.
I just went back and read more of the posts. She seems to be the female equivalent of Gene Steinberg who flooded Usenet with posts defending his dismal little science fiction novel Attack of the Rockoids. The fact that you have never heard of Steinberg or his novel* attests to the effectiveness of this ploy.
She alienating everyone who reads her posts.
*Unless you were on Usenet at the time, mocking him.
I’ve been following this trainwreck since it started - the author took what was really a quite gentle review, which could have helped her become a much better writer, and proved that she’s incapable of acknowledging error - and will attack anyone who provides her with constructive criticism. People will remember her for years - but only as a momentarily famous internet kook, not as someone who can create a story but needed help to tell it well.
Her blog’s pretty terrible, too. She comes off like a 12-year-old who thinks she’s a special snowflake because she thinks she’s a poet, novelist, artist…
I’ve been following the reviews of this book on Amazon. The best parts are the novel quotes people have posted - every one is more hilariously awful than the last.
It’s hard to believe any grown adult writes like that, let alone one that calls herself a writer.
Her writing is fine! Anyway, I don’t have time to play snake with you, your the one with the problem AL. Maybe its because she’s too British for you to understand
