is it okay for an author to ask you to delete your book review from amazon and goodreads?

Buffysquirrel said:

I just wanted to be included in this thread.

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Me too, just to say that author sounds like an unprofessional and immature turd.

Agatha, you are doing everything right. Others have given great advice.

patskywriter said:

Throw some hints around by saying in your blog that you consulted with your attorney on the matter. Then mention that he also told you that he's always available if needed.

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No. No. No no nononononononono and no. Do NOT pretend to threaten legal action. This is an area where you do NOT want to pretend. He could call the bluff and lawyer-up on his own. Legal threats should never be made unless you got the chops to back them up.

Agree with BanPaced and would suggest not blogging about him or escalating in any manner. Those types of reactions could rebound and you end up looking bad to your readers.

I wouldn't hint at legal action, but I would consider blogging about him. It might well kick up a bit of a bicker on your blog, but it could clear the air a bit and you can moderate the comments to ensure nothing gets too out of hand.

Tell him he's an idiot who was stupid enough to put in writing that he would love to review your book - clearly a threat to tarnish your reputation. Also warn him that if he continues to email you about this that he could get in trouble for harassment and possibly even stalking. He needs to let this drop. Now.

You've done nothing wrong. You are entitled to your opinion and if he cannot handle that he needs to get out of this business.

What a knob cheese. Tell him to blow it out his ass.

If the author wants a marketer or a publicist, then s/he needs to hire a marketer or a publicist. A reviewer is not a marketer or a publicist.

You are absolutely in the right, he is absolutely in the wrong. Do whatever you feel comfortable with in terms of response - (I would love to see the guy receive the public humiliation he undoubtedly deserves for being such a - Seun, thank you for this gloriously disgusting phrase - knob cheese), but be aware that if you do respond publicly, he might choose to escalate, and become even more of a pain. So it really does depend whether you want to deal with that if it happens.

What a fruitcake.

I would hate to see any brief addendum to any review I were to receive, perhaps mentioning I had, for my own reasons, repeatedly requested the review be withdrawn.

Buffysquirrel said:

I just wanted to be included in this thread.

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Me too. What everyone said.

This is one of the biggest and most obvious problems with asking for reviews. One has to be able to deal with the consequences of what people actually think.

Any author can be bummed about a review's contents, but asking for a review does not guarantee anything more than an honest review. Yes, that's scary. Yes, it means we're going to hear stuff we don't like about our work. And that's hard. But them's the breaks, man. That's what being in this business means.

Even more ridiculous is that you said he's "trying to convince me I read the story wrong." Couldn't believe that when I read it. Actually, I guess I could believe it, but it just frustrated the crap out of me. Not only has this person taken up your time to read his book and write a thoughtful review, but he thinks it's acceptable to try to completely manipulate what you have to say?

Even if you were so generous as to be willing to set aside your time and effort and take the review down just to be nice to him, I think someone that prone to trying to control everything that's said about his book is due for an awakening. If for no other reason than that I'd leave the review intact.

Yeesh, got more worked up about this than I'd expected. haha. But stuff like this really bugs me.

I totally agree with what everybody else has said. He asked for a review and you gave him one. If he wanted advertising copy he should have asked for it. It is quite arrogant to assume any review you receive will be five stars.

AgathaChristieFan said:

Yes, Chapter 1 and Chapter 18 were repeated word for word. In his email, he stated he did it on purpose because his story was written as though it was a movie. He said other people had pointed that out to him, but he felt that's how his story should go.

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That's an idiotic choice on his part. There are lots of good ways you can achieve the same effect without literally repeating an entire chapter. Ah well; put it behind you and move on, I'd say.

Wow. Sorry you were treated this way. It's pretty reprehensible. Shame on that author! Don't change a word, and certainly don't delete your review on different sites.

I haven't written a review in decades. Haven't read one, either, but that's another story.

I do have a couple of friends who write reviews, and maybe because they fear what happened to you, they don't do requests from individuals. They only review books they read and like, even when the books are sent by a publisher.

Despite a long held vow, I am going to do a review soon, and of a self-published collection of short stories. The writer didn't request it. I found the book by sheer chance, loved the title, read the book, and it's some of the best, and most imaginative, writing I've ever read. I doubt the writer will have anything to complain about.

AgathaChristieFan said:

Thanks to the ones who found my review helpful on amazon, and who liked my review on goodreads. I'm assuming that came from you guys I noticed there's one or two additional 5 star reviews for his book; that's probably why he wants my 3 star removed. Oh well.

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Supposition, but it looks to me more like he asked his goodreads author friends to post quid pro quo reviews to dampen the impact of your review. The reviewer is on his friends list. The review appeared one day after yours. The author went over and rated one of the reviewers books 5 stars on the the same day.

(PS. As many have said, you have done nothing wrong and this author is behaving unprofessionally.)

AgathaChristieFan said:

Yes, Chapter 1 and Chapter 18 were repeated word for word. In his email, he stated he did it on purpose because his story was written as though it was a movie. He said other people had pointed that out to him, but he felt that's how his story should go.

The thing he was most offended, confused by was my comment about a section being written from a dog's perspective. He told me to show proof because he didn't do that. So, I went through his novel again (good thing when I review I keep my notes) and pinpointed the exact two phrases, even gave the percentage from the bottom of my Kindle. I just answered his question and never replied to him saying he can't wait to review one of my books.

I hoped that would be the end of it. Fortunately, I checked my email this morning and nothing from him. Maybe he got the hint without me having to respond.

Thanks to the ones who found my review helpful on amazon, and who liked my review on goodreads. I'm assuming that came from you guys I noticed there's one or two additional 5 star reviews for his book; that's probably why he wants my 3 star removed. Oh well.

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Hopefully he'll move on to another target and leave you alone now.

*chuckles* same chapter twice... silly boy!

I read through the review and I would be satisfied with what you wrote. Shoot, it was constructive! That makes it better than good, it makes it useful.

Plus, on curiosity, I found the book on Librarything. Looks like the author included it in the Early Reviewer program. No one has offered an opinion yet. Can't wait to see the reviews there when they start populating... Especailly since, the administration won't remove reviews "just because an author asks."

Just wanted to say, Agatha, thank you for taking your time to post reviews that are honest and useful for all of the readers out there. Your efforts are appreciated, as are your ethics on the matter.

No need to further skewer the author. My sword will only find the holes of disgust from the thrusts of y'all upstream.

In my opinion, this just proves this author cannot handle constructive criticism, and if that's the case, maybe he or she shouldn't be publishing anything. When you do professional work like that, writing, singing, etc, and you put out a book, an album, etc, you have to be accepting to all kinds of criticism, even look back and learn from it. That's how you become a better artist/writer. This author is not gonna make it.

I'm a little late, but I agree, the review is actually quite nice. You're not blasting it as an overall failure, you just point out some concerns and explain that if someone can get past these that it's worth a try. Stick to your guns!!!

AgathaChristieFan said:

Yes, Chapter 1 and Chapter 18 were repeated word for word. In his email, he stated he did it on purpose because his story was written as though it was a movie. He said other people had pointed that out to him, but he felt that's how his story should go.

The thing he was most offended, confused by was my comment about a section being written from a dog's perspective. He told me to show proof because he didn't do that. So, I went through his novel again (good thing when I review I keep my notes) and pinpointed the exact two phrases, even gave the percentage from the bottom of my Kindle. I just answered his question and never replied to him saying he can't wait to review one of my books.

I hoped that would be the end of it. Fortunately, I checked my email this morning and nothing from him. Maybe he got the hint without me having to respond.

Thanks to the ones who found my review helpful on amazon, and who liked my review on goodreads. I'm assuming that came from you guys I noticed there's one or two additional 5 star reviews for his book; that's probably why he wants my 3 star removed. Oh well.

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Sounds like laziness on his part. Glad you stood your ground x Wish you well.

That person who left a review on his goodreads book giving it 5*s is his friend irl by the way judging from his books facebook page.