Okay, this is long...So, I like to write, mostly for fun though I do make a (very) few bucks at it. I've had a bunch of stories published in small litmags and self-published a few books.
Recently, I withdrew a novel I was querying agents with, including one who had requested more pages (which is a big happy step towards that agent actually signing you on). I did that because a similar novel was coming out that was backed by a big publishing house, and I thought I might be able to piggyback on its success if I timed it right. The traditional route, if you can ever get in, in the first place, takes a couple of years from the time of agent acceptance.
Anyway, I've put in lots of hours here lately to try to promote my new book. And then some sh*thead comes along, makes up a bunch of obvious sock puppet accounts, and attacks me on Goodreads. Every book I've put out got several one-star reviews ---all at the same time-- from accounts that were set to "private" and didn't have any reviews anyway. They even attacked a bunch of litmags that I had stories in. They also made nasty, untrue remarks about me (well, about my pen name but same idea).
When you have very few reviews, as with my new novel, a few 1 stars take your rating down very low, which encourages people to just skip your "obviously no good" books. So, they knocked me down good.
This is not the first time this has happened, either. The last time was a few months ago, and several other self-published authors got the same treatment.
Goodreads won't do anything about it.
I'm thinking I'll call a private investigation firm that does social media/online investigations. I let it go last time but now I've had enough. I want to find out the true identity of whoever is doing this and sue them.
However, I am so dumb about online anything that I'm afraid I might just make a bad situation worse. It looks like private investigators typically want a nice chunk of money upfront. So then if they can't figure out who is doing this, I guess I just don't get anything for my money?
I do have an idea or two of who it might be. I think it's likely one of the authors who hang around on two author groups in particular. The reason is, this sockpuppeteer doesn't try to get money or anything, so it seems personal. Maybe getting even with people they got crosswise with, or people who they didn't think gave them high enough reviews or whatever. ?
So, I'm wondering what type of training I should look for in a PI and if it's likely they'll be able to find out who is behind these sabotages. Any advice much appreciated!
P.S. The last time I and others were attacked, Goodreads told me they'd need a court order to release any info. on the identity of whoever is doing this. I filled out an online form from my local court but it was very confusing and I don't know if that will lead to getting a court order or not.
Recently, I withdrew a novel I was querying agents with, including one who had requested more pages (which is a big happy step towards that agent actually signing you on). I did that because a similar novel was coming out that was backed by a big publishing house, and I thought I might be able to piggyback on its success if I timed it right. The traditional route, if you can ever get in, in the first place, takes a couple of years from the time of agent acceptance.
Anyway, I've put in lots of hours here lately to try to promote my new book. And then some sh*thead comes along, makes up a bunch of obvious sock puppet accounts, and attacks me on Goodreads. Every book I've put out got several one-star reviews ---all at the same time-- from accounts that were set to "private" and didn't have any reviews anyway. They even attacked a bunch of litmags that I had stories in. They also made nasty, untrue remarks about me (well, about my pen name but same idea).
When you have very few reviews, as with my new novel, a few 1 stars take your rating down very low, which encourages people to just skip your "obviously no good" books. So, they knocked me down good.
This is not the first time this has happened, either. The last time was a few months ago, and several other self-published authors got the same treatment.
Goodreads won't do anything about it.
I'm thinking I'll call a private investigation firm that does social media/online investigations. I let it go last time but now I've had enough. I want to find out the true identity of whoever is doing this and sue them.
However, I am so dumb about online anything that I'm afraid I might just make a bad situation worse. It looks like private investigators typically want a nice chunk of money upfront. So then if they can't figure out who is doing this, I guess I just don't get anything for my money?
I do have an idea or two of who it might be. I think it's likely one of the authors who hang around on two author groups in particular. The reason is, this sockpuppeteer doesn't try to get money or anything, so it seems personal. Maybe getting even with people they got crosswise with, or people who they didn't think gave them high enough reviews or whatever. ?
So, I'm wondering what type of training I should look for in a PI and if it's likely they'll be able to find out who is behind these sabotages. Any advice much appreciated!
P.S. The last time I and others were attacked, Goodreads told me they'd need a court order to release any info. on the identity of whoever is doing this. I filled out an online form from my local court but it was very confusing and I don't know if that will lead to getting a court order or not.
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