A note to all authors, who are thinking of hiring beta readers -

Dear Author:

Okay. So I didn’t like your book.

I realize that this may sting, considering we were friends and you kindly invited me to beta read ONE draft of your book.

(One being the operative word here.)

I realize that you are very proud of your book, and feel like you did a lot of research. I absolutely agree that you are very good at doing text-based research, and I don’t deny that you likely did a lot of it for this book.

However, the fact remains that I don’t think you did enough vetting of the cultural aspects of your book – my culture. If I understand correctly, I am the only real-life person you asked to read and vet your book, despite my repeated offers to connect you to actual historians/experts in the field, and those experts actually agreeing to read it. You didn’t follow up.

So while I may have been positive about the draft that I read of your book, by no means did I think that your draft should equate to a finished product. All in all, I think that the end product does a substantial disservice to my culture. You’re not going to change my mind about this.

However, instead of handling my relatively tame and private criticisms gracefully, you can’t seem to let it go.

Rather than focus on the fact that I am a VERY small minority in a majority pool that has given you five star reviews and trade stars, you have gone out of your way to name drop me as proof that your book was vetted, and have sent me creepy emails claiming that you have “evidence” that I loved your book once.

You have contacted strangers about me, telling them that we were friends and I loved your book. You’ve allegedly proven it by sharing personal information about my loved ones and me.

You’ve followed that charming breach of personal security and trust, by subsequently telling those strangers that you were going to send your publisher after me for supposedly bashing you.

(Considering that I’ve never publicly named you, minus a vague reference in a post and a small note on a Goodreads shelf that no one will likely ever see, they are going to go after me for…?)

Even now – even after being told by your publisher, agent and who knows however many people to leave me alone, you won’t stop. I’m still receiving strange hits on my blog related to you and your book, and I can only imagine that it is because you are continuing to talk about me, and my refusal to like your book.

I’m going to say this one final time: I have not publicly named or shamed you at any point, despite people encouraging me to do so. I have been told that it’s my responsibility to name you, so people know about your behavior and know not to work with you, lest you do this to them as well.

But I’m not interested in doing so. As much as I feel anger and betrayal at your behavior, I don’t believe that you’ll do this to anyone else. There was a reason we were friends at one point, and there was a reason why I used to support you. I’m going to honor that.

I’m also not going to sink to your level with gossip and innuendo. I don’t necessarily understand why you are so fixated on me - if you genuinely cared about the friendship we once had, you wouldn’t fixate on this - but I’m not going to validate your behavior by doing exactly what you are doing.



Instead, I’m moving on. I have a job, a life, and other books and authors to support, whom I know won’t behave like this. I’d like to pretend I never knew you or your book. You are not as important to me, as I seem to be to you.

But as a nod to our former friendship, I do have to say this though: please, go focus on something else. Please go focus on the positive publicity you’re receiving. Go write another book. Go make friends. Go live your life.

I also say this with all sincerity and kindness: Please go see someone. This type of behavior is not healthy. You have dozens of positive reviews, with dozens more likely to come. Why are you fixated on something so specific? Find someone who can help you learn to let go.



While I hope that this is the end of it, there is a caveat.

Please understand if you continue to refuse to let this drop, you are pushing me closer to naming you. It’s exasperating seeing specific searches on my website for your name + connection to me. Considering how the searches are being run, I’m pretty sure these searchers are coming onto the site after speaking to you.

Moreover, considering how very lax you’ve been with my personal information, seeing those searches are also makes me feel unsafe.

Other authors? Please never do this to your beta readers. We beta read because we want to champion your work, and because we care. Having it turned on our heads is a genuinely exhausting experience that no one should ever have to experience.





Thanks,

Me.