Bad Author Behaviour

Is it just me, or is there a lot of Bad Author Behaviour on Goodreads lately? 

I won't link to the latest incident or call anyone out, because whether it's the author, a sock puppet, or some random helpful fan who thinks they're doing the author a favour, I don't know. But it's unattractive behaviour, and nothing will land you on a "Don't buy" list quicker than slagging off the people who bought your book in good faith. 

Here's how I see it. 

Goodreads is for readers, not authors. The second someone pays for your book, they can like it, hate it, or they can desperately want to KILL IT WITH FIRE. It's their right. And it's also their right to tell all their friends what they think. That is the whole point of the site. 

Okay, sure, not all reviewers are fair and balanced. Too bad. But it is not your job, and it's sure as hell not your BFF's job, to call them on it. Because Goodreads is for readers. You're playing in their sandpit, and you take the bad with the good or you get the hell out. 

The moment you publish a book and it's in the public sphere, your don't own it anymore. Okay, you own the copyright and whatever, but it's not your ickle precious baby who has to be protected from the big bad world. Hell no. You wave it off, you wish it well, and you let it make its own way. 

The simple fact is, some people will love what you write and some people will hate it. And if you're not ready to deal with that, then maybe you're not ready to call yourself an author. 

On that note, I don't comment on reviews of my own books. I might "like" a few now and again to get the cover out in everyone's feeds, but that's it. I'm more than happy to talk about my books if you invite me to, but I'm not going to butt in on the conversation you're having with your friends because I don't have any right to do that. Readers shouldn't have to worry that authors are going to start a shit storm because of something they say. 

When you get your royalty cheques from your publisher, where do you think that money came from? So to all the Authors Behaving Badly out there, grow up, chill out, and stop biting the hand that feeds you.