Chick Lit Girls, which publishes positive reviews for money, is threatening legal action against a writer who publicized that fact earlier this week.
Describing itself as “basically goodreads[sic] for women”, Chick Lit Girls has the stated mission of not publishing negative reviews. To quote, “we’re here to help authors, not destroy them!”
When author Michele Gorman offered her latest novel for review, however, they first requested a $95 fee, then accused her of “harrassing[sic]” them when she criticized the practice on Twitter and at her blog.
We have the ability to track IP addresses, so I would think twice before you begin to defame our name…That is illegal, and we will take action. Our attorney has been notified!
After Chick Lit Girls pointed out that they do disclose the fee—albeit in the fine print—Gorman removed remarks that suggested otherwise. Gorman also removed named references to “Chick Lit Girls” from her site, but did not remove her criticism of paid reviews.
At Popehat, Ken White describes the “barely-literate” threats as bumptious and doomed to failure:
People who issue thuggish legal threats to those who criticize them … can’t be trusted, should not receive your business or traffic, and deserve no respect. Ms. Gorman made a mistake — sort of, given ChickLitGirls’ rather vague dislosure — which she corrected. But it’s clear from the title, text, and follow-up to the ChickLitGirls’ threat that what they are really attempting to do is chill and deter criticism of their business model. That’s why they describe criticism as “harassment” and “threats.” That’s contemptible. Moreover, it’s legally unsupportable. If they are foolish enough to push it, they will lose, badly.