Blogs and Review

Lots of chatter has run around the internet about Cassie Edwards and her historical romances. One one blog, someone took the time to compare one of her books, line by line, to an historical source and came to the conclusion that she broke copyright law. I have no patience with plagerism, however, when you paraphrase from a source, it's not as if you lifted passages word by word. She wrote fiction and wasn't presenting the text as anything but a work of fiction.



It's dangerous for anyone to jump to conclusions and then ram that conclusion down the internet throat in order to trash a writer's reputation. The blog owners had an obligation to ask the writer about it before libeling that author. If the blog owners were professional writers, they might realize there was no intent to steal words. And, if all you have to do with your life is go through works of fiction line by line to try and destroy a career, it's a sad life.



Writer's beware, there are review sites out there who seem to view review writing the same way, let's see how many negative ways I can review a book. When looking for review site, go to that site and read what they post before you ask for a review. Constructive reviews, even when they don't love your book, can be helpful. Deliberate vitriole is another story.



Anyone who can set up a blog ,can set up a review site. Make sure your chosen reviewer is familiar with and likes the genre in which you write and has some experience as a reviewer.