The Baffling Case Of AbsoluteWrite

There is a writing forum called AbsoluteWrite Forums. It is one of the oldest still going and is a place frequent by various industry luminaries and is a center for the crusade against the horrid vanity press PublishAmerica. In many ways, it's a great resource for writers, editors and publishers and until about a week ago I would have recommended it to anyone.

Now, I'm not sure.

I was once a member there (as zizban) and got banned for being a bad boy (and rightful so) but I still lurk there and read now and then. AbsoluteWrite strives for professionalism and a high degree of integrity. Then you get this.

Yes, professionalism at it's best.

The first thing to remember is this was posted at Stop the Goodread Bullies, a site devoted to apparently defending any vanity or self published authors on Goodreads. The people behind the operation seem kind of shady, But if you examine the thread in question you see that the banned poster and those that supported her made polite, logical arguments. Read for yourself and decide.

It gets a little weirder because it appears the owner of AbsoluteWrite is not who she says she is. Her given name is Macallister Stone and she uses it everywhere. I have no problem with this, we are all entitled to our privacy but when you ban someone from your forum because they are a "fucking bald faced liar" I have a problem.

You can't go calling people liars while you lie about who you are and hide your registration address behind a storage locker in Washington State!

So let's recap:

1. Use a pseudonym online.
2. Use a storage unit as your web site's address.
3. Accuse someone of being "A bald-faced liar".

This makes you a hypocrite.

If don't want anyone to know your address when you register a domain, there are plenty of proxy services you can use. Which makes the whole situation stranger.

To top it off, Macllister Stone's name is actually Melodi Susanne Sherman and keeps her name hidden while running a high profile website is some of kind of achievement but it raises one question: How come it hasn't leaked before now?

The reason is is she doesn't attend very many writing conferences except the famous Viable Paradise which is run in part by friends of hers. By keeping her offline profile low, she can keep her identity secret.

A less likely scenario is that her name really is Macallister Stone but the evidence is strong against this.

An even less likely scenario is that no one, not even her friends, knows her real name. I have a hard time believing this.

This whole thing with AbsoluteWrite is so convoluted and weird I doubt we'll ever know for sure.

Edit: a reader points out Macallister Stone and Melodi Sherman could be sisters or lovers. Possible but again unlikely.

Update:

A simple google search puts all doubts to rest. Melodi Sherman was once a manager at a farrier place. Macallister Stone says she is a farrier. This is what her site tag says:

So Macallister Stone is a lair and a hypocrite who committed perjury to hide her identity. It is sad and troubling, but mostly sad. Very sad.

Having A Thin Skin

Recently on a forum I frequent a self published author posted she gotten the following one star review:

Silly. Laborious - not a good read. Hard to get into and stay focussed. Not recommending this author. Not a good buy

Okay, fair enough. One star reviews can sting and can be sucky sometimes. When you put yourself out there, these things happen. Hey, look! Pride and Prejudice has seventy seven one star reviews! The thing is, sometimes these reviews are valid, sometimes not but in the end these things happen. Let it go.

Someone didn't get that memo.

The author's response:

This is the review.  This little story has not had any paid purchases for a long while.  That means to me that she downloaded a free copy.  If someone has this trash to report about a very short story that probably took them five minutes to read, why post a review at all.  I am floored!

There are two problems here. Whether it is a paid purchase or free download is irrelevant.Note: it says right next to the review it it was an Amazon Verified Purchase. The ponit is the reader didn't like the story. Further, the reviewer posted a review because they could and because they obviously felt the need to share her review with others. I hardly call "Silly." and "Laborious - not a good read." trashing the book. It's a statement of what the reader felt. Would this author have felt the same way if it was a five star review, that the person shouldn't have posted the review because they might have got it? free I doubt it.

Her friends were quick to join the pity party and trash the reviewer:

Ignore it ! We know your a great writer and story teller,
                           I loved all your stories..


It is hard for me to come to terms with a description of your work as "laborious," because it so much the opposite of the way I see it.  Not that you don't do the work of making it professional as well as unique and original, but because the spirit of the stories are so natural and meaningful.  

And how can a story be "silly" and "laborious" at the same time?

I am floored, to, at the actions of people who are so intent on harm.

Sigh. It goes on like that until they finally to get to ad hominem personal attacks on the reviewer, all because of one single one star review.

You want to play the "published author" game? Cool. Get thicker skin. Readers are a tough crowd.