(Source: Lee Morley, Flickr)
Author Stalks Book Blogger
Online Safety
Nobody is truly safe on the Internet, so all the more should online safety a huge concern. For those who still haven’t heard about Kathleen Hale and her essay that The Guardian posted, you can read it here (it’s a link that doesn’t improve its page rankings, found via Jamie.)
In a nutshell, Kathleen Hale was so upset by a particular book blogger, who had negatively reviewed one of her books, that she stalked that blogger, with the intent of confronting her.
Planned Stalking
Now, I don’t use the term “stalk” lightly. I know that in this day and age, obsessively perusing someone else’s Facebook profile is jokingly referred to as “stalking” but that is not what I mean. Things weren’t that harmless.
I am referring to full-on cyberstalking and “traditional” stalking. Hale found out all there was to know about the blogger on social media platforms. She also sought out the blogger’s address, then showed up at her door. In the end, she didn’t confront the blogger face-to-face but nonetheless, still called her.
This level of stalking required careful planning. Hale and this book blogger didn’t happen to be neighbours. Hale rented a car to drive out to the blogger’s home! I think that this is utterly unbelievable and anyone who thinks that Hale was right to do this doesn’t understand the implications of her actions and the fact the stalking is illegal.
Privacy vs. Catfishing
Through all that stalking Hale found out that the name that the blogger used online wasn’t her real name. Instead of accepting that like a pen name to preserve the blogger’s online privacy, Hale is crying “catfish!” in response. I think very few book bloggers use their full names. A lot of book bloggers only use their first names or use a different name altogether. The intent is not to deceive anyone but rather to protect themselves.
What if She Had Stalked a Teenager?
Hale insists that the blogger bullied her with the book review, yet fails to understand that she severely undermined the online safety of said blogger. What worries me even more is that Hale is a Young Adult author. She could have very well stalked a teenager. In fact, she even asked this blogger on the phone if she had children who might have been behind the blog since the names didn’t match up.
The Flip Side
The Pain of Negative Reviews
Not that I condone Kathleen Hale’s actions but let’s take a look at things from her position, shall we? Writing is not easy. Parting with a book and allowing the world to read and critique it takes nerves of steel. Of course she was upset when she came across a negative review that she felt wasn’t justified. Her ego must have been shattered and I can understand that.
Dealing with Negative Reviews
The way she dealt with the negative review however, was wrong beyond proportions. Contacting a reviewer via publicly available email addresses is well within an author’s rights. The reviewer has equal rights to decline an answer. That is where an author has to turn around and retreat to find other ways to deal with the pain.
Maybe talking to the editor or another person from the publishing house gives a better sense of whether a review truly constitutes bullying. If it does, then by all means, make sure that the channels are plugged and the review is pulled from places such as Goodreads. There are right ways to deal with negative reviews but stalking is certainly not one of them.
My Two Cents
I think any blogger who is concerned about online safety has good reason to be. Most authors know better than to show up unannounced at the house of a book blogger. But it just takes one person to mar the good standing of a group and that is precisely what Kathleen Hale did — she incited fear in book bloggers.
To make matters worse, the way we found out about this stalking incident is from the perpetrator herself. It wasn’t from a news article that reported her apprehension. Kathleen Hale wrote an essay and detailed her proceedings without any remorse. She admitted that several times she had been told to stop what she was doing but she ignored all that advice.
What I’m most curious about is how her publisher will handle this. Will Harper Teen ignore that all this happened? Will there be a statement from them? Will they still keep her under contract (if she was under one to begin with)? I hardly think that especially a Young Adult imprint can afford to represent an author who might stalk her readers again.
Responses Around the Blogosphere
The responses among book bloggers has generally been a resounding denouncement of Hale’s actions. Some have become even more concerned about their own online safety. There are people who thought Kathleen Hale’s essay riveting and some even applauded her for taking a stand but I have zero understanding for people who support what Hale did.
For those who have made dear friends in the book blogosphere, the recent events have made them reconsider just how safe they really are on the Internet. Whom can we trust? And even if we share information with people we trust, who else can get hold of the information and use it against us? These are just some of the things that have been on bloggers’ minds.
Analysis
- Jane @ Dear Author noted the importance of pseudonymous activity.
- Sarah @ Smart Bitches Trashy Books makes it clear that the author is not her book. A negative book review is not a personal attack on the author.
- Nate @ The Digital Reader tried to reconcile both sides but came to the conclusion that most of the fault lies with Kathleen Hale.
- Caitlin @ Bustle considers major issues surrounding book blogging and social media that surfaced.
- Katherine @ Neon Yeti Read points out two truths: reviewers shouldn’t attack authors in their reviews and authors shouldn’t stalk reviewers.
Denouncement
- Ceilidh @ Bibliodaze wrote an open letter because stalking is not okay.
Personal Reflections
- Jamie @ The Perpetual Page-Turner took this time to reflect on her personal safety.
- Minday @ Magical Urban Fantasy Reads wishes she had thought to keep her identity secret when she first started blogging.
- Dana @ The Nerdy Journalist is relieved that she’s generally taken paranoid online measures, shuddering at the thought, what if she had been the reviewer Hale stalked?
- Sydney @ Utterly Bookish was reminded about the importance of privacy.
Responsive Actions Taken
- Cassie @ Happy Book Lovers altered her domain registrant information, removing her surname and other details.
It has made me incredibly uneasy, I use my online profiles for work therefore a lot of my information (sans address) is online. Even my phone number is in my emails. This has made me think about my profiles and what is connected to what. I’ve always kept my personal facebook hidden, nothing to hide but there is just some stuff I’d like to keep to myself. So I have recently gone through and changed my details on my profiles. I think I’ve been so wrapped-up in feeling this community is all fluffy clouds and nothing can go wrong but then I’m proved wrong by incidents from authors as Kathleen’s stalking.
This whole incident makes me wish I made a whole alias for myself too. It would be impossible to do that now, though. I think everyone’s scared by this whole thing, and we all have a right to be. This could have happened to anyone, and the fact that people even support this behavior makes it even scarier. >.<
I am disgusted by the article and how proud she seems to be about her action.. I’m not surprised people don’t use their full name or even pen names, why would that bother her so much? And catfishing isn’t even the right definition, it’s like the wrong use of the word ‘bullying’ all over again.
Hale’s essay made me re-evalute a variety of things. First off, I think what scared me the most was the tone of the essay. It was nonchalant. Proud, even. As though this type of behaviour could be condoned in society now because the term “stalking” is thrown around as though it means nothing. And that was what disgusted me the most. When her whole shebang was described as “light stalking”. Light stalking?! What is that even? What she did was the full frontal package and it was obsessive and freakishly worrying, not for herself, but for her potential victims. It’s as though her essay was written as a warning, if you get me? I feel like I’ve been warned of what’s to come. As though she’s advertised, put herself PURPOSELY out there and let us know that she’s capable of doing such a thing. Which has only shined a light on the fact that if one person can, another person probably is. And it’s scared the blogging community. It’s like she’s herded us up and has just reminded us that the internet’s scary because out there there are “big bad wolves” like her.
If I learnt one thing from this weekend, it’s that privacy is pertinent. We all deserve but there are people out there who like to destroy it. It’s definitely cast a grey shadow over the community and the sad thing is, Hale feels no remorse. That’s just the last straw for me.
Kathleen Hale’s essay has actually really made me think about a few things. I’m not predominantly a book blogger, I guess I’d be considered more of a lifestyle blogger which means I have shared a lot of personal information online. I don’t want this one incident to ruin my experience with blogging. Whilst I do share my blog online, publicly, I often think of it as my own little thing when in actuality it isn’t. The main reason I blog is to document and that includes things from books I’ve read to milestones with my son.
See, that’s why I’ve been really torn. Where do I go with my blog now? Do I want to continue putting my son online like that? When we live if this digital society such things are hard to decide. I have thought greatly about it, and I think I would like to continue with how my blog is, however I know I will be more vigilant when it comes to personal information etc.
I really enjoyed this post, I think the way you put across your thoughts was really well done.
:-)
I’ve already been burned with a previous blog I had years ago, where I shared personal info. That led to weird mail and such and I ended up closing down my blog, which sucked because it was actually really popular (it was even featured in a magazine). But, it wasn’t worth the stress of dealing with the crazies. Now I have a new blog and I use a pen name, don’t do other social media like Twitter/FB for my blog etc. I will also never post pictures of my kids and their names on my blog.
Wow. That experience must have sucked :( I’m glad that didnt deter you from giving blogging another chance though! :) I think it’s a difficult decision to make how much we are comfortable sharing and how to assess the risks linked to that decision. Some bloggers simultaneously use their blogs as a form of portfolio, so they cant detach their offline selves from their online personas. Others don’t feel they can be genuine if they hide their identities. However much we choose to share though, it’s our responsibility not to drag others into it. I firmly belive your decision not to share photos or the names of your children is a wise one!