A Book Publishing Mantra

You may not realize it, but there is a phrase heard in book publishing houses all across North America on a daily basis. To call it a mantra is imprecise. It is more accurate to call it an exclamation or epithet.

Here it is:

"Get that whackjob's review off of amazon!" Or, a variant: "Get that nutjob's review off of amazon."

This phrase is uttered after (and only after) an author who compulsively checks his amazon "ranking," and searches for new reviews, finds one that offends his sensitive temperament. He will then call his agent or his editor, who will then call someone in sales or marketing, and utter one of the phrases above. Or something that means the same thing. Then the salesperson begins the tedious process of assessing the review to determine if anything in it can truthfully called "unfair." If so, then begins a month-long flurry of email exchanges flying (in my case) from the East Coast to Seattle and back. And after that, if amazon agrees, anything a reasonable person may find offensive or unfair is removed from the amazon website.

Just another reason that the book industry will always need salespeople!