Author Apologizes for Twitter Outburst About a Bad Review

By Motoko Rich
C.J. Gunther for The New York Times Alice Hoffman

The novelist Alice Hoffman caused a stir over the weekend when she used Twitter to strike back at a mixed review of her latest novel, “The Story Sisters.”

Reviewing the book for The Boston Globe on Sunday, Roberta Silman wrote: “This new novel lacks the spark of the earlier work. Its vision, characters, and even the prose seem tired.” In a series of Twitter posts, Ms. Hoffman fired back with her own opinion. “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron,” she wrote. “How do some people get to review books? And give the plot away.” Ms. Hoffman also lambasted The Globe and went so far as to post Ms. Silman’s phone number and email, inviting fans to “Tell her what u think of snarky critics.”

By Monday, Ms. Hoffman had evidently deleted her Twitter account. “I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion,” Ms. Hoffman said in a statement forwarded by her publisher, Shaye Areheart, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group division of Random House. “Of course, I was dismayed by Roberta Silman’s review which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions and that’s the name of the game in publishing. I hope my readers understand that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I’m truly sorry if I did.”

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Joyce Lavene June 29, 2009 · 3:56 pm

This was an unfortunate circumstance, but what author HASN’T wanted to do something like this, especially when a reviewer gives the plot away or posts something that shows they haven’t read the book at all?

Tas June 29, 2009 · 4:13 pm

Deleting your Twitter account and apologizing in the wrong medium = fail. Not to worry, since you aren’t Internet Savvy, let me tell you about two little things call Google Cache AND Screen Save. Everything lives forever on the Internet. Tantrum away!

Ken Houghton June 29, 2009 · 4:25 pm

Let’s see: she ranted, gave out his e-mail address and encouraged people to hassle him, and now says she’s “sorry =if= she offended anyone.”

Some writers apparently don’t understand language; sorry to add Ms. Hoffman to the list.

Bill June 29, 2009 · 4:34 pm

Posting the reviewers home phone number on Twitter and encouraging her readers to hassle the woman is unforgivable. Here’s a writer whose books are bestsellers and who, in this day of dwindling book coverage, still gets reviewed. In other words, she needed to have swallowed it — or dealt with it in a more professional way. The review wasn’t even that bad. And the apology is lame. She’s not apologizing to the book reviewer, to whom she should apologize, but rather to “anyone” she might have offended, which I read as potential book buyers. Here’s hoping book review editors think twice in the future before assinging one of her books. Save that room for someone who needs — and deserves — the attention.

sick of egotistical agents June 29, 2009 · 5:07 pm

And yet her book got published and people with real talent have to kiss these agents butt to get their foot in the door. Shame on her!!

Sierra Philpin June 29, 2009 · 6:23 pm

As an author, I find it stunning that anyone with a book to sell would snap at someone who took the time and expended the effort to review it. But I suppose it’s possible that this episode will bring Ms. Hoffman’s work some attention (and sales) she wouldn’t have otherwise enjoyed.

David Quigg June 29, 2009 · 6:31 pm

An apology goes like this …

“Even if nobody is offended, I am sorry …”

Also,Hoffman griped that a non-writer reviewed her book and asked “So who is Roberta Silman?”

Ask and the Internet answers …

//www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/lit_crit/alice_hoffman_is_ready_to_rumble_120199.asp

“Oh, and to answer Hoffman’s question—while you were working on your first novel, Property Of, in graduate school in the mid-1970s, Roberta Silman was publishing the short stories that came out of her graduate school work in magazines like the New Yorker and preparing them for a collection called Blood Relations, so you both published your first book-length works of “literary fiction” in 1977… except she had already published a YA novel called Somebody Else’s Child the year before that. That’s who Roberta Silman is.”

A person with a Twitter account also presumably has access to Google and, therefore, the means to discover who Roberta Silman is. I hope Alice Hoffman is cringing right now. I really do. Because if she is, she understands her screwup and she has my empathy.

In the meantime, maybe the right response to all of this is to postpone your purchase of Alice Hoffman’s new book and buy a Roberta Silman novel. See if you agree with the positive reviews posted here …

//robertasilman.com/works.htm

If not, you always have the option of calling the reviewers “idiots” and posting their e-mails and phone numbers on the web.

@sick of egotistical agents June 29, 2009 · 6:36 pm

@ sick of egotistical agents; your comments do not make any sense, what does this have to do with agents? SMH. Be careful who you offend; your comments were noted by an agent on Twitter.

Suzanne June 29, 2009 · 6:37 pm

I would have hoped that after writing as much and for as long as she had, Hoffman would have known how to accept criticism. The only valid part of her tirade had to do with giving away plot details. The rest all revolved around how someone with no status (in her eyes) had the chutzpah to find flaws in her work. Thanks to Twitter, FB, various online book sites, authors have more ways to lash out at critics than ever before — and are using them. When will they realize this just backfires? Consumers of reviews — especially the kind of readers that Hoffman attracts — can distinguish a ‘good’ (well-reasoned, carefully crafted) review from a ‘bad’ (offhand, containing irrelevant information or errors about the book) review, and make their own decisions. This kind of inappropriate behavior — and an inadequate ‘apology’ that is half-hearted at best and fails to include remorse for disclosing the reviewer’s personal contact information — makes me think twice about paying $$ for Ms. Hoffman’s work in the same way that I think twice about paying to see Mel Gibson after his drunken anti-Semitic rant a few years back. There are some kinds of behavior I can choose not to subsidize, especially when there are a lot of other good writers out there.

Lynn M. June 29, 2009 · 6:50 pm

I hate to point this out, embittered unpublished writer who is “sick of egotistical agents”, but regardless of the Twitter screw-up, Alice Hoffman HAS real talent. She’s an excellent writer who has written a number of wonderful books I’ve been enjoying for years. Maybe you could learn something about writing and getting an agent by reading her work.

Lauren June 29, 2009 · 6:53 pm

First, Ms Hoffman, the situation has NOT been blow out of proportion. You overreacted to a somewhat negative review. Not only did you lambaste the reviewer, but you in the midst of your temper tantrum deliberately set out to to harass and intimidate the reviewer by posting her private e-mail address and her phone number.

My god, what the hell did you want to accomplish by that? You had to know how dangerous it is to rile up an unseen, unknown, uncontrollable group of people (“fans” in your vernacular). It would take only one deranged one to escalate your encouragement to action to violence. Have you never been stalked, harassed, frightened? Why would you want to put that on someone else’s head.

Your “apology” is full of insincere rot. It is far too obvious that your publisher forced you to do that against your will. You don’t even have the courage to stand up and acknowledge that you have been the instigator of possible violence. And for what? A review for one lousy book.

You didn’t “offend anyone.” You deliberately sought to cause untold damage to another because you think you are entitled to praise for your words. Wake up, Ms. Hoffman. You are no one special. And Shaye Areheart, you are equally responsible. What do YOU plan to do about it?

C. Stratton June 29, 2009 · 7:06 pm

another person pressing “send” too quickly….

Eugene June 29, 2009 · 8:17 pm

Not surprisingly another boorish reviewer baits a bestselling author into throwing a pedantic temper tantrum. If a movie critic published a spoiler to a major upcoming movie without warning readers in advance, readers would express outrage and the media would stop carrying their reviews. Why should the media treat this boorish book reviewer any differently? And a lesson to authors: don’t let losers cause you to lose your cool, let alone bait you into pedantic tirades.

Joanne McSweeney June 29, 2009 · 8:36 pm

Bill and sick of egotistical agents have both said it better than i could so this is just to add that published authors don’t know how lucky they are and lucky is the often the word. Talent isn’t as much as you would hope in the world of publishing and for anyone to act as spoiled as Alice Hoffman has is a real pity. She has pulled her head in because she had to and her apology isn’t anything-a direct apology to the people she attacked is what someone with real class would have done. She didn’t and i expect she won’t. But she’ll go on selling by the truck-load.

sick of egotistical agents June 29, 2009 · 8:44 pm

My comments may have offended some agents and if I have I am sorry.

Alice lost again in wonderland June 29, 2009 · 9:05 pm

She wrote a bad book, and her classic overreaction is an acknowledgement of that fact.

Kári Tulinius June 29, 2009 · 9:23 pm

Nobody would have cared if Alice Hoffman had just griped about a bad review. What took it over the line was posting the reviewers phone number and e-mail address in a twitter message.

xtine June 29, 2009 · 9:54 pm

She did not apologize to the reviewer, who she slandered quite handily.

After all these years in publishing, I can’t believe this woman cannot take a bad review. What a baby.

Liz W June 29, 2009 · 11:09 pm

She should apologize to the critic, not to “anyone.”
Sorry, Alice. Your bad behavior just cost you a reader, and one who buys books.

Hudson June 29, 2009 · 11:31 pm

See if anybody reviews her NEXT book.

jade82 June 29, 2009 · 11:41 pm

After reading the review, I ordered The Illumination Night–which Silman highly recommended. Now, like the author, I wish I hadn’t acted so hastily.

As Bill says, this sounds like a self-serving politician’s apology–the kind we’ve heard far too often. I’ve enjoyed many of Hoffman’s novels, but this conduct is beyond disappointing.

Violet June 29, 2009 · 11:58 pm

Giving out phone numbers? Over the line.

Trixie June 30, 2009 · 5:34 am

Hey, she’s human. At least she apologised. And as for the comment above *peers upwards* regarding agents. Lemme guess, are you one of those people with ‘real talent’? And those ‘egotistical agents’ had the AUDACITY to reject you? That is, like, SO unfair!!!!!! They CLEARLY don’t know what they’re missing out on. :-(

Lora Fountain June 30, 2009 · 6:46 am

Everyone has an angry reaction to something at some time, but this just proves that you need to sleep on it before doing something regrettable, which Ms Hoffman obviously did. However, for a reviewer to give away the plot it pretty unforgiveable, too.