Novelist RJ Ellory caught posting biased comments on Amazon

RJ Elloryhas apologized for writing good reviews on his books and disparaging remarks for his rivals...

15:12 04 September 2012

Great novelists are expected to have not just great writing skills but compelling imagination as well, and it’s important their works leave a lasting mark on the minds of their readers.

 

Novelist RJ Ellory was successful in fascinating readers and fellow novelists but not for the right reasons. He was caught praising his own works on Amazon for promotion.

 

In addition, he posted rather disparaging remarks for his rivals’ works on the same site.  

 

Susan Hill, author of ‘The Woman in Black’, took to Twitter and said: “Once you’re found out reviewing yourself glowingly and dissing others your reputation will never ever recover.”

 

This revelation came after Stephen Leather, a British thriller author revealed that he used different screen names on forums and social networking site to talk about his books to create awareness.

 

He told the Mail Online: “I’ll go on to forums and post there under my name and under various other names.

 

“You build up this network of characters who talk about your books and sometimes have conversations with yourself.”

 

He added that everybody is practicing the same marketing technique. 

 

Meanwhile, Ellory issued an apology saying: ‘The recent reviews – both positive and negative – that have been posted on my Amazon accounts are my responsibility and my responsibility alone.

 

“I wholeheartedly regret the lapse of judgment that allowed personal opinions to be disseminated in this way and I would like to apologise to my readers and the writing community.”

 

It is thought the British writing communityare rocked by the revelations.