What does a bad review have to do with a racist statement? Bear with me here. Sometimes putting the first in a series for free helps garner interest for the rest of the series. But a very experienced author friend of mine once told me she was done making her books cheap. She said every time she did a .99 book, the bad reviews came in. Honestly, it does seem like the cheaper books get the bad reviews, almost like it’s a different type of reader. I just don’t know. But a review I got for Club Blood (which is free in the month of July) on Smashwords made me rethink ever putting my books for free during these Smashwords sales anymore.
Here’s the thing…Club Blood is definitely not my best work. It was the second thing I ever published and the first vampire novella I did. I imagine there are way too many “thats” in the manuscript. But it’s at least good enough that I like to go back and read it from time to time. And I don’t get upset by one star reviews anymore. I see very, very good books get those. But what really ticked me off, no I guess it hurt me, was that the reviewer said I made a racist statement. I’m about as far from a racist as anyone can get. I’m so tired of everyone having to be “politically correct” instead of just being humans. This thing with Paula Deen really brought that all to a head. Do I think she should have used the “N” word? Absolutely not. My kids were raised to believe that it was a bad word just like any other word I didn’t want them to use. But Paula Deen said this a long time ago. And there are people of ALL races defending her, so that makes me feel a little better about the whole thing. Anyway, I digress. This is what the reviewer said about my “racist” statement. “The author managed to throw in the racist statement that the pizza must be good as the restaurant was owned by Italians.” This made me want to cry. Seriously. Is it an insult to Italians to say they make GOOD PIZZA??? That’s like saying it’s an insult to me because I make a good burger. Wait, are burgers American or did they originate somewhere else? I better be careful! Grrrr. If a restaurant advertises that their pizza is “authentic Italian”, is that racist? It would be okay for me to say a pizza sucked because it was made by Americans, but not okay to say it was good because it was made by Italians, right? I thought it was actually a COMPLIMENT, not a racial slur. I bet if I was in Italy, it would be fine to say their pizza was good because it was authentic Italian. No, it’s here in the US where we have to watch every little thing we say in case someone takes it wrong. I’m SO tired of this. Can’t we just be people who all get along with each other and know that we won’t always be perfect and say the perfect thing? Why can’t people love instead of hate? Can’t we all understand the world would be so much better and easier if we all loved each other? That doesn’t mean we all would agree on everything. It doesn’t mean there would be no contention. But we could disagree and still love each other. I guess as long as there is evil in the world, that will never happen. Fighting and killing have been going on for as long as the world has been here. There was murder in the first family when Cain killed Abel. And we never learn. /end of rant
lauralynnelliott.com 
The best authentic Italian pizza I ever enjoyed was in Paris. Go figure. (I’ve never been to Italy, though.) And come on, there’s a HUGE difference between American crap pizza and the Italian variety. I know an Italian grandmother quite well who always says when we have pizza at a gathering “That’s not how they do it in Italy!” So you have back up in this concept. 🙂
See? In what way is that possibly an insult to an Italian? I figured they would be proud of the good food they make. The Greeks across the street from where I work make great Gyros, by the way. 🙂 Not to mention, they are HOT! Uh oh, now I’m making a sexist statement.
And now I want pizza.
I always want pizza….
First of all your reviewer used the wrong term. Racist would not be what you did, stereotypical is probably what she meant. But no, I would not see that as an insult to Italians.
Some people just like to find a reason to cause trouble for others. So I would just let it go and move on. 😉
I know I should forget about it. But it helped to rant. And it hurt my feelings more than angered me. Because you KNOW I’m not racist at all. And I think she really meant racist because she was implying I was insulting the Italians. Although, you might be right about the fact that SHE used the wrong term, no matter what she MEANT. Because racist would mean I didn’t LIKE Italians. I love Italians…they make the BEST pizza. Oops, there I did it again. LOL
Some people just like to stir the pot. I am dismayed that you were the recipient of such a ridiculous assault…and now I am also hungry 🙂
I know, it’s crazy. I never dreamed anyone would think that.
Pizza…good stuff.
I hate how PC society has bhecome. It’s made so many of us afraid to open our mouths. If that reader thought the pizza thing was racist, they must be living in a fluffy world of sweetness and light.
It amazes me what people are offended by. What a crazy world we live in.
The statement isn’t raciest at all. Sterotypical, yes, maybe a bit hyperbolic, but not raciest. You can’t control what other people think or how they’re gonna react to anything you’ve said. Since you didn’t write the statement meaning to raciest, I wouldn’t worry about it. But that’s just me.
Yeah, that’s what Anya said. But really it’s not that stereotypical, either. The Italians are usually known for their good food. Of course, that’s because I really LIKE Italian food. LOL. I’m going to stop worrying about it.
It’d been one thing if you said “Don’t eat that pizza. It was made by ______, and you know they only make crap.” Now that would have been racist.
I’m sorry you had to deal with this. 😦 I know you meant it as a compliment.
I know, wasn’t that ridiculous?
I was chatting with a fellow writer about the good and bad of offering your book for free. It does get your book out there, and that can translate into actual sales which is awesome. But that many copies of your book out there also means that someone who doesn’t like what you have to say is more likely to pick it up.
And some of those people don’t just “not like” your book. Some are jerks about it.
I agree – the pizza comment could be taken as a stereotype (which isn’t always a bad thing depending on the usage) but definitely isn’t racist.
And I say that with the authority of an Italian. 🙂
[On the Paula Deen issue – well, I have a very different view on that, so I won’t get started here…]
And here’s the thing about free books. Some people will pick them up just because they are free and never even read them. On Smashwords right now, I have several that are free and some that are half-price. The last time I did this, I actually sold some half-price books, too. This time, everyone is grabbing all my free ones and not buying any half-price ones. Of course, the month isn’t over, but it just shows how people flock to free stuff whether they really want it or not. I’ve stopped getting free books unless I think I’ll REALLY like them. I almost always buy now.
Oh, the Paula Deen issue has SO many opinions. The thing is, when the media takes off and runs with things like this, the truth gets buried anyway. So who knows what to think? I sure don’t. LOL