Goodreads, transparency, and the perils of the publishing world

From the surface, Cait Corrain appeared to have achieved what every aspiring author ever desires. Her book was set to hit the shelves this year with Del Rey Books, a fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. In fact, upon listing her book on Goodreads, the book garnered tremendous anticipation from readers prior to its publication. It is on Goodreads that she would start to sow and culminate the seeds of events that would lead to her publishing contract to be terminated.

Despite being presented with ample deals and opportunities that many authors have to wait a lifetime for, she sabotaged her publishing contract due to her nefarious intent—boosting her books at the cost of others. By reviewbombing her fellow authors, she wanted to bring her own book to the forefront. Fortunately, before her malpractice impacted those authors any further, she was exposed by author Xiran Jay Zhao in a 31-page Google document detailing all her misconduct on Goodreads.

"Review bombing" on Goodreads is apparently not uncommon. It is the malevolent practice of flooding a book with negative ratings to tank down the ratings and reception of the said book, unfairly. In late November, multiple accounts engaged in review bombing specific authors from Del Rey Publishing, using usernames associated with individuals of colour. When several authors noticed a pattern of accounts rating "one star" to other authors of Del Rey Publishing, and rating Corrain's own book with accolades and rave reviews, it wasn't hard to guess that Corrain was behind this Machiavellian maneuver.

The affected authors in question happened to be primarily people of colour. These debut authors did not have the same power or influence, as their white peers. Had Corrain's actions gone unnoticed, those negative reviews would have impacted said authors' book sales and subsequently, their opportunity to write any more books. 

In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Corrain opened up about her mental health issues where she attributed her actions to a combination of factors, including her autism and other mental health disorders, amplified by medication. She expressed how these issues impacted her behaviour, leading her to act impulsively without fully comprehending the consequences of her actions. This particular statement has been met with skepticism by some of the impacted authors. They question how substance abuse alone could account for the targeted and racially motivated nature of her actions against BIPOC authors. Publishing is full of enough perils as it is, especially for authors of colour.

Furthermore, the impact of Corrain's actions extended beyond negative tanking of the books, having affected livelihoods of the targetted BIPOC authors. This incident highlights how books by these authors on Goodreads were met with criticism even before the texts were published, and demands a broader examination of the fairness and credibility of the star system. Goodreads, as a space for readers, is cherished for its interactive features and bringing to the limelight books that left a mark on other readers. However, the Goodreads community can sometimes heavily rely on the collective ratings to gauge a book's worth. Especially in the book industry, putting out a book before its debut to build buzz on Goodreads is heavily endorsed.

Ratings, in today's context, can either make or break an author's career. The fallout of such incidents may leave lasting impacts on the lives of authors, and their livelihoods. This incident also sparks conversation on how success for an author is measured in the book industry where visibility, representation, and good reviews, especially in this digital age, matter more than ever. Therefore, Goodreads allowing users to review or leave stars on books that aren't even published yet is problematic and subject to manipulation, as observed in Corrain's case.

As someone who loves reading, I often struggle to rate books with just five stars. When I'm on Goodreads, I sometimes have a hard time contemplating how and on what criteria I should rate if a book deserves four or five stars, and if it was really good. Sometimes, I like parts of a book but find others just okay. Rating a book based on a five-star scale fails to capture the nuances of my reading experience. As such, the star-system is not an adequate way for me to express my opinion about a book.

In that regard, I prefer using StoryGraph to track my reading habits because it's more helpful than Goodreads. As opposed to Goodreads, where the interface and features feel lacking for me. Storygraph offers a smoother experience and better recommendations based on my reading preferences. Furthermore, on Goodreads, there is a tendency for books by white authors to receive more promotion and visibility, sometimes overshadowing works by authors from marginalised backgrounds. This lack of diversity in spotlighting can limit the breadth of perspectives and voices represented in the reading community. Besides, review bombing is very prevalent on Goodreads, as opposed to none in StoryGraph due to lack of its social media-like features. StoryGraph allows us to rate with half and even quarter stars, making it possible to rate a book with nuance.

Additionally, on Goodreads, the anonymity and lack of verification required for creating an account also makes books more susceptible to harsh review bombing from people who never even read the book. Several authors, unfortunately, have faced instances of review bombing which subsequently led them to cancel their publication following criticism, despite the book never having been read. Such instances include the author of Eat, Pray, Love (Riverheadhead Books, 2007), Elizabeth Gilbert's The Snow Forest being cancelled from publication because review bombers wrongly interpreted said book as "pro-Russian". The withdrawn novel was supposedly about a family in the Soviet era. Despite not knowing the context of the book, people jumped on the bandwagon of review bombing, and cancelled the book. 

The affected books and authors in question due to Corrain's review bombing were: The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptise (‎Sourcebooks Fire, March 5, 2024), To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang ‎(Del Rey, April 16, 2024), The Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen, 2021), and So Let them Burn by Kamilah Cole (Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024). By celebrating and supporting the books by these authors, we can prevent this unfair and problematic system from restricting their opportunities to share the stories they could tell.

Cait Corrain's review bombing practices serve as a cautionary tale. As readers and writers engage with online book communities, the issue of transparency becomes more vital than ever. Goodreads as a platform must take imperative measures to ensure a fair and ethical community for everyone involved.

Sabrina Sazzad is an aspiring poet and an HSC candidate. Send her poem recommendations at sazzadsabrina101@gmail.com.