All The Wrong Moves

First, I’m hosting a holiday contest that ends Friday night, so if you haven’t entered for your chance to win free books and/or a $25 Amazon egift card, go here and good luck!

Now, to the subject line of the post. I’m probably the thousandth person to write about the Cait Corrain drama, but the whole thing has been nagging at me, so here you go. First, if you’re not familiar, Cait Corrain is/was a 2024 debut author. This week, she was dropped by her publisher, her agent, and her distributor for creating several fake Goodreads account to 1-star-review-bomb other 2024 debut authors’ books, particularly authors of color. Those same accounts also gave Corrain’s book with 5-star reviews, which is how this was originally sniffed out. Corrain at first denied any knowledge of this, then said a well-meaning “friend” had done it, and finally admitted that it was her. This made national news, and you can read some of the many write-ups here and here.

I want to talk about the notion that other authors are your enemy, which is the crux of the motivation behind Corrain’s actions (along with a big ol’ dose of racism, of course.) Sadly, Corrain is not alone in thinking that for her book to rise, other authors’ books had to fall. I’ve been in this business since 2007, so I’ve seen this “take no prisoners” attitude before, although not to such a cartoon-villain-like extreme. And while treating your colleagues like enemies might be beneficial in some industries, it doesn’t work in the publishing business. Why? I’ll quote Ilona Andrews:

“As an author, you’re not competing against other authors. Your biggest enemy is obscurity.”

With that in mind, let’s take out the sheer WRONGNESS in what Corrain did for a moment, because while it is every level of wrong, I know some people might think “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to succeed, bay-bee!” Okay, you have no morality or inherent sense of decency, gotcha. You still shouldn’t consider other authors as your enemies. Why? Because it’s STUPID.

Even if Corrain had succeeded to her wildest dreams, never gotten caught, and tanked the debuts of every author she targeted, it wouldn’t have helped HER book because there are literally millions of other books on the market. It’s the equivalent of one drop of water trying to eradicate a few drops of water around it because it believes it will then rule the ocean. Uh, no. You’re still just one drop.

Yes, every so often, a debut novel catapults to the top of publishing stratosphere, but that isn’t from the author shitting on other authors. It’s probably–but not always–from a big publisher push combined with market favorability and more than a dash of luck. On the indie side of sales nirvana, sometimes an author’s sales will shoot to the moon because their social media account went viral. Or they got a shout-out from a large-platformed author. Or something else where luck plays a big role (and you’ll note that “luck” plays a big role in both traditional and indie publishing. It simply does. We all wish that good books always find success, but publishing, like life, isn’t always fair.)

The truth is that most of the time, when success happens, it happens through that four-letter-word called WORK. This is where an author keeps writing books, builds a fan base, does a lot of their own promotion (yes, trad authors, too!) and then–if they’re lucky–reaches a point where they can pay their own bills out of their writing income. It doesn’t sound sexy because it isn’t. If you got into writing thinking it was your fast-pass to fame and fortune, stop now and buy a lotto ticket instead. You’ll have better odds.

Wow, you sound negative, Jeaniene!

I do about the business side of publishing because, again, I’ve been around for a minute. Now, let me talk about the wondrous side of it, and no, I’m not talking about the writing process. We already know that it feels magical for authors when words flow. Or when your main character wrecks your plot in the best way because their idea is so much better than your outline. Or when a reader says “I loved your book!” and you have to remind yourself that you can’t hug them for 10 minutes because that’s too extreme. In short, here is why Corrain was so wrong, morally and practically, to attack her fellow authors:

Authors are your teammates.

As I said before, I came out of the ’07 year of debut authors. So did Melissa Marr and Ilona Andrews. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, those names will be familiar to you. We all met after our books were sold, but before they were published, and we bonded over love of books and general anxiety about what to do next, lol. We formed an author group with dozens of other fantasy/paranormal authors. We cheered on each other’s books when they were released. We hung out at conventions together. Melissa and Ilona also became my critique partners, helping steer me back on course when my books took a wrong turn. They celebrated with me when things were good, and held my hand when things got rough. I’d like to think I’ve done the same for them, but they probably did it better than me because they’re just amazing.

It wasn’t only them, either. Other authors offered me invaluable advice when I was first starting out (Hi, Yasmine Galenorn!) Or told me the ins-and-outs of a good agent relationship when I was struggling with my first agent (thanks, Rachel Vincent!) Or had the kindness to listen sympathetically when an innocent question of “How are you doing?” was answered with the blistering truth during a 2009 convention when I was having a hard time (Jackie Kessler barely knew me, but she listened for at least half an hour.) Or who allowed a new author’s budding fan base to chat on her website even though she was a mega star (bows in Charlaine Harris‘s direction.)

I could go on, but I’m hoping you get the point. If I had treated other authors like enemies to be vanquished, it wouldn’t have helped my career one bit. Instead, I would have lost out on my two best friends plus a wonderful support system that’s helped me navigate an industry that’s undergone seismic changes already, and likely will again in the future.

In short, stomping on other authors is NOT a path to success. It’s mean, stupid, and counterproductive. If another author is doing better than you are, especially if that author is in your genre, be happy for them instead. A rising tide truly does lift all boats, as Ilona expounds on here.

I for one am grateful to all the authors who shared their wisdom, lent me a helping hand, or just listened when I needed to vent. I also cherish the friendships I’ve made in this business, which isn’t limited only to other authors, of course. The publishing industry can be tough, but there are real gems of people in it, too. Find yours, treasure them, and above all, keep writing.