Apparently, I’m a Grifter Now

Well, this is exciting.

After writing more books than I can reasonably keep track of, apparently I’ve finally achieved a new career milestone.

I’m a grifter.

At least according to one Amazon reviewer of HOA Boards Can Go To Hell: How To Survive Petty Rules, Power Trips, and Neighborhood Tyranny, the book I co-authored with Brad Sollose.

She gave it one star.

That’s fine.

Seriously.

Not everyone is going to like every book I write. Some people will love a book. Some will think it’s okay. Others will hate it.

That’s the deal when you publish something and put it into the world.

But this particular review caught my attention because it didn’t simply say the book wasn’t helpful.

It called the book a “grift.”

Apparently, because HOA attorneys can be expensive and because attorneys know HOA law better than the average homeowner, writing a book designed to help homeowners better understand what they’re dealing with is somehow…a scam?

That’s an interesting leap.

The reviewer writes that attorneys “already know” the information in the book.

Well…yeah.

I’d certainly hope so.

A plumber already knows how plumbing works.

A mechanic already knows how an engine works.

A CPA already understands taxes.

A marketing professional already understands marketing.

That doesn’t mean books explaining those subjects to ordinary people are useless.

In fact, that’s generally the entire reason those books exist.

They’re not written for the expert.

They’re written for the person who isn’t the expert.

A Book Doesn’t Have To Replace An Attorney

This book was never intended to replace competent legal counsel.

It doesn’t magically eliminate HOA attorneys.

It doesn’t guarantee you’ll defeat your HOA.

And it certainly doesn’t promise that reading a book will make a $500-an-hour attorney disappear in a puff of smoke.

What it can do is help someone better understand the environment they’re dealing with.

It can help them recognize patterns.

It can help them ask better questions.

It can help them avoid unnecessary mistakes.

It can help them understand that they’re not the only homeowner who has dealt with ridiculous rules, selective enforcement, power trips, board politics, and expensive disputes.

And sometimes knowing what questions to ask before calling that $500-an-hour attorney is pretty damn valuable.

“I Didn’t Like It” Is A Perfectly Good Review

Here’s something authors need to understand:

Readers don’t owe us five-star reviews.

They don’t owe us praise.

They don’t even owe us kindness.

If someone bought one of my books and thought it sucked, they’re entitled to say so.

I’d much rather someone write:

“I bought this book expecting X, and it didn’t deliver what I needed.”

Fair enough.

That’s useful feedback.

But calling something a “grift” because you didn’t find value in it is something entirely different.

A grift implies deception.

It implies someone is deliberately taking your money through dishonesty or trickery.

Writing a book, putting the title and subject right there on the cover, describing what it’s about, selling it publicly, and allowing people to review it isn’t exactly an elaborate confidence scheme.

It’s called…

publishing.

And Apparently, I’m Special

Now here’s the part that made me chuckle.

As far as I can tell, this reviewer has written exactly one Amazon review.

This one.

So out of all the products, books, gadgets, household items, questionable late-night purchases, and everything else available on Amazon…

HOA Boards Can Go To Hell inspired the review.

I’m touched.

Really.

Some authors have to beg people for reviews.

Apparently, all Brad and I had to do was write a book about HOAs.

Negative Reviews Aren’t Necessarily Bad

Here’s the bigger lesson.

If you’re going to create anything—books, videos, podcasts, businesses, products, ideas—you eventually have to become comfortable with people criticizing it.

Because the alternative is creating nothing.

And I’m not interested in doing that.

I’ve written books people loved.

I’ve written books people disagreed with.

I’ve written books that made people laugh.

I’ve written books that pissed people off.

That’s okay.

I’d rather create something worth arguing about than spend my life creating absolutely nothing because I’m terrified someone named Susan might give me one star.

So, Susan, you didn’t like the book.

Fair enough.

You think the information can be found on Google.

Fair enough.

You think hiring an attorney is a better solution.

Depending upon the circumstances, you might even be right.

But a grift?

Pfft.

If writing books and selling them to people who voluntarily choose to buy them is a grift…

I’ve apparently been running one hell of a long con.

And judging by the number of books I’ve written…

I’m really committed to the bit.