What is the Elyse Myers book drama? Reader spaces controversy explained amid online backlash

Influencer and newly minted author Elyse Myers recently got involved in a controversy after a reader posted a negative review of her new book on Threads. Myers’ debut book, That's a Great Question, I'd Love to Tell You, which recently made it to the New York Times’ Bestseller list, was released on October 28.

Myers' book drama refers to the controversy that the TikTok star and writer became embroiled in after she responded to a reader’s negative comment on her book, prompting her fans to criticize her reactions. According to netizens and other writers, Myers is being accused of breaching ‘reader spaces.’ Reader spaces refer to online platforms, such as social media and review pages, where readers interact with an author’s book. Netizens argue that writers should refrain from engaging in such spaces to maintain an impartial environment for fans and readers.

As per screen grabs posted to social media platforms, a fan of Myers wrote on Threads that she was disappointed while reading the debut writer’s new book:

“Noooo I'm so sad I don't like this book at all. Has anyone else tried reading it? It's not at all like the stories she tells in her videos. I'm on the 5th essay and I think I have to stop reading it. Ugh”

Seemingly, Myers encountered the comment on Threads. While referring to the negative review of her book, she remarked,

“Instagram decided to put this in my feed as a post I might like, so now I'm here. I'm bummed you don't like it, but not at all offended. Everyone has different tastes in books and that's okay! Please feel free to return it!”

The drama spiralled into a back-and-forth between Myers and many netizens.

Also on Threads
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As a netizen jumped to the defence of Elyse Myers, other internet users insisted that the reader was entitled to her opinion

One netizen responded to Elyse Myers’ comment on a negative review of her book, writing that people on social media should be mindful of what they write about influencers and social media stars who might be disheartened by reading comments, as per a screen grab of the conversation, which was posted to Reddit.

However, the fan’s defence of Myers was not appreciated by other readers and netizens, who took to Threads to justify the reviewer’s right to criticize a book and author on social media. Many pointed out that the review had not tagged Myers, who chose to comment of her own accord. A netizen wrote,

“Nothing she said was rude or disrespectful, she didn't even mention or tag the author. Get a GRIP”

Myers further sparked debate after she added another comment seeking to clarify her intentions:

“l don’t know if you took the time to look at my responses to that thread but in no way was I upset than she didn't like my book. I told her that I was bummed but not offended at all and encouraged her to return the book. I'm confused where you think I acted weirdly?”

A TikTok influencer and writer, Don Martin, also jumped in to post a video about the controversy, in which he said,

“[Authors] do not engage in reader spaces. What is a reader space? Well, the first and most obvious are sites like Goodreads, Storygraph, the Amazon comment section, like any place where the work is itself is being reviewed, critiqued, criticized, picked apart, anything like that.”

Martin also explained that social media is a grey area, and while discussing the reasoning behind the concept, suggested that the “permission structure” of engaging with a reader depends on whether they have tagged an author or not.

is the general public finally seeing what we see??
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