Taste of Cyn

As I’m writing this post, Crash And Burn, book 3 in the cyborg series, has an average Amazon rating of 4.6 stars out of 5.0. It has one 2 star review and zero 1 star reviews.

Defying Death, book 4, in contrast has an average Amazon rating of 4.0 stars out of 5.0. It has FOUR 1 star reviews and FOUR 2 star reviews.

Readers of my series know that, of the two books, Crash And Burn is FAR more controversial than Defying Death.

If I printed out the upset emails and messages I received from readers on Crash And Burn, I could fuel a wood stove for an entire winter. I set up a page on my site to talk with readers. That’s how upset everyone was. Yes. Ouch.

I only received ONE upset email/message from readers on Defying Death and that was from my beloved super anti-fan who hates every story I write (yet continues to buy and read them). I’d be worried if I didn’t receive an email from her.

(Defying Death has also been nominated in the Best Syfy/Fantasy Romance category at the Smexy Summer 2016 Beach Reads celebration. They must think it is a good story.)

So how is it possible that Defying Death has a lower rating and more 1 and 2 star reviews than Crash And Burn?

It was the target of a troll campaign.

What Is A Troll?

In Romanceland, a troll is the name given to someone who posts reviews, not to benefit other readers, but to serve their own purposes. Their objective is to dampen sales of the book, perhaps prevent future actions, and sometimes, unfortunately, hurt the writer.

How To Recognize A Troll

Trolls are often well organized. They usually don’t operate alone. Their strength comes with anonymity and, in the case of campaigns, with numbers.

With a campaign, one of them might read the book first or they might pluck some of the bad points from previous reviews and emphasize them. They take their trolling seriously. They know how to kill a book’s sales. They know how to make a review look like it is legitimate.

These reviews will almost always be tagged verified purchases. The trolls understand the system. They know that 1 or 2 star non-verified purchase reviews are likely to be deleted. They will buy the book, review it, and then return it. OR the person organizing the troll campaign will reimburse the troll for the price of the book (and sometimes pay for the review itself).

The trolls will often start the review with “I don’t usually give 1 star reviews” or “This is my first 1 star review ever” or “I’ve liked all of Cynthia Sax’s previous books but I couldn’t finish Defying Death.”

They make it seem like they’re the writer’s biggest fans (which not only kills sales but inflicts the most pain on the writer). They put in enough ‘truth’ that the review seems legitimate, add typos to make them look real. Sometimes they’ll stick in some good points (but not enough to make the reader buy the book).

And they ensure they use the sales-killing words/phrases, words/phrases like “waste of money”, “the writer wasn’t even trying”, “amateurish”, “disappointed”, etc. These are all words/phrases that will make readers not buy a book.

Combine the sales-killing words/phrases with the writer’s biggest fan words/phrases and you likely have a troll review. A writer’s biggest fan wouldn’t try to kill one of her series like this. She just wouldn’t.

With my books, the easiest way to determine legit reviews from troll reviews are the spoilers. Trolls usually don’t read the book all the way through so they rarely mention spoilers. The one 2 star review for Crash And Burn was posted by a troll. She didn’t mention the HUGE reason the legitimate readers were upset with that story.

Other than these two points, it is often difficult to differentiate between a troll and a legitimate unhappy reader. That’s one of the reasons I’m writing this post. Many people will push back on a writer’s claim that she’s been trolled, denying this is an issue in Romanceland. In my case, it was obvious that I WAS trolled.

Writers might not be skilled at differentiating trolls from legitimate readers but trolls are certainly skilled at writing these so-called reviews. This is their focus, their ‘job’, and yes, often they’re paid to do this.

Why Do Trolls Exist?

Some trolls are compensated. It is a business for them. There are writers who buy great reviews for their own books and there are writers who buy bad reviews for books they perceive as competition (that’s a sad way of looking at the world – but there are a few unusual writers in Romanceland).

Some trolls belong to street teams or they consider themselves to be super fans of a ‘competing’ writer (If anyone claiming to be my super fan does this, TELL me. I view other writers as my friends, not my competition.) They think they’re helping their favorite writer by hurting the perceived competition.

(In reality, what they’re doing is destroying any chance that these two writers will ever work with each other, which is a shame because working with another writer is one of the best ways to meet new readers.)

Some trolls have other agendas. Maybe they don’t like erotic romance or they have an issue with writers putting romance in SciFi stories or they have a personal non-writing-related issue with the writer. They have a problem with something other than the specifics of the story.

What Are Trolls Trying To Do?

They’re trying to kill sales. That’s their number one agenda. And that’s one of the reasons why I like to promote pre-orders (the main reason being my stories usually have spoilers in them and reading the story on the first day ensures readers don’t see these spoilers). Trolls can’t attack a not-yet-released book.

The happy thing is… if the trolls’ goal is to kill sales, it is because they believe the book has sales to kill. Maybe they hear excitement about the book. Maybe the book hits an Amazon Top 100 list. Maybe they see the cover, read the blurb, think, “Damn. This book looks awesome,” and they feel threatened in some way.

They often don’t want the writer to write another book. I believe that was the key goal behind the troll attack on Defying Death. It was Book 4 of a series. Book 5 in a SciFi Romance series is usually when readership really starts to grow (if writers don’t do what I did in Book 3 – sheepish grin – The irony is the troll attack wasn’t needed. I killed my own sales. Thank you very much.).

There could be other goals but these are the main two.

How To Avoid A Troll Attack

Stop publishing your stories. That’s the only way to avoid a troll attack.

I have seen the nicest, most generous writers in Romanceland have their books attacked by trolls. I’ve seen great, skillfully-written, emotionally-gripping books attacked by trolls. I’ve seen first books attacked by trolls (which I find especially disturbing – these writers haven’t yet developed the rhino skin needed in this business). I’ve seen last of a series books attacked by trolls (which makes no sense to me).

If you’re in this business long enough, at least one of your books will be attacked.

What Can Writers Do?

Your book is attacked by trolls. What can you do?

First, pat yourself on the back. It is a sign that something you’re doing is working. The trolls are trying to kill sales they believe your book deserves. DESERVES. Say that out loud with me because you need to hear it. Your book deserves to be read. Your book is also causing excitement and, unfortunately, some of that energy will be negative. Always. It comes with a bit of success. You might not see yourself as successful but someone else does and isn’t that a cool thing?

Second but equally important…
Know that it is okay to reach out for reassurance about your writing.

It was clear what was happening with Defying Death yet I still doubted myself. That little bit of truth that the trolls focused on did a number on my self-confidence. My heroine WAS passionate about viruses (as many writers are passionate about writing and many readers are passionate about reading). Did I overdo it? What if Mayhem, my next hero, is too wild? Or Imee, his heroine, is too strong? I questioned everything. I think that’s the reason I put a zillion more rounds of revisions into Chasing Mayhem, Book 5. I wanted that book to be perfect. My editor had to force it from my hands.

So do what you need to do to get your confidence back. Surround yourself with readers who love your writing. Re-read the great reviews. Review all of your positive writing milestones. If you have an editor or a publisher, remind yourself that they loved your story, that they wouldn’t allow you to release a bad story. Your book DESERVES to be read. Repeat that a million times if you have to.

Third but likely most important…
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
This is why I waited a few months to write about this. Don’t respond to them. They love it when you react. Seeing that they’ve upset you makes the trolls happy. It draws more attention to them. It provides proof for the professional trolls to show their future clients. The trolls tell their buddies to come, join the bashing party, and the situation gets worse.

They’re not worth your time. You have stories to write, legitimate readers to speak with, other shit to do.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever steps…

Many writers report the troll reviews as abuse and often Amazon will remove the reviews. I didn’t because I believe in freedom of speech so much; I’m willing to lose sales and take the emotional beats to preserve it. Thanks to the Dear Wonderful Hubby paying our bills, I can afford this stance but I don’t recommend this to others. Not reporting the troll reviews will decrease your book’s readership and your book DESERVES to be read. Report those reviews. This is a do what I say, not a do what I do moment.

Write the next book. This is the BEST way to stick it to the trolls. This is their biggest fear. You’ll write the next book and it will be as awesome or even more awesome than the book they trolled. Tell your buddies you’re going into the writing cave, put your head down and write. Pour all of your emotion onto the page.

There are quite a few fight scenes in Chasing Mayhem, Book 5, for this reason. I killed some trolls on the page and boy, did it feel good!

I also reduced the price of Releasing Rage, the first book in my series, to free. (laughs) Yes, I’m a bad woman. I knew that would irritate the trolls. That was the last thing they wanted.

What Can Readers Do?

Your favorite writer is attacked by trolls. What can you do?

First, thank you for caring. (big hugs) That writer is lucky to have a reader like you.

But
DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.
I said this above in the writer section and it deserves repeating. Trolls thrive on attention. Starve them. Don’t respond to their reviews.

Instead, leave your own review. That’s why Defying Death has a 4.0 Amazon rating. Legitimate series-loving readers left reviews and these reviews offset the troll attacks.

Show the writer you support her, because she’s feeling a bit battered right now (even if she tries to be chipper). Tell your friends about the book. Share some of the writer’s promo posts on Facebook or Twitter. Send the writer an email or message saying how much you loved the book. Pre-order the next story in the series. Remind her that at least one reader wants her next story.

Surviving Trolls

I’m told that the first mass troll attack is the worst. It wasn’t a happy time in my life. That’s for certain. But it reaffirmed that I was meant to write, that I love writing and having my stories published enough to put up with the ugliness, that I have people around me (readers, other writers, bloggers, reviewers) who support me and want me to write more stories.

And my rhino skin is an inch thicker now. It is dang near bulletproof.

You will survive this too. (big hugs) Keep writing. Continue chasing your dreams. Don’t allow anyone to stop you.

***

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Defying Death

He’ll risk it all for one moment of happiness.

Cyborgs don’t show emotion. Death learned that lesson early in his long lifespan. To survive, he hides his fierce passions behind a stoic wall. He calls no warrior friend. He never admits to caring for any being.

Even the human female he’s destined to love.

Tifara is Death’s obsession, his sole opportunity for happiness, to express the all-consuming passion burning brightly inside him. He’ll do anything to obtain the curvaceous medic: defy a direct order, abduct Tifara from her battle station, and wage war on his fellow cyborgs.

To earn her love, he’ll have to risk much, much more.

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Defying-Death-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B01D6OUQS2/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Defying-Death-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B01D6OUQS2/

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-defyingdeath-2001671-147.html

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/defying-death-cynthia-sax/1123562659

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/defying-death-2