Imaginary Trolls?

For once, I'm actually writing a post about being a writer! More specifically, I'm addressing this apparent issue of "Bully Reviewers". Strangely enough, I'm going to put forth an opinion that may not be very popular amongst my peers. But that's what writers do, right? We put our necks on the chopping block, we hand the world an axe, then cross our fingers and smile pretty.

For those not entirely aware of the situation, I'll sum it up. Allegedly, there are "careerist reviewers" on Amazon and Goodreads, who downrate books by the dozens, and post terrible, insulting things about the authors (specifically, indie-authors). These authors then lash back, and then get blacklisted by this group; labelled as an "Author Behaving Badly".

Ok, so they have their websites, and teams of reviewers on various forums, etc, etc, etc.

...and who is our Hulk? The absolutely sensational Anne Rice! Defender of the indies! Champion of the literary realm, and my personal idol!

Now for the unpopular part... I actually disagree with Anne Rice.

Granted, I haven't gone through and read EVERY accused "bully reviewer" post, and if the accusations are true, then yes, they're terrible trolls. I've heard that they make personal attacks towards the author rather than the book. I've heard they downvote droves of indie books without even reading them.

All of those things would be cruel if they were true. However, in the examples I've been shown, that wasn't the case. The most recent of which was a reviewer named Nenia Campbell. She has apparently been flagged by a group; "Stop the Goodreads Bullies". They labeled her a "Carpet Bomber", and posted a picture of a slew of 1 Star ratings from this woman. So, out of sadistic curiosity, I went to check out some of her scathing reviews.

Okay, yes, she has written a ridiculous number of reviews (who can read a dozen books in a day? Really.) Yes, most of them are 1-Star reviews. HOWEVER! All of her negative reviews are well-written, they are not personal attacks on an author, and she even backs up her negative remarks with quotes from the book, indicating the areas that grated on her. In fact, the one time I saw her even mention the author directly, it was to apologize for giving a bad review, and ended with "it's not for me".

And here's the real kicker; she's an indie author herself! Really? We're making the assumption that she's a bully who targets indie authors? Come on, people.

These are the bullies and trolls I was warned about? My initial thought was, "maybe she's just very particular and difficult to please". But even that's not the case. She's rated thousands of books with 5 Stars, she just didn't write reviews for them. Apparently, she primarily writes reviews for books she hates (save for a rare few exceptions).

Maybe that's not nice. It certainly doesn't follow the adage of "if you can't say something nice...", but what did you expect? You wrote a book, sent it out to the world and ASKED people to give their opinion. This is hers. It really is that simple.

Now, I may be bias on several levels. First, the very few reviews I've received so far have been very positive. I have yet to be subjected to the strident punch of a lone star. Second, I believe I share Ms. Campbell's cynical sense of humor.

Really. As harsh as her reviews are, they are quite funny and entertaining. This may also be the reason she only reviews books that she dislikes. Perhaps it is fun for her, and that's fine.

Here's the thing, we are authors. We write books, and hope people enjoy them. We do not, however, have the luxury of saying "Tell me what you think, but only if you think I'm awesome".

Seriously, if my book is awesome, tell me it's awesome. Shout it to the world. If my book stinks, you are also free to say so. I am keenly aware of the fact that my story and/or my writing style is not for everyone. There are people that will hate it. Will their reviews damage my fragile indie sales? Absolutely! Without some Five-Star padding, it will most likely crush me as an author. But then, perhaps I should have written a better book.

As a quick footnote, let me repeat that IF the accusations are true, then I wholeheartedly agree and stand by the victims of these bullies. I know that the internet is rampant with consequence-free trolls, and that sucks. All I'm saying, is that I haven't personally seen evidence of bullying in book reviews; certainly not with Nenia Campbell.