Ask The Expert

“Is my book being trolled on Amazon by someone I know?”

June 24, 2021

“Is my book being trolled on Amazon by someone I know?”
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Q –

Amazon removed an abusive review that accused me of racism (it was obvious that person didn’t even read the book), and then put it back up again. At the same time, they removed a legitimate 5-star review!

What to do about trolls? I’ve written Amazon twice now; am awaiting their response.

A –

I read the one-star review of your book on Amazon. This person clearly has some sort of score to settle with you. His (or her) use of the words “privilege and opportunity” tell me that he or she is jealous of the traveling you were able to do in your life, and certainly envious of your ability to write about your adventures.

Is it possible that someone you know has a beef with you, and posted that negative review twice?

One of our authors once had an ex-neighbor post horrible reviews about his book. And, they weren’t even about the book. They were about the author himself. Amazon would not remove them.

If an author has any enemies (or suspected enemies), I recommend he or she remove those people from their social media friends’ lists, as well as their email lists long before marketing of a new book begins.

I once had a so-called “friend” on Facebook report me for one of my posts and my entire personal Facebook account got banned without warning. What did I do? I posted the cover of our managing editor’s new book, Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge. It is a book of stories of his days as a cop. That same person reported his Facebook account that same day, too, and he was permanently banned as well.

What that person didn’t know (because they didn’t read the book) was that Brian lost his job as a cop after witnessing the wrongful arrest of a black individual. He knew, before walking into the chief’s office, that what he was about to do would end his career. The police chief told him to mind his own business so Brian then met with the Public Defender who was representing the victim. The charges were dropped but Brian was still fired from his job as a police officer for insubordination, and no other agency would hire him. The career he’d dreamed about since childhood was over. But, Brian would do it all over again because it was the right thing to do.

Keep your enemies close…but not when promoting your own work, or that of a friend or family member.

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