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Absolutely!  When a very recent string of suspicious reviews started popping up on Amazon for my bestseller (yep, it just started), it prompted me to follow up with a few author friends regarding the gorilla marketing tactic known as “sockpuppeting” or “trolling.”  (That’s when an author/publisher hires a company or charges fans to post FAKE reviews with PHONY accounts to take out the competition or boost their own ratings.)

Hearing their horror stories of being targeted with sudden and suspicious waves of bad reviews (after their books were already established and doing really well) reminded me of how susceptible honest authors are to the unscrupulous people out there. Etailers are often unwilling/unable to act because it’s difficult to distinguish between authentic bad reviews (which are simply a fact of life—yes, yes, we hate them, but that’s life) or fake ones.

ANYWAY, I did some research and found some good info on how to spot the sockpuppets/fake accounts and was going to share (I pulled the pic down), but I realized that wasn’t going to change anything.

BUT these THREE THINGS WILL:

1.  Don’t waste your time engaging with the trolls/sockpuppets; it generally adds fuel to the fire.

2.  Take all reviews (good and bad) with a grain of salt.

3.  DO SUPPORT your favorite AUTHORS and write a review if you love their work!  SIMPLE! (And you get good karma points.)

Let’s be clear, I’m talking about books here. This is not the kind of stuff worth getting outraged over or losing sleep for. There are far greater atrocities being committed in this world.  But if you find yourself loving a book and can afford the time to post a review to support your favorite author, then know that your time and effort DOES MATTER!  It sure the hell does to me! –Ms. Getting Trolled