I survived Covid, and The Amazon Review Purge: An Indie Tale of Woe

Welcome to the smuttier side of romance, , with alien peens and the readers who love them!

First off! I've recovered from Covid! I'm still achy, and my voice isn't fully 100 yet, but I'm ready to get back to work! Sorry for the delay in sending this newsletter, I wasn't even aware it was Tuesday with the brainfog. I even had to cancel the kid's birthday since the virus took out my hubs, then my son, then me, and the only survivor was my daughter, who somehow avoided the whole ordeal so far. I'm back and working on Her Alien Starbreaker!

Today's Featured indie is Leann Ryans

These omegas had no idea what was coming, as monsters stalked the dark, in search of mates.

Will they find happiness after they’re bitten by a monstrous alpha and brought to the mountains?

Check out Monsters in the Mouintains Direct!

It's no secret that Amazon likes to remove reviews from books on a regular basis for whatever reasons their bots decide is against their policies.

Often times, no policy was broken at all, and sometime small triggers have the bots completely block and remove ALL reviews from an account simply because they are avid readers who review often.

For the reader, it's frustrating to have to defend your own opinions and try to recover your reviews.

For an author, it's disheartening to see several reviews disappear and goals become farther away.

Take my alien romance series for instance:

My newest release Her Alien Insurgent had 39 reviews at the beginning of August, and had hopes that by the end of September it might reach over the 50 reviews marker, which helps its visibility with Amazon.

But after recovering from Covid and taking a looksy at my book profile... Her Alien Insurgent is now down to 34 reviews/rating on Amazon US. That means in the last week it lost 5 reviews.

And next week, or the week after it may gain a few and lose a few again.

Her Alien Prince was at 109 reviews, and is now down to 103

Her Alien Savior was at 86 reviews and is down to 82

Her Alien Warrior was at 69 and is now down to 64

Jewel of the Alien Bandit was at 127 and is now down to 121

Review Purges like this feel like a blow to an indie author, especially for me, since I don't have a review requirement on any of my teams. I follow all the policies for reviews on Amazon. None of my reviewers are people that I've bonded with before launching the books, meaning the only reason they know me is because of my books.

I never require any of my ARC teams, or Street teams to review to be part of the team.

I even go so far as to tell everyone who is a friend or family to not review or rate my books because I don't want to screw up the algorithms.

This is why every author must keep reaching out and continuing to reach new reviewers because at any time there can be a purge and place their book below the threshold for visibility with Amazon.

Did you know it take a minimum of 50 ratings to be eligible for being seen in Amazon newsletters or other visibility benefits?

Did you know it takes 100 minimum ratings on a book for the book to get Amazon's auto "what customer's are saying" blurb that has their A.I. compile all reviews and give an overview at the top?

Like this one from Jewel of the Alien Bandit:

These are all things that help visibility for indie authors. So, if you've read a good book lately, the best way you can give your thanks is to leave your comments about it on all the places reviews are shared!

Best questions to ask yourself when you're leaving a review: (You don't have to answer all of them, they are prompts to help you express your thoughts on a book.)

Did you have a favorite quote that you highlighted? Use it!

How fast did you read the book? Do you feel like reading it again?

What kind of themes do you remember from the book that you enjoyed?

If you were trying to convince your book bestie to read the book, what would you tell them?

Some of my favorite reviews were the most genuine ones that sounded like they were speaking with a friend. The sass, the feelings, the excitement.

"Renee deserved to find her own happiness, not settle for a husband that simply existed. Sou-El was the kind of male she needed in her life and I definitely wouldn’t have minded one of my own too." - Sophia (Her Alien Warrior)

"So watching Renee’s heartbreak play in my mind as I read was bittersweet- I felt her pain, her triumph, her uncertainty. That distrust that’s built up over years of gaslighting yourself that this is fine, it’s all fine, when you’re just settling into what’s easy instead of the burning curiosity that’s life. I haven’t stepped into my own life as heavily as she does but living through her, for a moment, I feel like I have and that’s a wonderful thing to behold. Thank you Sky Roberts for making me cry for all the right reasons. You did amazing!" - Mariah (Her Alien Warrior)

Those are the best reviews, when you aren't necessarily explaining the story, but explaining your experience with the story. Those are my favorite reviews to read! They really do help me push through tough times and motivate me to keep plugging away!

Help support more books and more writing time by checking out my alien romances! And don't forget to review the books you read and help an indie author out! For every review you give an indie author gets a smile, and a new human gets their alien mate!

https://books.steviemarie.com/jotab

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienwarrior

PS: If you've read Jewel of the Alien Bandit, you're going to love Her Alien Starbreaker where Vareo gets a cameo appearance when he was part of the Birds of Zorn.

xoxo

Sky

In space, no one can hear you squeal over cute, trouble-making alien furballs... or a unexpected romance.

Check out Oh No I stole an alien furball in KU!

Newly single and stressed about her future after college, Nora is in no mood to party. When she steps out of the shower to find only a skimpy costume in her dorm room, though, she does join the campus-wide Halloween bash—to find her pranking roommate and wring her neck.

Check out Halloween Encounter in KU

Bred on secrets and betrayals and sold to a man she doesn't know, Gisella travels across oceans into the arms of a monster intent on devouring her.

Read Reflections of Silence in KU

Standalone plot with spice adventures of fated mates, space vampires, knotting, and bonds that will last beyond the stars! All available in Kindle Unlimited!

https://books.steviemarie.com/jotab

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienprince

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralieninsurgent

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienexchange (Freesies with this newsletter, dig it out of your e-reader!)

https://books.steviemarie.com/heraliensavior

https://books.steviemarie.com/heralienwarrior

(Next book Her Alien Captor I want to work on for NaNoWriMo)

https://books.steviemarie.com/takingmedusa

https://books.steviemarie.com/breakingfate

Happy Reading and thank you for being part of my author journey!

~Sky

Check out Out of this World Unlimited Alien Romance Reads!

Check out Romantasy Summer Ball!

Check out Romantasy Awareness Book Fair

Check out Sci-fi Romance for freesies

This is the place in my newsletter where you can check up on my word count/progress on any given project. So, if you're excited about something and where I'm at with it, or what's next on the writing agenda, this is the place to check. I don't post this anywhere else but on my newsletter. Not even my website has a progress update zone.

Breaking Fate: off to ARC READERS!!! Breaking Fate (currently available for Pre-order) Launches October 2nd 2024

Read Taking Medusa on Kindle Unlimited to get caught up!

TKManAteHer is on Amazon and Audible! A short erotic sentient robot romance, to be enjoyed in around an hour. Perfect for a quick escape that won't interrupt your beauty sleep if you start at bedtime!

It is a complete story, no cliffhangers, 2.5 spicy scenes, and a romance that defies time itself.

It's available for 99 pennies on Amazon, or from my author store:

Amazon: https://books.steviemarie.com/tk

Author Store: https://payhip.com/b/XgOuk

Also available on Audible! https://www.audible.com/ac/TKManAteHer-Audiobook/B0D5GC1ZDK

When you grab the book direct, more pennies are kept with the author. For every 99 penny book, an indie makes around 35 cents from Amazon.

Direct, I get around 50 cents depending on if you use Stripe or Paypal as your payment method through my author store. That's 40% more pennies in the author's pocket by grabbing direct!

Her Alien Starbreaker My goal is to have this completed before end of September 2024 for an anthology. Best of all, the personal cover for the book is commissioned by Deborah Garcia! So, this is the first cover I have made from commissioned artwork instead of cover designers! (Note: I make sure all my covers are done by designers that do NOT support A.I., No A.I. is used for my covers, nor my writing. I R hooman.)

Word Count: 22,372/50K goal

This book will be included in the upcoming anthology Beyond Earth available for pre-order for only 99 pennies and you also get 7 other complete sci-fi romances from awesome indie authors!