K. Victoria Chase's Blog, page 11
September 21, 2012
ANOTHER BOOK CONTRACT!!!!!
I'm happy to announce that I've signed my FIFTH book contract for the very first book I ever wrote, the one that fueled the desire for a writing career. I have only one more completed manuscript that needs a home, but I'll have to give it a good polish first. ;-)
From Across the Divide is a story about lost faith, perseverance, and forbidden love in a racially charged city in 1963 Alabama. A prodigal son returns home to discover what is truly important in life: family, freedom, and love. It will be released through Astraea Press in February/March 2013.
***In THREE DAYS, this blog will be showcasing some fantastic authors who are giving away some great prizes. Stay tuned for details!! You won't want to miss it.***
September 20, 2012
September 19, 2012
September 18, 2012
September 17, 2012
BOOK REVIEWS: BUYING, FAKING, ATTACKING
Over the last week, I've come across a couple of articles and reviews on Amazon that I thought were quite interesting. Book reviews are a dynamic topic. Are they real? Fake? Are people trying to boost or bring down a book? Can anyone write you a review? Well, all of the above and then some.
The Champion Reviewer.
One reviewer gave a certain Inspirational romantic suspense book 1 star. The commentor, we'll call her(I'm assuming it's a woman since it is a romance book--but it could have been a man ;-) ) CR, wrote a response to the reviewer basically telling her if she doesn't use her real name in her reviewer profile her reviews aren't legit. CR moved on to another 1 star reviewer and posted a comment telling her that she must have a vendetta against the author. Then CR posted her own 5 star review claiming those who wrote 1 star reviews must not like Christian fiction.
Okay, so using CR's logic we can understand the premise of her argument to be if you like Christian fiction, EVERY Christian fiction book is good; 5-star worthy you should have liked this book. Really? Really?!?!?!?!?
False. Utterly and completely. We all have different tastes and not everyone is going to feel the same way about a book as the next person.
I almost posted my own comment and thought, wait, I'm an author and this may get back to me. So I decided to write a blog post about it instead, haha.
I suppose one way to champion an author's work is to attack everyone who doesn't like it.
Purchasing 5 Star Reviews.
This is either a terrific idea or a terrible one; it depends on which side of the review you're on. Are you the receiver of the review, or are you writing it? One person gets 5 stars, the other person gets $500 (or something similar). One person (the author) gets increased book sales because of the review, the other person (reviewer) gets a client for life--until the author gets caught.
Wait! Do you have to buy the review? Can't you just create a fake profile (probably more than once) and write them yourself? Yes and Yes.
In the first article, you have a person making oodles of dough writing fake glowing reviews.
Consumer reviews are powerful because, unlike old-style advertising and marketing, they offer the illusion of truth... about one-third of all consumer reviews on the Internet are fake.
Yikes. One fortunate (I say fortunate because, well, he/she was) writer became a bestseller using this method.
Attention, despite being contrived, draws more attention.
Yes, indeed. Even John Locke, famed self-published author who first reached a million sales, paid for his reviews. Too bad he's now getting one-star reviews...with a few five-stars sprinkled in.
Remember, not all paid reviewers actually read the books...
Just Review Your Own Book. Over And Over.
Genius, right? One author thought so, until he got caught. There's a term for creating multiple review profiles to flood your book with positive reviews: sock puppeting or sock puppetry.
But he didn't stop there.
RJ Ellroy decided to pull a CR and target his rivals' books with one star reviews. Really? Really?!?!?!?! On the Multicultural bestseller list, I've come across books with zero 5 and 4 stars and a healthy dose of 2's and 1's. Even with negative reviews a book can sell. I'm amazed the author of ten novels had time to write those fake reviews attacking other authors let alone write a bunch of fake ones praising himself. I hardly know where I got the time to write this blog post.
Personally, I don't get involved in the back and forth of reviews. It can end badly. I mention CR because I wanted to highlight a part of the world of reviewing: where someone attacks you for having a different opinion than theirs. If people can afford to have reviews written for their books--okay. I'd want the reviewer to read my book, but I don't think I'll ever pay someone to review my book. And sock puppeting--well, people can get desperate for those reviews and with the hundreds of thousands of self-published books in cyberspace, competition is steep. There has to be a way to draw readers in before the next book is finished, right?
WHERE TO FIND REAL REVIEWERS
This article on The Creative Penn discusses how to get a review that matters from an Amazon Top Reviewer. Do some research. Check out the top reviewers on Amazon and approach those who read your genre. I recently (by accident) received a review for Rafael from an Amazon Vine reviewer. The Amazon Vine program is an invitation only review group of readers who have written quality reviews that have received numerous votes from the public as being "helpful." All in all, reviews are a helpful tool, which may persuade readers to purchase your book.
Writers/readers/reviewers, what do you think? Are any of these scenarios actually harmful? Are they helpful? What are your thoughts?
***In one week, this blog will be showcasing some fantastic authors who are giving away some great prizes. Stay tuned for details!! You won't want to miss it.***
The Champion Reviewer.
One reviewer gave a certain Inspirational romantic suspense book 1 star. The commentor, we'll call her(I'm assuming it's a woman since it is a romance book--but it could have been a man ;-) ) CR, wrote a response to the reviewer basically telling her if she doesn't use her real name in her reviewer profile her reviews aren't legit. CR moved on to another 1 star reviewer and posted a comment telling her that she must have a vendetta against the author. Then CR posted her own 5 star review claiming those who wrote 1 star reviews must not like Christian fiction.
Okay, so using CR's logic we can understand the premise of her argument to be if you like Christian fiction, EVERY Christian fiction book is good; 5-star worthy you should have liked this book. Really? Really?!?!?!?!?
False. Utterly and completely. We all have different tastes and not everyone is going to feel the same way about a book as the next person.
I almost posted my own comment and thought, wait, I'm an author and this may get back to me. So I decided to write a blog post about it instead, haha.
I suppose one way to champion an author's work is to attack everyone who doesn't like it.
Purchasing 5 Star Reviews.
This is either a terrific idea or a terrible one; it depends on which side of the review you're on. Are you the receiver of the review, or are you writing it? One person gets 5 stars, the other person gets $500 (or something similar). One person (the author) gets increased book sales because of the review, the other person (reviewer) gets a client for life--until the author gets caught.
Wait! Do you have to buy the review? Can't you just create a fake profile (probably more than once) and write them yourself? Yes and Yes.
In the first article, you have a person making oodles of dough writing fake glowing reviews.
Consumer reviews are powerful because, unlike old-style advertising and marketing, they offer the illusion of truth... about one-third of all consumer reviews on the Internet are fake.
Yikes. One fortunate (I say fortunate because, well, he/she was) writer became a bestseller using this method.
Attention, despite being contrived, draws more attention.
Yes, indeed. Even John Locke, famed self-published author who first reached a million sales, paid for his reviews. Too bad he's now getting one-star reviews...with a few five-stars sprinkled in.
Remember, not all paid reviewers actually read the books...
Just Review Your Own Book. Over And Over.
Genius, right? One author thought so, until he got caught. There's a term for creating multiple review profiles to flood your book with positive reviews: sock puppeting or sock puppetry.
But he didn't stop there.
RJ Ellroy decided to pull a CR and target his rivals' books with one star reviews. Really? Really?!?!?!?! On the Multicultural bestseller list, I've come across books with zero 5 and 4 stars and a healthy dose of 2's and 1's. Even with negative reviews a book can sell. I'm amazed the author of ten novels had time to write those fake reviews attacking other authors let alone write a bunch of fake ones praising himself. I hardly know where I got the time to write this blog post.
Personally, I don't get involved in the back and forth of reviews. It can end badly. I mention CR because I wanted to highlight a part of the world of reviewing: where someone attacks you for having a different opinion than theirs. If people can afford to have reviews written for their books--okay. I'd want the reviewer to read my book, but I don't think I'll ever pay someone to review my book. And sock puppeting--well, people can get desperate for those reviews and with the hundreds of thousands of self-published books in cyberspace, competition is steep. There has to be a way to draw readers in before the next book is finished, right?
WHERE TO FIND REAL REVIEWERS
This article on The Creative Penn discusses how to get a review that matters from an Amazon Top Reviewer. Do some research. Check out the top reviewers on Amazon and approach those who read your genre. I recently (by accident) received a review for Rafael from an Amazon Vine reviewer. The Amazon Vine program is an invitation only review group of readers who have written quality reviews that have received numerous votes from the public as being "helpful." All in all, reviews are a helpful tool, which may persuade readers to purchase your book.
Writers/readers/reviewers, what do you think? Are any of these scenarios actually harmful? Are they helpful? What are your thoughts?
***In one week, this blog will be showcasing some fantastic authors who are giving away some great prizes. Stay tuned for details!! You won't want to miss it.***
AMISH ROMANCE WINNERS
Thank you for visiting and sharing with author Jennifer Beckstrand last Wednesday.
The giveaway winners are:
RHONDA
and
AMY
You will be contacted about your prize!
The giveaway winners are:
RHONDA
and
AMY
You will be contacted about your prize!
