Save The Reviews
Let’s talk reviews. Reviews are by far the most coveted gift given by readers to indie authors. So what is this I hear about Amazon removing reviews? Yes, Amazon is on a quest to remove reviews that they feel are somehow misleading because the reviewer is in some way connected to the author.
I’ll be the first to admit, I have a few friends in my personal life I ask to read my books and review. But only a few, not enough to make an impact. Now that I think about it, none of them have gotten around to reading or reviewing my latest release.
Are their reviews biased? Well, I hope not, but it’s possible, after all, they will ask me to pick up little Johnny from soccer or feed their cats when they are out of town. Again, I express the low number of personal friends I have asked to read and review my books. Maybe I just don’t have as many friends as other authors? Maybe there are authors out there receiving 50 plus reviews from their bingo club or the PTA??? If that’s the case, are the offenders so countless that Amazon feels the need to police the review process?
Personally, I do not feel I’ve ever been misled by reviews. Oh, except that time critics gave the movie The Holiday terrible reviews. I absolutely loved that movie and I was close to skipping it because of the reviews.
I heard some musings that an author with a small multitude of five star reviews must be hocking reviews at the local Starbucks because no way could anyone like a book to the tune of 45 or more 5 star reviews. Could they? No really, could they? Well, I believe they can. There is such a thing as a ‘good book.’ Look it up Amazon peeps. If you are stuck, I can give you a few suggestions.
One aspect about being an indie author I was unaware of is the importance of making contacts through social media. Indie authors work tirelessly on social media to create connections, network, and make friends to gain supporters and readers. Through this process many folks become our friends and ‘pimp’ (yes that’s a book term) authors and the books they love. And yes, these pimps are considered friends. So will Amazon remove their reviews too?
I do worry about my precious reviews. I don’t want anything to happen to them. One thing that concerns me is the fact that I happen to love sugar-free strawberry gum. What if someone who reviews my books loves the same unique flavor of gum? Can Amazon find out? Will they accuse me of wagering for reviews at the grocery check-out? I sure hope not.
Please Amazon, leave my pretties alone.


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