Hopefully not a stupid question...

[[deleted user]]

First, I have tried to find a black and white answer to this question searching forums here and FAQs on Amazon. I've Googled this several times, but as I'm still unsure, I thought perhaps some knowledgeable member would help me out:

Is it inappropriate for authors to publicly review? From what I read, Amazon cautions authors to avoid reviewing books that are of similar content or subject to their own work, which I take to mean within the same genre (or perhaps subgenre?). I couldn't find much of an answer at all for Goodreads policy. Does anyone know for sure?

[Mellie]

Amazon will delete author reviews, they are rather draconian about it and it is not allowed. If you really want to leave reviews on Amazon you will need a non-author account to do it from.

[[deleted user]]

A.W. wrote: "Amazon will delete author reviews, they are rather draconian about it and it is not allowed. If you really want to leave reviews on Amazon you will need a non-author account to do it from."

Thanks, AW. Any idea about Goodreads policy?

[Peggy]

That is not true. I am an author and have written almost two hundred reviews by other indie authors. They do not get deleted. I am an avid reader, besides being an author. Why would it matter? I read books and review them. I don't need a seperate account.

[Mellie]

Amazon most certainly *does* delete author reviews. Just google the phrase "Amazon deletes author reviews" and you will find a multitude of blogs posts and forum threads discussing the practice. They also delete reviews of family, editors and publishers where they believe there is a relationship between the author and the reviewer.

Goodreads allows all profiles to leave reviews. As to whether that is appropriate or not is up to your discretion, there are some authors who will strike back if another author leaves a low review.

[[deleted user]]

Linda wrote: "Amazon only removes negative reviews by authors. You can boost the competition, but you can't diss it."

Linda, by "negative" do you mean harsh or simply anything unflattering? And is this tied to like genres or the work of ANY other author?

AW, I saw some of that in my Google travels. The problem is for every result that tells me it isn't allowed, I see others that tell me it is...

[R.A.]

I haven't written a lot of reviews, but the ones I wrote were still there, last I checked. Amazon may have a policy, but it doesn't mean they always enforce it. My aunt left a review of my book and SAYS SHE'S MY AUNT in the review. It's been months but the review is still there, in spite of my asking Amazon to remove it. All that to say that review deletions might not be as much reason as random.

[Mellie]

Deletion is not an automated process, but a manual one.

I don't know whether it is based on random checks or people reading reviews and contacting Amazon. I do know of authors who had their reviews deleted and editors who had reviews deleted on books they worked on (which were positive reviews).

As always it is not those who use reviews legitimately, but those who abuse it who create the problems for others.

[Laurel]

Reviews that are fair and balanced (pros and cons) that neither gush nor go out of their way to be harsh tend to stay put in my experience and looking through reviews on my different book editions (I have two novels, but over a dozen different editions on those books).

For example, the very first review left for me was by my now ex boyfriend. He liked the book, but didn't talk about it as if it were the greatest thing in the world either. It was a heartfelt and honest review.

It's still there.


Perhaps the key to this is tact. Is it super obvious that the reviewer knows the author? Those will get flagged.

But if the review sounds fairly objective, I think they tend to stay.


Also, I think amazon prefers up front disclosures when a person receives the book free (eg., a gift or for R2R). So if you receive the book through either a giveaway or a GR read/review, they prefer that disclaimer.

[Chris]

I don't know if its true or not, but I heard Amazon will delete reviews if they're in the same category as one of your own books. I have a different reviewer name on Amazon, but I pretty much stick to reviewing non-book items like CDs or clothing so as to avoid any issues.

[Nerine]

My rule of thumb for reviews is if you can't say it to the author in person, you probably shouldn't say it at all. After almost a decade of running a writers' group I've discovered some fantastic ways to drop some bombs in such a way that won't make an author want to go slit their wrists. But then I also review books professionally as part of my day job at a newspaper publisher.